Think Progress

Malkin Doesn’t Understand How Congress Works

Right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin today criticized columnist George Will, suggesting he lives in “pre-September 11 America,” because Will argued that Congress would likely have authorized President Bush’s spying program if the White House had simply requested it.

Malkin writes:

Just one teensy weensy problem: the NSA program was (and still is) classified. Is Will suggesting that Bush could have requested the authority he needed without revealing the existence of the NSA program? Or does he think Bush should have trusted 535 members of Congress and their staffers to keep the program secret?

Michelle Malkin apparently doesn’t understand how Congress works. The existence of NSA surveillance operations is classified. The authorities under which they operate are not. (In fact, you can go read them.) Will is suggesting that President Bush could have requested the authority he needed from Congress without revealing the actual operation, because this is precisely what the NSA does, pursuant to the law.

When the NSA seeks a change in statute, a joint meeting of the House and Senate intelligence committees is arranged. If they deem the changes appropriate, the committees fashion the necessary legislation, which then works its way through Congress.

Malkin seems to believe this is a rare occurence. Actually, it happens all the time. Every year, Congress must produce an intelligence budget, the overwhelming majority of which is classified. Other than two occassions when CIA director George Tenet discussed the total intelligence budget figure, “Officials have not released totals…, nor have they ever provided a breakdown of the intelligence budget by agency or activity.”

Michelle Malkin needs a civics refresher.



100 Responses to “Malkin Doesn’t Understand How Congress Works”

  1. S.M.Dixon says:

    Michelle Malkin never lets little things like facts, common sense, or decency interfere with her propaganda.


  2. Rick says:

    She got through civics class only by blowing her teacher.


  3. afterthought says:

    Boy, She is dumb as a stump.


  4. Zookeeper says:

    All she would have to do to know this is read a newspaper, for god’s sake. What a dipshit.


  5. Optimist says:

    MM is so incredibly worthless that I cannot believe that anyone gives credence to what she says. I must admit, though, that she is somewhat hot. I mean, she’s just so cute and perky yet has that sultry look in her eyes. God I’d like to…

    and now a word from our sponsors


  6. Corey says:

    Michelle Malkin needs to leave the country!!!! Immediately and for good!


  7. Carl Levin for President says:

    Malkin needs a meatstick.


  8. Carl Levin for President says:

    Malkin writing ability is directly related to how pretty she feels.


  9. Skeptic says:

    Could you stop the lewd, rude, crud and vulgar language?


  10. JIMBO says:

    Michelle Malkin probably got a blue stain on her dress from Bubble Boy.


  11. Skeptic says:

    That was crude and crud.
    Why does anyone care what Michelle Malkin knows or thinks? Is she particularly influential?


  12. JIMBO says:

    Michelle Malkin probably got a stain on her blue dress from Bubble Boy.


  13. The Truth says:

    Why even mention the bitch? This site is way above commenting on her nonsense.


  14. Ugh says:

    Why does anyone care what Michelle Malkin knows or thinks? Is she particularly influential?

    Yeah, I don’t get it, where did she come from? Was it that internment book?


  15. Optimist says:

    The Truth,

    Good point. But I’d still like to…[censored for minors]


  16. turtle says:

    “Michelle Malkin needs a civics refresher”.

    Well… she actually needs a labotomy.


  17. Optimist says:

    #16,

    Dude (or dudette) she has already had the labotomy. How else can you explain how an Asian American could be supportive of the Japanese Internment Camps?


  18. vmckimmey says:

    “Stupid is as stupid does.”


  19. True Blue says:

    Since when is the NSA that secret?

    I heard about it 10 years ago.


  20. DS says:

    Does she think Congress is not informed of anything classified?


  21. mighty aphrodite says:

    Congressional Dems are always whining that they are never given equivalent information. Dems love to “leak and shriek” so maybe classified info is several pay grades above those dim bulbs.


  22. Magnum DB says:

    Did you HAVE to link to Wikapedia though? That sets you up for right-wingers to come in here and claim you link to sites which have been proven to contain false information. Maybe you could use sites like:

    1) http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/
    2) http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sup_01_50_10_36.html
    3) http://fpc.state.gov/fpc/43742.htm


  23. Kenny H. says:

    Funny how MM’s blog (like many right-wing blogs) doesn’t allow comments. I guess she doesn’t like people making her look like a giant fool.


