Specter announces hearings on NSA program.
By on May 11th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Specter announces hearings on NSA program.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has announced he would “call executives from the telephone companies to testify before Congress about the relationship with the NSA and what sort of data was provided.” Meanwhile, leading networks analyst Valdis Krebs called the program “a waste of time, a waste of resources. And it lets the real terrorists run free.”
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GOP Mantra 2000-2005: “Bush can do no wrong. He is our fearless leader. Whatever he does is perfect.”
GOP Mantra 2006: “Oh, crap. Bush is an albatross. We must look like we can have independent thought.”
May 11th, 2006 at 3:21 pmSpecter is a Bush stooge, so I doubt he will do any real hearings on NSA spying! Remember he told Alberto Gonzales that he could testify without being sworn in!
May 11th, 2006 at 3:22 pmRead Hayden’s statement to the Congressional intel committees in October of 2002 – it was focused on the lack of action based upon NSA’s pre-9/11 intel, but is pretty damning in the context of the NSA’s data mining allegations and Bush’s statement today…
http://www.nsa.gov/releases/relea00072.html
Basically, Hayden says he has engaged with corporate executives to start massive data mining for intel purposes, and that we need to re-think this whole balance between liberty and security.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:22 pmWith any luck the press will cover this and show it for what it is, a further consolidation of power by the Bush Administration. This program and the other recently exposed NSA programs are part of a plan to give Bush more and more authority and power. It must be exposed and stopped.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:22 pmI agree Jay, this is all for show, pretend to reveal something with one hand while covering it up with the other.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:23 pmWe need to promote more of this doomestic spying. Pretty soon, W will have goverment so busy gathering information that it won’t have the time to screw things up.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:24 pmAnd George Bush and Alberto Gonzales laugh in Specters face…
How bout putting them him oath this time Arlen??
What good are hearings if Gonzales continually pulls the “Due to the top secret nature of this program, I cannot disclose the information you are requesting” card
And anothert thing Arlen, didnt the DOJ just today give up an investigation into NSA Investigation #1 because they could not be granted clearances to investigate?
antoher whitewash invesitgation….
May 11th, 2006 at 3:24 pmOh, who the hell CARES what Specter SAYS?
Tell us when he actually DOES something.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:29 pmIs Specter going to take balls out of the jar of formaldyhyde that he keeps in his bottom desk drawer?
He is a toothless mook and should have been shamed out of office a decade ago.
-GSD
May 11th, 2006 at 3:31 pmTestify? Like the Big Oil execs “testified?” Put the weasels under oath this time, Arlie.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:31 pmArlen Specter would no more put his country before party than Pat Roberts or any other Republican would. No one will be forced to testify under oath. There will be no subpoenas. There won’t even be questions tougher than “Do you promise this is all ok?” In sum, there will be no conscience. I have no idea why Specter is rattling his sabre–he’s not up for reelection–but these “hearings” will have be empty, gummy affairs.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:32 pmMeanwhile, leading networks analyst Valdis Krebs called the program “a waste of time, a waste of resources. And it lets the real terrorists run free.†But hey! It’s one heck of a market research program for …. Big Karl! Wait till Big Karl gets the results! There’ll be no stopping them at the polls! Right? ….. Right?
May 11th, 2006 at 3:33 pmNSA thinks the way you find a needle in a haystack is to add more hay.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:33 pmLet’s just see if they put them under oath. If they don’t it will just be for show.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:34 pmWhat more would we expect from an outfit that is literally testing US sewage to see if it contains traces of drugs.
I kid you not: Stand up for Liberty: Piss in Your Yard
…According to the Washington Post, Fairfax County, Va. has “agreed to participate in a White House pilot program to analyze wastewater from communities throughout the Potomac River Basin for the urinary byproducts of cocaine.â€
In confirming the story, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly noted, “it’s a very strange request.†Apparently he is not acquainted with the Bush Administration.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:36 pmSpecter. All gas no shit.
Having said that. What are democrats doing?
May 11th, 2006 at 3:38 pmtoday’s nyt has a story of note:
i would suggest that if the justice department has been stone-walled, that the good senator from pennsylvania, even if he were very aggressive about it, would similarly fail….
these phone company executives are going to claim the fifth amendment, if they have any sense. it is almost certain that they signed an agreement that if they disclose the elements of the agreement to ANYONE without nazi approval, that the nazi’s will prosecute them for something much more serious than the good senator can come up with…
NO ONE will know the details, unless the supreme court does something about it… good luck with that one…
May 11th, 2006 at 3:39 pmSpecter ain’t gonna save you.
