Spending on classified programs at ‘record levels.’
By on Aug 2nd, 2007 at 10:25 am
Spending on classified programs at ‘record levels.’
The government’s “black budget” — which covers classified programs — “is expected to be around $31.9 billion next year, roughly on par with spending from the past two years,” according to a new analysis. The budget also includes the CIA’s black prison sites and the National Security Agency’s Terrorist Surveillance Program.
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Why are we paying for this?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:28 amWe need more money, but we can’t tell you why, because we don’t trust you (and it would expose our criminality). Give it to us.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:29 amRove refuses to testify on role in prosecutor firings
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:31 amWhite House senior adviser Karl Rove has rebuked a Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena and will not appear Thursday to testify about his role in the firing of nine US Attorneys, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said late Wednesday.
32 Billion is outrageous. And that’s not all secret shit, like NSA, CIA, yadda, yadda, that’s just the secret – secret shit.
Folks, we gotta take the power back!
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 am“It is a shame that this White House continues to act as if it is above the law. That is wrong,” Leahy said.
Continuing — “But we’re going to keep on letting this type of thing go on until GWB’s clock runs out, don’t worry,” Leahy said
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 amSorry, #5 is in reference to Squeegy’s article at #3. :}
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:37 amWhat? You think Total Information Awareness comes cheap?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:40 amNINETEEN EIGHTY FOUR!
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:42 amAs citizens, we allow our government to keep secrets from us. During the run-up to this disastrous war, the Bush Administration repeatedly lied to us about the contents of this information. This constitutes a completely unacceptable violation of public trust which must be utterly repudiated and severly punished. In no way should we be providing the same people with a completely unaccountable $31.9 Billion dollar slush fund.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:46 amWhy are we paying for this?
Comment by Skinflint — August 2, 2007 @ 10:28 am
There’s a perfectly good reason, but it’s classified.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:47 amDo Congressmen see any of spending receipts..!!
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:48 amIs this what Bush meant by bringing honor and integrity back into the White House?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:50 amIt would be interesting to see what percentage of Federal Spending went into secret projects during, say, the FDR years, the Truman administration, or during the JFK/LBJ era.
It would be a much greater percentage, I suspect.
Frankly, those of you who appear to think every national security program, every military plan, and every black op needs to have it’s details spelled out on the front page of the New York Times, are very naive indeed.
Oh, but the New York Times had no problem with the secrecy surrounding the publishing of the newest Harry Potter book. They even chose to help maintain that secrecy by not telling what they knew.
Pretty warped ideals.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:52 amDo you think Bush has $31.9 billion in stuffed in his freezer?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:52 am‘That “black budget,” as it’s known, covers the expenses for agencies like the CIA, the eavesdropping National Security Agency (NSA), the satellite-making National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the Defense Intelligence Agency.’
I don’t see why satellite-making should be secret. Everyone knows that the U.S. has tons of satellites up there – why is that a “black” project?
Between executive privilege, black projects & missing money there really doesn’t seem to be any accountability these days. One gets the impression that money is flowing like a river out of the treasury.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:52 amFrankly, those of you who appear to think every national security program, every military plan, and every black op needs to have it’s details spelled out on the front page of the New York Times, are very naive indeed.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — August 2, 2007 @ 10:52 am
I don’t want to see every covert operation published in the Times. Just the ones that illegally violate civil rights and international law.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 amWow — $31.9 billion. Wonder how many bunkers for our shadow president that’s buying?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:55 amBlack budgets, more forms of executive privilege than ever known or utilized… I just hope we don’t end up with Bush staying on and some kind of crowning ceremony instead of the normal swearing in a year and a half from now…
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 amDo you think Bush has $31.9 billion in stuffed in his freezer?
Comment by dim wit — August 2, 2007 @ 10:52 am
Heavens no. It’s more likely to be in Cheney’s man-sized safe.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:59 amAnd then there’s the spending they can’t tell us about, cause, see the program is so super secret that they’d have to kill us if we knew about the spending on it…
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:59 amSpending on classified programs at ‘record levels.’
Good!
Today all the idiots are trying to expose our National secrets. We need to take precautions to protect the Motherland.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:01 amomfg, Bush just made a statement about the bridge victims then launched into an attack on Democrats. Mr. sensitivity, using a tragedy for political purposes.
I hate that guy. You hear that, TSP? I HATE HIM!