  24. rex says:

    Sadly, Malkin is fairly influential, at least as far as the politiblog world goes. Over the past year or so, her blog’s been ranked way up there in terms of popularity, traffic, etc. Among the rightwingers she’s at least as popular as Atrios/Eschaton. Only a few political blogs–such as Daily Kos or Instapundit–rank above her site on a consistent basis (and she’s about to overtake the latter, looks like). For verification, check Technorati, among other venues….

    So yeah, it is worth taking the time to call her out on her daily pukestream of bullshit.


  25. Double A says:

    Hahaha, Dems like to “leak and shriek”? Thats a good one. I encourage all Democratic party members to ignore all the Neo-Con criminal acts from now on. Hear no evil, see no evil, right?


  26. Rider says:

    MM, red state fascist.


  27. Optimist says:

    The greatest act of patriotism is to expose corruption in government.

    Mighty (clueless) Aphrodite does not understand this concept because it is contrary to a facist state, which he/she/it prefers.


  28. Rick says:

    Mighty Aphrodite was in the same civics class as Michelle Malkin.


  29. Pistol Pete says:

    24

    That’s because many, myself included, use her website as a porn site.


  30. The Truth says:

    Last ranking I saw had her in the top conservative site granted, but not even in the top ten blogs overall.


  31. Pistol Pete says:

    I have a “crud” remark~

    Stevens was crying because Michelle promised to “touch it” if they got the drilling through.


  32. Optimist says:

    What is disturbing to me is that we are even discussing these issues today. Sure, we use humor during our conversations but that in no way detracts from the seriousness of the issue.

    Think about it, right now Mighty Aphrodite is complaining not about the government spying on its own citizens, an act that is both illegal and flies in the face of the Constitution, but rather he/she/it has their panties in a bunch because this activity was exposed.

    It is unfathomable to me how quickly and willingly these folks are to surrender their rights. Especially when in the next breath they speak in their false patriotic voice about how “freedom is not free”.


  33. Innocent Bystander says:

    Simply another sockpuppet for the RNC.

    How long would it take her to cut and paste this from the e-mail her RNC ghost writer/handler sends her daily?

    Does the RNC rent her website by the day or do they simply pay her on a per post basis?


  34. Carl Levin for President says:

    Optimist,
    I couldn’t agree more. I always say that the people who agree with the illegalities think they are above being affected by it. Mighty aphrodite is a perfect example(although I think she is a gov’t employee).


  35. Carl Levin for President says:

    The Neocon creed is bronzed in anger and fear. And the only sanctity they find is by controlling others.


  36. The Truth says:

    Optimist,

    I guess since I like …[censored for minors] Republicans, that might not be a bad ride…


  37. Jesus Christ God of War says:

    The arrogance of the Bush apologists will be their undoing. If they understood clearly that laws and processes that were already in place prior to 9/11, they’d be backing away from Bush as quickly as they could. Again, here’s why:

    Plausible deniability.

    By speaking openly about “extreme rendering” and spying on US citizens from inside the borders of this country, Bush has just opened himself and all those involved to possible future legal action. Such actions might come from within. Or they might come from without (such as in the case of Pinichotte).

    I can’t believe Republicans and their apologists don’t understand what’s just happened to them. Perhaps the believe they are above and beyond the law? That somehow their “faith” in whatever they believe in will save them? I just don’t know.

    What I do know is that Bush does NOT need the Patriot Act if he’s willing to do whatever he wants outside of the 4th Amendment and the legal processes already in place for secretly spying on US citizens. So why does he continue to push for that which he does not think he needs?

    Let us not forget that it was just this kind of action that got Nixon into so much trouble. I fear that Bush will not go as quietly as the other GOP crook, Crooked Dick.

    Only those who believe they are above and beyond everyone else on the planet would ever pull such a stunt. And the apologists should know better than this!

    Bush completely BLEW his own cover of plausible deniability. His goose is cooked.