Leahy ain’t gonna save you.
Harman ain’t gonna save you.
Don’t ever forget Specter gave Gonzales a free ride. Don’t ever forget it!
May 11th, 2006 at 3:44 pmThe democrats (with the exception of one or two) are busy acting like the republicans. Only slightly less so.
It’d be cool to have a real opposition party in this country, wouldn’t it?
May 11th, 2006 at 3:53 pmHaving said that. What are democrats doing?
Comment by RacingTowardsTheStoneAge
quite a few Dems have spoken out, but the “liberal media” never seems to air anyone unless they are spouting right wing talking points.
They don’t run any commities, don’t have the votes to push anything through past the republican coverup commity heads. What do you expect them to do?
May 11th, 2006 at 4:00 pm#20~
May 11th, 2006 at 4:10 pmWayne: I expect them to get as clever as these Nazis! One example would have been to walk out on the State of the Union Address. Another no brainer would have been to vote against recent Fed. funding that amounts deficet spending. There’s a hundred examples of how they could “get real”. Use your imagination son.
so, has someone started the pool for when Specter caves? I’d like to put my marker on Sunday.
May 11th, 2006 at 4:14 pmThe Democrats need to get up and walk out of Congress and the Senate. They need to very publically, in a united manner, get up and walk out. They need to plan it, and have the press there when they do it, they need to say precisely why they are doing it, and most importantly, they all need to do it.
And here is the reason they need to give when they do it “We are no longer willing to be a party to the criminally corrupt government it has been our distinct displeasure to serve. We are no longer willing to play party to the repeated criminal acts of George W Bush, we are no longer willing to wield the rubber stamp to the corrupt Republican Congress, and we are no longer willing to serve in the corrupt senate.
“We are sick of being blamed for every screw up caused by the Republicans while they have been in office, when we were generally the ones who told them that their policies were inevitably going to be major screw-ups. We are no longer willing to be civil, with those whose chief counter arguments against us, are calling us names and lying.
“This administration has doubled America’s debt, whereas Clinton did much to alleviate it. This administration took us into a war based on lies, and yet still sees fit to play the holy martyr over Clinton lying about a blow-job. We are sick to death of having the press, that is you dickwads, treating the current administration like it is some sort of holiest of administrations, when you know damn well what lies have been told.
“We will no longer play party to the Republicans policies of corruption, fraud and outright treason. When Bush told the world that terrorists hate us for our freedoms, we never thought for one minute he meant that meant we must get rid of those freedoms. As it turns out, with his repeated use of domestic wire-tapping, his extensive employment of worthless cronies in positions of power, and even down to his secratary of Housing and Urban Development’s stated policy of refusing non-Bush supporters contracts has shown that that is precisely what he intended to do about the situation.
“We will run again in the next elections, and if enough of us are elected we will vote to impeach the president, and hold criminally liable, as well as any other member of government, whatever they may belong to, who is shown to have broken the law. We will tighten up lobbying controls, and we will strive to undo the damage done by our negligence, and the Republicans’ malice. We appologise to the American people for those times when our members bent, but we promise, never, ever, again.”
What? A boy can dream can’t he?
May 11th, 2006 at 4:28 pm#23 – Oh Bruce, you’re good, I’m all tingly. I wish, I wish…
May 11th, 2006 at 4:36 pmIts much safer pulling in CEO’s from the private sector and grilling them for info. than it is pulling in Administration members and pretending to grill them.
May 11th, 2006 at 4:37 pmUse your imagination son.
Comment by beavercleaver
My imagination involves masses of “We The People” going to Washington and dragging all these f*ckwads out for a nice afternoon hanging, then setting up a new election. Don’t believe that will happen soon LOL
May 11th, 2006 at 4:37 pm#23
May 11th, 2006 at 4:39 pmVery cool post
#26 – You’re gonna get deleted. Just sayin’
May 11th, 2006 at 4:48 pmbruce – great idea #23 – narrow that down to 2 paragraphs max, to match the attention span of the “average american” and you might have something… hell, you don’t need much more than that first paragraph…
on the other hand, if the dems walk out the repugs would love it, just go right on with the business they want…
i wish i could make it understood that the dems have NO POWER to do anything… just like wayne said… let’s get them elected to congress, to get subpoena power and go from there…
May 11th, 2006 at 4:50 pmconcentrate on this november…
#28
was not a post calling for violence, was a /snark =)
May 11th, 2006 at 4:52 pmIt’s disturbing to watch this unfold and witness the Democrats do little. I know from attending a few Dem meetings that they have the appearance of gearing up. However, I also know from more than 26 years experience that they too, are tainted with having a “Nazi” (as mentioned above) movement within their own membership.