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:01 amToasterhead
I don’t want to see every covert operation published in the Times. Just the ones that illegally violate civil rights and international law.
Isn’t that why they are covert to begin with?
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:02 am“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.”
PATRICK HENRY
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:03 am#13,
The Harry Potter series have not proven to be virulently anti-American and arrogantly interested in the demise of our system of jurisprudence and costitution, d*ckhead
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:04 amToday all the idiots are trying to expose our National secrets. We need to take precautions to protect the Motherland.
Comment by Gorgias — August 2, 2007 @ 11:01 am
Where, Germany?
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 amFor Heaven’s sake… why is this a surprise. Can’t you just look around and see what has happened to this country in the past seven years. It’s right on schedule…and the full takeover is not far off.
For a really important overview of the downfall of the US in these few years: Coming of Age in Bush’s America!
http://tvnewslies.org/blog/?p=651
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 amThere’s a perfectly good reason, but it’s classified.
Comment by toasterhead
And the non-so perfect good reasons are under Exec Privilege.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 amWe need to take precautions to protect the Motherland.
Comment by Gorgias
Motherland? I thought it was the HOMEland. No wait….Fatherland?
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 amAw hell, I’m confused. Can we come to some sort of agreement on this? How’s about just calling it AmericaLand?
Please Candyce, don’t hold back your feelings, let us know how you really feel…
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 amJust the ones that illegally violate civil rights and international law.
Comment by toasterhead
There is not enough ink.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:08 amWe need to take precautions to protect the Motherland.
Comment by Gorgias
Motherland? Fatherland? Homeland? It all sounds fascist to me! What the hell is happening to this country that people casually throw words like “Motherland” and “Homeland” around?
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:08 amHow’s about just calling it AmericaLand?
Comment by SGT Higgins — August 2, 2007 @ 11:07 am
—
Oh yeah… the people haven’t been told yet…
Sorry folks! I meant to say “Homeland”… honest mistake.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:09 amToday all the idiots are trying to expose our National secrets. We need to take precautions to protect the Motherland.
Comment by Gorgias — August 2, 2007 @ 11:01 am
Also – we might think about starting by fixing our infrastructure. Exploding steam pipes, collapsing bridges, and catastrophic power failures seem to me a much greater threat to the Motherland right now than anything else.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:10 amWe need to take precautions to protect the Motherland.
Comment by Gorgias
Priviet, tobarish Gorgias.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:11 amThe only thing that should be called The Motherland is good ol’ Planet Earth!
And Candyce – I concur.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:16 amTry: America.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:17 am“The Harry Potter series have not proven to be virulently anti-American and arrogantly interested in the demise of our system of jurisprudence and costitution, d*ckhead
Comment by Teaxs Democrat — August 2, 2007 @ 11:04 am”
Well, it does seem to promote incoherent thought, and rampant poor spelling….were you attempting to spell Texas phonetically? I make my occasional spelling error, but puh-lease!
“For Heaven’s sake… why is this a surprise. Can’t you just look around and see what has happened to this country in the past seven years. It’s right on schedule…and the full takeover is not far off.
For a really important overview of the downfall of the US in these few years: Coming of Age in Bush’s America!
http://tvnewslies.org/blog/?p=651
Comment by Reg — August 2, 2007 @ 11:06 am”
Where have you been, Reg? Folks have predicting the downfall of the United States since the U.S. civil war. In modern times, conspiracy theorists say it happened during the Eisenhower admininistration.
All this recent panic about some sort of “threat” to our Constitution and the American way of life is merely more of the same. It’s all been heard before. Old news, folks.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:17 amSorry for the outburst. But I just don’t know how much longer I can tolerate that slack-jawed, baboon-assed, emotionally retarded, illiterate, uneducated, dry drunk, traitorous, hanging-on-his-mama’s-enabling-tit, murderous, stupid, fake cowboy, presidential pretender.
They haven’t even found all the bodies yet, and he’s blaming the Democrats for not passing the appropriations bills that could build a new bridge.
BECAUSE the GOP is BLOCKING everything and HE is VETOING everything.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:20 amOld news, folks.
Comment by O. Bigfoot
Like habeas corpus.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:28 amSeig Heil GorgedAss!
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:46 amDoes that include the Rape Rooms? Also, is the Blackwater Missionary crusade part of that budget or is it excluded as it is a private sector, for-profit church?