    Impeach Bush NOW! And prepare freight for the Hague with his body in it.


  38. David says:

    Remember of whom we are speaking: the brown, female version of Hannity and O’Reilly. No completely ridiculous, unproven assertion is too shrill, or off limits when scoring cheap political points, or at least sounding like you are.


  39. wisedup says:

    bloggs like this great ‘TP’ are a beacon of free speech, Skeptic, we agree MM is ‘not a nice person’…ok….but if if it looks like a bitch,talks like a bitch…it’s a bitch.



  40. Optimist says:

    #40 is SPAM. Doing it on all the blogs. Don’t follow the link.


  41. Anonymus says:

    Michelle Malkin is an idiot who wants to know everything, but doesn’t know her you know what from a hole in the ground. She goes around attacking people who disagree with her narrow-minded views so she can get rich from hate. People like her, Victoria Townseng, and Ann Coulter claim they love America, but they clearly hate Americans.

    These so called Conservatives are against anyone breaking the law, except when one of their own breaks the law. It is this double standard Bull—-, that gets me. Why is anything a so called “Conservative” does right, regardless of what it is. They attack so called “Liberals” and say we are unamerican, simply because we don’t think like them.

    If Michelle, Victoria, and Ann had their way, we’d have a Republican Dictator for a King, and anyone who disagreed with them, would be locked up without charges or trial. In their vision of America, there is no place for the poor, minorities, women, and Liberals. There would be the few stupid Conservative women, white men, the Police, and Spies. They claim they are against big government, but they never met a law enforcement agency, or government agency meant to suppress our freedoms, that they aren’t for. These idiots hated Sadam Hussein because he was a dictator, but want a Republican dictator to rule over our daily lives and make up the laws as he goes along.

    Michelle is for torture and concentration camps as long as a Republican is running them. This stupid women actually thinks the republicans are always right and everyone else is always wrong. Any fool who thinks this way needs to shut her pie-hole and open her ears.


  42. mighty aphrodite says:

    #34 – “Mighty aphrodite is a perfect example(although I think she is a gov’t employee).”
    Comment by Carl Levin for President — December 22, 2005 @ 7:26 pm
    No, Carl, Most mid-level government employees/bureaucrats take THEMSELVES too seriously and the others move like the lethargic shiftless people they project themselves to be. Have you ever noticed how the average government “worker” knows exactly how many more vaca days they have this fiscal year, fought vociferociously for “personal” days (AKA: LAZY DAZE) whine, incessantly about:
    a.) how under paid they are.
    b.) how much is “expected” of them.
    c.) how unappreciated they are.


  43. kuvasz says:

    I thumbed thru my copy of the OED and saw under the entry for “breathtakingly stupid” a photo of Michelle Malkin.


  44. M. Duchamp says:

    #44
    Aphrodite is quite the caricaturist, although I have to say that your last sketch looks more like a stick figure than an actual person. To draw an effective caricature, you at least have to include a couple specific details.


  45. DS says:

    Malkin was the one who was bitch slapped by Matthews several months ago, wasn’t she? That was a great interview. She wined about it on her web site afterward and someone from the right (O’Reilly?) came to her defense. The funny thing is that all Matthews was doing was forcing her to name sources and facts rather than spit out hate and slime.


  46. Syd says:

    Why does anyone waste time listening to Ms. Malkin? Here is a woman who thought it was perfectly ok to lock up her own people during WWII.


  47. WaltTheMan says:

    #34 – “Mighty aphrodite is a perfect example(although I think she is a gov’t employee).”
    Comment by Carl Levin for President — December 22, 2005 @ 7:26 pm
    No, Carl, Most mid-level government employees/bureaucrats take THEMSELVES too seriously and the others move like the lethargic shiftless people they project themselves to be. Have you ever noticed how the average government “worker” knows exactly how many more vaca days they have this fiscal year, fought vociferociously for “personal” days (AKA: LAZY DAZE) whine, incessantly about:
    a.) how under paid they are.
    b.) how much is “expected” of them.
    c.) how unappreciated they are.

