Making Conservatives Cringe Since 1977
I'm not Liberal, I'm paying attention.30 January 2006
Tough Talk
Wow, you really flamed NavySwan up didn't you RV?! Problem is..., far from shutting any critics down, the Justice Department Memo has opened up more questions than it has answered. The same with General Hayden's defense from last week: According to Hayden, the reason the President wanted to bypass FISA was because FISA requires a showing of "probable cause" in order to obtain a FISA warrant for eavesdropping on telephone conversations, and the President believed that standard was too burdensome.This is an argument that falls flat on its face when you consider (among all the other reasons) the Administration would not support Senator DeWine's bill, which would have eliminated the "probable cause" barrier because it believed it would be unconstitutional. The reason why you're worked up, and NavySwan is worked up, and I as well, is because we love our country and would not see it perish. Here, however, one of the very things that makes our country great, the rule of law, specifically that which is embodied in the Fourth Amendment, is in jeopardy. I for one do not take that lightly, and I'm afraid that the situation will be solved in a political manner instead of what the law would proscribe:
Section 1809 of FISA, expressly provides that "[a] person is guilty of an offense if he intentionally - (1) engages in electronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute. . . ." And Section 2511(2)(f) provides that FISA "shall be the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance . . . may be conducted."
Would you give all this up for partisan politics?
Or would you err on the side of caution, and for liberty?
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