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:50 amrighty politicians have never enjoyed a simpler, easier means of funnelling train-loads of cash to their frat-buddies from college. no receipts, no reports, just fat checks for any of my bro’s who have the word “security” in their company name.
talk about yer welfare queens!
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:54 amIs this what Bush meant by bringing honor and integrity back into the White House?
Comment by hellinabucket
_______________________
“Honor” = code name for secret program “HOmeland NOw Republican”
“Integrity” = code name for secret program “INTElligence Gathering for Republican Interests, Tactics, and Yearnings”
SHHH Don’t tell anyone!
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:56 amU(napologetic) S(yndicated) A(ssholes)
USA! USA!….
wretch
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:57 amgag
is anyone else a bit worried about the things
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:00 pmbushco is scrambling to do under cover of a
catastrophic bridge collapse?
…
so let’s see…we are to continue to pay for BILLIONS in SECRET, ILLEGAL programs, but we can’t scrape a few billion together to ensure kids in America can be insured?
This has got to stop, we could have paid for Health Care for ALL Americans in a few months instead of paying for an illegal war and a shadow military, revamp our infrastructure NATIONWIDE in a few more months using those billions AND had the added benefit of NOT INCREASING THE THREAT OF TERRORISM and made our country more secure and not broken our military in the meantime.
This cabal and their traitorous supporters have got to be stopped, indicted and imprisoned.
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:06 pmWhat a sickening bunch of wannabe Nazis, using words like Homeland and Czar is a big tipoff as to what they have planned.
Facist, immoral thugs one and all. Worse yet, they are incompetent and their supporters are dumb as a box of rocks unable to think for themselves. Bunch a racist lemmings.
#38,
That’s your comeback, a typo?
Pathetic, but pretty typical
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:22 pmIt would be a much greater percentage, I suspect.
Frankly, those of you who appear to think every national security program, every military plan, and every black op needs to have it’s details spelled out on the front page of the New York Times, are very naive indeed.
Oh, but the New York Times had no problem with the secrecy surrounding the publishing of the newest Harry Potter book. They even chose to help maintain that secrecy by not telling what they knew.
Pretty warped ideals.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — August 2, 2007 @ 10:52 am
hands down, this is the stupidest comment I’ve this morning.
“It would be a much greater percentage, I suspect.” SUSPECT all you want, you idiot. This is pure conjecture and therefore means nothing.
And as far as comparing Bushco’s utter refusal to allow ANY oversight of its behavior by the rest of toe gov to book-publsihing, that’s so F-ing dumb, it’s astonshing.
TOO F-ING STUPID TO BELIEVE!!!
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:32 pmAll this recent panic about some sort of “threat†to our Constitution and the American way of life is merely more of the same. It’s all been heard before. Old news, folks.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — August 2, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Out to make the Guineess Book of Records for pure, unadlultered stupdity this morning, huh?
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:34 pmSorry folks! I meant to say “Homelandâ€â€¦ honest mistake.
Comment by Gorgias — August 2, 2007 @ 11:09 am
Nah… you gave away FAR more than you realize there…
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:36 pmAmericans have done nothing while the Bush Administration has stolen from the US Treasury and when Bush is out of office we will see the sticker shock of our debt. Yes it is in the Trillions of dollars. We have given the Middle East, CIA torture, bribes, paid for the murders that were committed, pay offs to countries to join the illegal invasion of Iraq, Israel, pocket money for inter circle friends and so much more. We will see if Bush last his full two terms that our debt is 7 Trillion dollars. Now who’s going to cover the lost of that stolen money you might ask.
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:37 pmThe American people will see their taxes go up to cover the money stolen by the Bush Administration. Who do be blame for it OURSELVES. Next Iraq will change that the US pay for the damage done to their country yes and war crimes and other secret crimes the Bush Administration has done. Americans set back and let the thief rob us without saying a word to stop him.
Americans set back and let the thief rob us without saying a word to stop him.
Comment by Jackie — August 2, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
Apparently not all Americans are just sitting back Jackie! (That’s assuming you’re American I suppose.)
Keep up the good work! Is that your comment I saw on the ABC blog link?
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:49 pmOut to make the Guineess Book of Records for pure, unadlultered stupdity this morning, huh?
Yes, it seems you are doing just that.
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:51 pmYes, it seems you are doing just that.