    Comment by mighty aphrodite — December 22, 2005 @ 8:24 pm
    mighty aphrodite is a government employee, but the government is that of Iran or North Korea.


  48. draftedin68 says:

    I probably agree with George Will less than half the time, but his comments about Duhhbya’s latest blunder on “This Week” last Sunday were dead on.

    Michelle needs more than “a civics refresher”, she needs to bear down real hard to see if she can pop her head out of her ass.


  49. mighty aphrodite says:

    Walt – You’d probably last longer in Iran than I would.


  50. wwallace says:

    Since Malkin wasn’t talking about a budgetary issue, what exactly is Nico’s point?


  51. wwallace says:

    #

    Why does anyone waste time listening to Ms. Malkin? Here is a woman who thought it was perfectly ok to lock up her own people during WWII.

    Comment by Syd — December 22, 2005 @ 8:46 pm

    Filipinos were locked up in WWII?


  52. Canadian Bystander says:

    TP puts up good, intelligent, beyond-damning stuff every few hours. This is not a cheerleading site, so why do these threads turn into a liberal version of Little Green Footballs?

    Forget crude, forget crud, most of the above is just stupid. You get a couple intelligent comments, and then we’re back to “Malkin’s a bitch… blows Hannity… bleaaaahhhhh…”

    Come on, people. It’s like you don’t even need a troll to get all out of whack.


  53. afterthought says:

    I have always found it interesting that anyone
    would listen to some celebrity’s opinion on
    something which they know nothing about.
    Like a golfer suggesting what motor oil
    to use.
    I will take legal advice from people in the
    profession, not blow-hard idiots who are
    paid to have particular opinions.


  54. Colorado Jyms says:

    55- you make a good point. Why do we, Dems and Reps alike.. like to go to websites to read what we already believe subscribe too? I’m a huge fan of Al Franken and Air America.. and I think it is because we like to hear the sermon when we are in the choir. It helps us believe that our opinion is correct. The only right winger that posts comments on this website is wwallace. Why is that? Or maybe the question is why do Republicans come to this website? To get angry? To hear the talking points of the other side? I like to argue every now and again if I feel that I am gaining from the experience. So to follow this thought through I have to ask: Does listening to the rantings of Malkin offer something educational? Rush Limbaugh? O’reilly? Coulter? My answer is Hell NO. But I would love to hear your opinions.


  55. afterthought says:

    Well Colorado Jyms,

    It seems like you can pick up the right-wing
    talking points anywhere. All the same it seems.
    I guess that is helpful with party discipline,
    but makes for no education.
    The left-wing seems less monolithic which makes for
    less discipline, but much more interesting
    learning.
    Maybe the right-wing has caught on that their
    sites are good for propaganda, but they learn
    nothing?
    There does not seem to be anything creative, other
    than insults, from the RRWJ trolls here. Maybe
    they come here to learn something about thinking?
    As for Rush, Malkin, O’Reilly, Coulter?
    They seem like negative IQ robots to me with
    nothing useful to add in any debate, so I
    don’t bother. People tell me Rush can be funny,
    but it is not worth the mindless spin to look
    for funny.


  56. purvis ames says:

    You’re actually discussing an idiot like Michelle Malkin’s legal opinions? Please.


  57. wwallace says:

    Colorado Jym – I visit to keep an eye on the enemy propaganda. I comment to debunk the lies liberals tell. Clear enough?


  58. wwallace says:

    purvis – Calling someone an idiot because she doesn’t subscribe to your silly left-wing ideas adds nothing to the debate.


  59. afterthought says:

    Case in point, right on cue. ;^)


  60. purvis ames says:

    wwallace
    The debate? When you’re around, it’s more like humoring a senile uncle.


  61. wwallace says:

    purvis, insulting me ads nothing to the debate and is a violation of the site Terms of Use.


