As expected, in facing yet another attack on civil liberties by the Obama Administration, Democratic members are choosing personality over principle. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., CA) has come out to assure the public that it is a good thing that the Administration is spying on them and encourage them to accept such surveillance as the new normal. In the meantime, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R, Ga), insists that the surveillance must be fine because “to my knowledge we have not had any citizen who has registered a complaint relative to the gathering of this information.” Of course, it has been secret and just last February the Administration succeeded in blocking an effort of dozens of citizens and groups challenging such surveillance programs before the Supreme Court.
Feinstein is notorious among civil libertarians as someone who knew of many of the abuses during the Bush Administration, including possible knowledge of the torture program and warrantless surveillance programs. However, the Administration is clearly putting the push on to get members in front of cameras to claim that that surveillance stopped a plot. It is an effort to get citizens to give up this core liberty. Of course, if you strip every civil liberty, you can claim additional plots. These members are responsible, again, for a failure to use oversight authority to protect civil liberties. They have clearly been given the message to try to change the story in the critical first 24-hours in classic Bush (now Obama) terms: yes we put everyone under surveillance but it paid off. It is working. Where the headlines began the day as “huge surveillance program,” media is now reporting the story as “surveillance program foiled terror plot.” Once again the media is being played like a fiddle by our homegrown Neros.
Feinstein has continued her dubious record of leading the charge against liberty — a curious role for the Democratic senator from a state like California.
My favorite however is Chambliss who seems clueless that the Obama Administration has classified information needed to challenge these laws and no citizens had information to complain about . . . because Chambliss and his colleagues kept it from their constituents.
Then there is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) fresh from his questioning whether bloggers have first amendment rights. Graham stated “I’m a Verizon customer. I don’t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States.” Most citizens would shudder at the thought of using either Feinstein or Graham as the barometer for civil liberties.
However, the spin is on. This is the ultimate test for Obama in seeing whether he can get citizens to give up not only the protection for the free press but their own privacy rights. This program is a critical step in the establishment of massive databanks on citizens. However, our members of Congress are lining up to embrace such a potential authoritarian tool.
Source: ‘Huff Post
The real scandal here is the unconstitutional “terrorism” laws are being used for “non-terrorism” and “non-criminal” activities. There’s no there there! The U.S. Constitution is designed for both wartime and terrorism, without a Patriot Act, without a FISA Court or extrajudicial powers – that’s the scandal!
This is the woman who has made a political career saying, “I was present when Harvey Milk was shot.”
I and I’m sure many of the followers of this blog have laughed and rolled our eyes when reading the paranoid rants of far right crazies.
It’s getting harder and harder to laugh.
junctionshamus:
“Let slip the bugs of whores!”
Shouldnt that read “lets slip the whores some bugs”?
I am not sure I want crabs.
As usual, The Orwellian Paradigm explains things. “Killing [and spying on] you for your own safety”:
http://original.antiwar.com/faisal-moghul/2013/04/12/the-orwellian-paradigm/
They’re (Elites) letting us know that they are watching & listening for any sign or hint from an attempt, by we the people, to revolutionize or overthrow our precious government.
So let the surveillance of Congress by the American public, who has more of a vested interest in their conduct, begin. Let slip the bugs of whores!
We’re all criminals now. Sad, very sad.
A while back Scalia was quoted as saying: the Constituion is dead. I guess he was right.
And Holder refuses to answer to the question, “Are you bugging Congress?” :poop:
“I’m a Verizon customer. I don’t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States.”
If they were doing that – surveilling a KNOWN terrorist’s number and looking into those that are in contact with him/her – fine. But they are explicitly NOT doing that. In this game, EVERYONE is a suspect, with good reason or not. Graham needs to go.
Diane and Saxby sittin in a tree..
K I s s I n g
For came love
Then came marriage
Then came Saxby with a baby carriage.
Let me be the first to bark my displeasure Saxby.
“Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R, Ga), insists that the surveillance must be fine because ‘to my knowledge we have not had any citizen who has registered a complaint relative to the gathering of this information.’
This reminds me of the lady stand-up comedienne who deadpanned;
“Men ask me if I’ve ever had any children, and I always reply: ‘None … that I know of.'”
The war against lightning, which kills more Amurkans than turrriisssttttssss do can’t be far behind.
Feinstein is a solid member of Oil-Qaeda.
Mike Spindell:
there is, people change when they come here.
the 2 parties are clueless.
I wish I lived in Georgia or California just so I could vote against one of these scumbags.
I think there is something in the water in Washington D.C. that separates people from the reality of their beliefs.
Congress is supposed to defend our rights (didn’t they swear an oath to uphold the Constitution?), but they have abdicated.
The Obama administration is a continuation of the Bush regime.
The judiciary is complicit in this assault on the Bill of Rights.
Where do we turn to protect our civil rights?
What recourse do we have left?