Thursday, February 02, 2006

Cold Comfort

I like the way the NYTimes editors put it today:
"Let me put it to you in Texan," Mr. Bush drawled at the Grand Ole Opry House yesterday. "If Al Qaeda is calling into the United States, we want to know."

Yes, and so does every American. But that has nothing to do with Mr. Bush's decision to toss out the Constitution and judicial process by authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without a warrant. Let's be clear: the president and his team had the ability to monitor calls by Qaeda operatives into and out of the United States before 9/11 and got even more authority to do it after the attacks. They never needed to resort to extralegal and probably unconstitutional methods.

Mr. Bush said the warrantless spying was vetted by lawyers in the Justice Department, which is cold comfort. They also endorsed the abuse of prisoners and the indefinite detention of "unlawful enemy combatants" without charges or trials.

The president also said the spying is reviewed by N.S.A. lawyers. That's nice, but the law was written specifically to bring that agency, and the president, under control. And there already is a branch of government assigned to decide what's legal. It's called the judiciary. The law itself is clear: spying on Americans without a warrant is illegal.

P.S. If you are giong to argue against this particular post and want to use the tired old “it’s the NYTimes Liberal rag so it doesn’t count” gambit. Don’t bother. Argue the points and the legality if you can, instead. Thank you.

2 comments:

enigma4ever said...

Have trollies been here? I need more ears for my necklace...so if they have been bothering you yell over to the cafe- we'll come right over and ahem...handle the evilrepugtrolls....Now about your post- I wish him luck..trotting and swaggering and struttin' and pimping his Criminal Actions- but the more he runs around and doing it - it just sounds overdone and defensive- and NO ONE buys it....Nixon in his Final Days spent many monthes attempting to save his sorry presidency by a HUGE PER blitz...and how much did that Really help????( that was to offer you some hope)

The GTL™ said...

It's been pretty damned creepy alright. Our civil liberties have been fading fast, one by one under this Presidency and GOP contolled House and Senate. The good news is, I hope, America now sees firsthand that the GOP has no idea how to deal with National emergencies without breaking the law to do it while ignoring the obvious - our BORDERS.

They're making their own beds...