  62. afterthought says:

    And whining, also right on cue. ;^)


  63. Colorado Jyms says:

    Thanks afterthought. Yeah the Liberal sites and talk shows are much more educational. Offering differing points of view and working through issues. Although I do not agree with Ed Schultz and Randi Rhodes on about 1/3 of their points.. I do like how they allow right wingers onto their show to talk. I could not imagine that Rush or Bill would have the brain power to think on their feet well enough to allow the ‘enemy in’.
    The other point I feel like making is that all of their shows are full of such hatrid. They hate the gays, the illegal imigrants, the muslims, the poor. Seriously.. if all these people were truly as ‘christian’ as they claim to be.. don’t you think they would like more people in our society?
    wwallace- I think it is good of you to open your eyes to the other side. I’m not sure if you have the ‘lies and propaganda’ part of it right. But you know.. this is my opinion.


  64. afterthought says:

    Yeah Colorado Jyms,

    I think Jesus would not take too kindly
    to what passes for “good Christian” values
    these days.


  65. urban pirate says:

    If she had ANY conviction to her nonsense, she’d allow comments.

    Funny how the blowhards never seem to allow dissent.

    Meanwhile, she’s becoming more irrelevent by the day.

    The 15 minutes are about up, thanks for reminding people why Congress was a Dem majority for so long.


  66. wwallace says:

    Malkin doesn’t allow comments on her site because liberals are incapable of basic civility.


  67. RunningDogLackey says:

    Malkin’s logic is impeccable. Dubya can’t ask for authorization to act illegally…because then everyone would KNOW what he was up to…and he’d be lynched (the same fate his father feared, if the American public ever “found out what we’ve done.”)

    Besides, if he had to seek authorization every time he wanted to break the law or subvert the Constitution, Congress wouldn’t have time for anything else.


  68. afterthought says:

    Now that’s funny.


  69. wwallace says:

    President Bush hasn’t acted illegally.


  70. afterthought says:

    Hee. That’s even funnier.


  71. RunningDogLackey says:

    #71

    wallace, I’m now convinced that — in a former life — you were the guy at the head of the line at Auschwitz who said “‘Work Will Make You Free’? Hey, that’s a swell slogan. I think I’m gonna like this place a lot!”


  72. purvis ames says:

    Yo, WW, if you’re looking for civility just scoot on over to Malkin’s site. Personally, I won’t miss you.


  73. RunningDogLackey says:

    Admit it, wallace. You want a boot on your neck so bad, you get a boner when you walk past Payless.

    Enjoy your serfdom.


  74. purvis ames says:

    I just took my own advice and discovered that Malkin is hyping Christmas shopping for high end shoes, booze, and spying on Santa Claus via NORAD. This is not a joke.


  75. Vaughn D. Taylor says:

    “Malkin doesn’t allow comments on her site because liberals are incapable of basic civility.”

    wwallace: Blow it out your a** why don’t ya. Sorry, I’m an uncivil liberal.


  76. Ryan Neat says:

    Isn’t ironic that an uncivil, holocaust and terrorist apologist republican would justify the censorship of republicans through civility? Wow, that’s psychotic that the kind of psychotic that creates the BTK killer (another republican friend of wwallace) and Osama, not jsut the run of the mill insane…


  77. Ryan Neat says:

    wwallace, defending malkin’s unamerican censorship, only shows you agree with the terrorists who don’t believe in freedom. republicans created al qaeda, so it’s no surprise they would inherit your values.


  78. Ryan Neat says:

    No one ever taught wwallace that passive aggressive hate speech wasn’t part of basic civility. Ignorance is bliss, and republicanism = blissfullness :()


  79. dano347 says:

    “I visit to keep an eye on the enemy propaganda. I comment to debunk the lies liberals tell. Clear enough?”

    Comment by wwallace — December 22, 2005

    And we love the job she does – she makes our case with every half-assed assertion, ill-thought concept, and previously-debunked spin-point she types. She demonstrates the intellectual vacuity, dishonesty and emotional insecurity of republicans much more effectively than we could ever hope to portray. She’s like the Think Progress Whack-a-mole; ring her bell on one thread, and up she pops on another.


  80. richb says:

    Ms. Harman has earned my respect over the years as a straight shooter on the political side of Security on “CBS Evening News.” Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-California) made a surprising statement concerning NSA eavesdropping. According to CBS correspondent John Roberts:

    “The President got support today from an unusual quarter: Democrat Jane Harman, a key figure on the House Intelligence Committee. ‘I believe the program is essential to U.S. national security,’ she said in a statement, ‘and that disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities.’”


