Don't be so dramatic. I will ask this question again as noone seems to be able to provide any credible answer to it based on fact. Which US citizen's rights have been violated by listening to the calls that are either to or from Al Qaeda?

What I am saying is that if Al Qaeda calls you, or you call Al Qaeda our government should know about with or without a warrant. If you are in collusion with our enemies then we need to know about it.

Am I to understand that you would prevent our government from acting against a possible terrorist and increasing the likelyhood of American deaths all to adhere to a process that is protecting the very individual that wants to harm America?

 

We are at war with Al Qaeda. This is not some peace-time snooping by a President against political opponents. This is the monitoring of calls to or from Al Qaeda to individuals here in the US, citizens or not. That is not violating the constitution, but rather preventing further terrorist attacks at home.

If you know, then Al Qaeda knows. And if Al Qaeda knows then they will adapt and change their method of communication. I was pissed when Osama found out we were listening to his sattelite phone from a leak in the intelligence community and I am pissed that Al Qaeda now knows we were listening to all their calls to or from the US. Both times Al Qaeda changed their tactics on us. Lets hope this has not given them an edge to attack us.

 

How would we know? The whole system is secret.


Yes.

 

War in and of itself is not enough to suspend the Bill of Rights. The only war in which the right to due process was suspended was the American Civil War, and the Supreme Court found that to be unconstitutional. Also, the ruling I posted also clearly states that domestic security is not sufficient reason to eavesdrop, and that ruling was during the Cold War, arguably more tense and complex than our current situation.

Both rulings are the equivalent of law in the US. And, as the Constitution clearly states, no one is above the law, including the president. If he violates these rulings, he breaks the law, simple as that. Yeah, it makes his life tough, no doubt, but that's life. It's like the homeless guy who's hungry and steals food. Justified? Probably. Legal? No.

 

I have held strong opinions against GWB reauthorizing the Patriot Act and the vote along party lines making permanent the government's unprecedented powers to investigate suspected terrorists. Allowing the white house to go above the law and spy on US citizens is unlawful, immoral, and grounds for impeachment. Why? Why shouldn't we allow out going calls to Al Queda to be over looked? Because the Bush administration isn't just spying on calls that are going outside of the US. It's because it breaks our Bill of Rights. It takes away our freedom of speach...

I have been following Amy Goodman and "Democracy Now" for quite some time. She is a reputable and well respected journalist. In her latest installment, she interviews a victim of Bush's illegal acts of spying on america. This woman simply wrote a letter and published it. She had FBI storm in on her, her computor was confisgated, and all of her private files were examined and copied. She had her rights stripped of her and her personal files examined and filed. This is the first person that has come forward to announce this illegal act. You can only imagine all of the others that could have had this happen to them and fear coming forward to tell about it. The link is here, and you can also listen to the interview. Even in the interview she was timid and scared. You can simply hear it in her voice:

http://www.democracynow.org/article....6/03/02/148237

This "reauthorizing hte Patriot Act" is just another step forward to the fascist acts of the white house.

Like I've said before, fascism has many faces...right now, it's the Bush administration.

DVPGSR has already seen this and I welcome his opinion - you can copy paste as did I...But be weary of what the current agenda's interest's are....are they really a cause to fight terrorists acts? Or are they really an attemtp to fight speacial interest attacks?

 

^
in a nutshell...

 

and Benjamin? Rock on! I dunno if Fiengold will run for president...but like I've been sayin since 04, gd't he should. I'm from Wisconsin and I've been following him for the past decade. He's a straight shooter and he will turn this country into the right direction.

If you are unaware, the very next day and in a bi-partisan effort, Fiengold and McCain banded together in an effort to cap president Bush's obnoxious and self serving money spending binge...another topic on it's own, but in response to your Fiengold vote,

hell yes!

 

This thing takes to long but from the top no search takes 15 sec. Second no employer wants to hear your late and cost them money because you were help up. Its a slanderous action. Also with america downsizing and laying people off and trying to cut every corner possible I dont have 15 sec which its more likely 10 min. to a half for a search and the police to run everything. How do you tell your employer you were detained or would you want to. And everything that so much for the better how come it has been said time and time again we are not safe and in greater debt. Also they use a carnivor progam to use keywords to track people. We have all used an automated customer service dew hicky lol and how well do they work. Also should my landscaping business be scrutinized and under investagion if i talk about pounds of wee all day. Also rap music has now become pop music. So with all the slang, adlibs, metaphors, and analogies; what is there safe to say. That doesnt make you sound like a terrorist, or drug dealer. Better yet read the T.V. guide for prime time hours and I'm pretty sure you'll raise the radar

 

My response from the other forum...

Party lines? I was unaware there were 89 Republicans in the Senate...

Link

I agree...too bad this is not happening. Spying on Al Qaeda is a legal activity and if a person from outside the US calls a person inside the US that does not necessarily have to be a citizen our government should know about it.

As for Democracy Now that is as looney-left wing and partisan as they come. But as for the VA nurse she was investigated for sedition because as I quote from the link you posted...

And for those too lazy to go to dictionary.com to look up sedition here is the definition for you.

Urging readers to act forcefully to remove the government sounds a lot like language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state. It appears pretty clear that the government (most likely the FBI) was simply doing their job.

And this is not an illegal act of domestic spying as you claim...

She wrote a letter to a local public newspaper that got published. There was no spying done, she aired her opinions and views in plain public view. If you are suggesting that government officials cannot even read the newspaper now you are more looney than I thought.

Finally you are dead wrong...

Just as I do not have the right to yell "fire" in a crowded movie theater when there is no fire she cannot express her views calling for the forcefull overthrow of government. There are limits to free speach...this is one of them.

 

As long as you are not calling Al Qaeda you have nothing to worry about.

And thank you for being honest.