Recently, I decided to join them hoping to help, however the party that I’m part of now needs to know that I’m not going to sit by with what I know and let them continue! I know way too much and am not afraid to voice my feelings along with releasing important detail to the Public. They need to accept reality and take a good hard look INSIDE, then clean themsleves up using an aggresive, with muscle, sweep of the hand. I’m sure they will try to do it nicely at first but when that passes, that’s when they need to get tough on themselves. It’s estimated that out of every 10 involved, 7 are Republicans and 3 are Democrats. So the Dems had better get started!
When they are cleaned up, that’s when I’ll be proud to be with them, but not until!
May 11th, 2006 at 4:56 pm#30 – Jane & Wayne got deleted a while back and they were totally joking. ;)
May 11th, 2006 at 5:16 pm…According to the Washington Post, Fairfax County, Va. has “agreed to participate in a White House pilot program to analyze wastewater from communities throughout the Potomac River Basin for the urinary byproducts of cocaine.â€
Comment by The Muse
What’s the problem? Does W need a new dealer?
May 11th, 2006 at 5:21 pm#23 Good one, Bruce. I like that idea.
I heard Jerry Springer say something the other day that made sense (on the radio, not the TV). He said that we should stop talking about impeachment and start talking about holding the Republican Party accountable.
I think he’s got a point there. It’s sad to think it, but I think the Republicans are glad that the whole impeachment thing with President Clilton went over so badly with the public. Now the talking heads are saying that people don’t want to go through another impeachment. Of course, if the Republicans had any merit to what they were trying to do to him, the public might not feel so strongly against impeachment. But since they trivialized the whole concept, nobody wants to hear about impeachments again, even though this president has done everything he can think of (short of personally executing someone on TV) to deserve impeachment. Actually he deserves worse. He deserves to be impeached, removed from office, and tried in international court for his crimes against humanity (where I doubt he can win.)
May 11th, 2006 at 5:37 pmUnless Sen. Arlen Specter actually developes a Back Bone, This will be just more of his Pandering to the public.
Think he’d actually swear witnesses this time around?
May 11th, 2006 at 5:54 pm#23
perfect! very well said…
new bumper sticker: #23 in 2006
May 11th, 2006 at 5:59 pmYeh right we have been hearing this clap trap for a long time, the Frozen Scandals continue, and will likely end in Presidential Medals.
May 11th, 2006 at 6:04 pmTHE ONLY WAY TO END THIS CRIMINAL FASCIST ENTERPRISE IS TO BECOME A REVOLUTIONARY AND OVERTHROW THESE CORRUPT NEO-NAZI BASTARDS.
May 11th, 2006 at 6:30 pmWill they be sworn in before testifiying?
We need to bombard Arlan with phone calls and emails telling him to return to the party that he once belonged to, the Democrats. First Arlan was a Democrat, then he became a Republican. You would think that a visit by Cancer would scare him enough to confront these nazis.
May 11th, 2006 at 7:15 pmWhen the name is Bush and the grandfather was Prescott Bush, what the hell did the Americans that voted for this nazi expect?
May 11th, 2006 at 7:23 pmI have no idea why Specter is rattling his sabre–he’s not up for reelection–but these “hearings†will have be empty, gummy affairs.
Comment by chisholm #11
chisholm,
there are hearts and minds to be won in November…
…and I don’t mean Iraqis…
May 12th, 2006 at 12:51 pm“We are sick of being blamed for every screw up caused by the Republicans while they have been in office, when we were generally the ones who told them that their policies were inevitably going to be major screw-ups.
Comment by Bruce Gorton #23
Bruce,
If only they could…
…but they can’t, and they won’t…
Nancy Pelosi made every Democrat on Capitol Hill look like a freakin’ idiot the other day when…
…a microphone was shoved into her face and she said:
“Yes, I knew about the (NSA) program but not everything”…
…so naturally pundits and propagandists from the criminal Bushite junta’s MSM propaganda unit…
…are beating to death the talking point: “The appropriate parties in the Congress were briefed about the existence of the program”…
…another little tidbit floating out of Pelosi’s office yesterday was a press release in which Pelosi was reported as saying:
“Should the Democrats take back control of the House and Senate, we will NOT seek to impeach President Bush”…
…words to that effect…
…Dems are NOT speaking coherently, cooperatively, or convincingly…
…and I have NO idea why…
May 12th, 2006 at 1:03 pm