  81. Graham says:

    I love this website somtimes. It makes substantiated rebuttals with more panache than media matters :).


  82. Carl Levin for President says:

    #

    Walt – You’d probably last longer in Iran than I would.

    Comment by mighty aphrodite — December 22, 2005 @ 8:56 pm

    Woe is me. I’m a Jew.


  83. Sigrid says:

    He did go to Congress for approval and was refused, according to Tom Daschle, as quoted in the Washington Post today.


  84. the Fly-man says:

    What’s up with CLP’s#51-A? that happened at 20:56? Why did that get bumped down to the end this morning?


  85. Mark says:

    Colorado Jym – I visit to keep an eye on the enemy propaganda. I comment to debunk the lies liberals tell. Clear enough?

    Comment by wwallace — December 22, 2005 @ 9:32 pm

    Nice. I guess we are not all Americans, some are more American and more worthy than others. Comments like that are associated with a thing I call zero crediibility.


  86. Marie says:

    Michelle Malkin never ceases to amaze with her lack of understanding, her lack of knowledge, her lack of critical thinking — and also with her command of propagandism, toadyism, and partisanship.


  87. Jeanne says:

    Bozos – all of them.


  88. David says:

    87- interesting…
    The Bush administration requested, and Congress rejected, war-making authority “in the United States”

    Followed by a US Army strain of anthrax sent to the Captiol, and specifically Daschle. I guess I shouldn’t wonder why that story, and the perpetrator, just seemed to drift away…


  89. Canadian Bystander says:

    Just wanted to make clear I was not condemning “uncivil” discourse or ranting or anything like that. What I was objecting to was just the “Hoo-yeah!’-type posts that get boring quick, especially when they are laced with misogyny and racism, however ironically intended.

    I do not believe in unilateral disarmament, but I do believe the truth-telling jibe is always mightier than the partisan grunt.

    Muddying the waters just lets everything end in a draw, which lying provocateurs like wwallace count as a victory.


  90. big papa says:

    Maybe someone should direct Michelle Malkin to the “stormfront.org” website so she can commiserate with her red state repuglican brothers and sisters. I’m sure she’d feel quite at home…heheheh!


  91. big papa says:

    “The President got support today from an unusual quarter: Democrat Jane Harman, a key figure on the House Intelligence Committee. ‘I believe the program is essential to U.S. national security,’ she said in a statement, ‘and that disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities.’”

    Comment by richb

    richb #82

    Harman is an Israel-first-Lieberman-AIPAC disciple. She probably has a retirement home in one of the settlements.


  92. mighty aphrodite says:

    BIGDaddy – For some reason you remind me of another anti-Semite mental dwarf….you must be related to RyANNe!!! When in doubt, wrap yourself in Americanism and flush our ally in the Middle East.

    “…and to all a Good Night!!!”


  93. Joefriday says:

    smighty aphrolite–the only thing that needs to be flushed is your moronic and debase need for flaguration. Happy what ever to you.


  94. ash says:

    Ah, poor thing’s just jealous she’ll never out-Coulter Coulter. That’s because she’s a faux prude.


  95. turk fowler says:

    Lefties are turning the corner on killing the Democratic party…only problem is they’re going to get us killed, too. Blog on M A!


  96. big papa says:

    Why is it that whenever someone points out the fact that there is an evil element in the Jewish government the person making that observation is an anti-Semite. There are bad Jews and good Jews, bad Whites and good Whites, bad Blacks and good Blacks etc,etc,etc….


  97. Lee says:

    This blog is a joke.


  98. bobworth says:

    She’s just A Dumb idiot American Philipino, a real bozo.


  99. Bush Information Blog » Blog Archive » Article from Think Progress - Malkin Doesn?t Understand How Congress Works says:

    [...] Blog Name: Think Progress Article Title: Malkin Doesn?t Understand How Congress Works Right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin today criticized columnist George Will, suggesting he lives in “pre-September 11 America,” because Will argued that Congress would likely have authorized President Bush’s spying program if the Whi… [...]



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