Comment by Bappin’ It — August 2, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Excuse me. Sometimes the absolute stupidity of Bigfoot’s comments is so astonishing I lose a little focus. Go back to bappin’ whatever you bap and just make sure it doesn’t involve underage pages, okay?
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:56 pmAll this recent panic about some sort of “threat†to our Constitution and the American way of life is merely more of the same. It’s all been heard before. Old news, folks.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — August 2, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Is this anything like the “threat” to heterosexual unions, Christmas, the terrorists following us home, “traditional values”, or any of that bs?
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:58 pmWhy are we paying for this?
Because it keeps you and your loved ones safe.
Why do you think even Dems are scrambling now to expand and revise FISA? They’ve been shown evidence that we need to give up some of our pre-9/11 freedoms in order to remain safe.
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:54 pmIf you don’t think having this administration pollute the Justice Dept. and put a pinnochio puppet in the highest legal position in the land you clrealy have not read our Constitution nor can you comprehend it.
Hitler had his diehard defenders too, nice company you creeps keep. Supporting Bush and his cabal is no different than being a Nazi sympathizer you pathetic losers.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:19 pm#53
I am the Mother of an active Military soldier serving all Americans in Iraq. I get emails from Iraq from the soldiers and my daughter sometimes pictures. Yes I am an American and so is my daughter. The horrors I’ve heard and seen from the troops aren’t all in the news. Three years ago a soldier from my daughters unit was in Walter Reed and I was told about the conditions. Yes most Americans didn’t know but I wrote my elected officials about it. Many years later it was breaking news. There will be more breaking news that about 2 to 3 years old to the Military Families.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:43 pmWhen Americans listen to the news given by the White House it’s not that bad but getting it first hand is a shock. I understand that Americans who don’t have love ones in the Military just look at this as news but for us that do it’s life or death.
When Americans pull together nothing can stop us but when we don’t well we are seeing the results of that now. Only the American people can stop the chaos and corruption by the Bush Administration when that happen our troops will come home and we can start rebuilding America.
It was a surprise question for you to ask if I’m an American I emailed my comment and your response to my daughter. She got orders that she had to stay as she was to get out of the military but Bush changed the rules and extended the tour.
Jackie – I sure hope you didn’t take my post wrong! I’ve always appreciated your passion and your direct posts. No pussy-footing with you! Now I understand where you’re coming from a bit more. I feel for you and your daughter.
The only reason that I wasn’t sure that you were American was because you said that “Americans set back and let the thief rob us without saying a word to stop him” whereas YOU are obviously NOT just ’setting back’.
I hope your daughter gets out soon and I hope you keep writing your posts and letters! And I hope that Americans do begin to pull together and start heading in a new direction. I fear that the odds are stacked against those of us who worry about the current direction we’re headed. Even Obama now feels that he has to get all war-like! I don’t think that threatening other countries is the way to go.
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:18 pmNice.
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:13 pmWe are paying nearly $32 billion for secrets held from us.
#39 Candyce
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:20 pmCouldn’t have said it better myself.
I hate the man, his family and all he stands for. He has ruined my beloved country. He is responsible for countless deaths in his illegal war, he couldn’t care less about deaths of American citizens due to hurricanes, floods or broken bridges. He promises everything, gives nothing. He lies. He ignores the law. He is a despicable human being. I hate him. Impeachment is too good for him. Everything short of life imprisonment is too good for him.
Nixon had his CREEP (Campaign to Reelect the President) “slush fund,” while the Bush administration, the most corrupt administration in American history, has the intelligence “black budget” “slush fund.”
Does anyone at all have a clue what illegal, criminal and unethical things the Bush administration has been doing with this secretive, hidden taxpayer money controlled by the neo-con wingnuts, that apparently very few members of Congress, if any, have any knowledge about?
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:42 pmAmericans will be standing on ‘bread and water lines’ before this corruption is uncovered.
Our treasury is drained. When the truth comes out about this administration’s “real numbers” and our real national debt you will see that we are screwed beyond imagination.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:55 pmDixie, I hope you are wrong, but I fear you are not.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:09 pmblackwater etc.=republican death squads. will bush do the false flag option
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 pmin order to get his fisa plan passed?
I got an idea! Let’s give terrorists the information on our surveillance methods, and then see how effective those methods are!
Only in liberal lala land is increasing SCHIP funding by $5m bad while holding essential national security budgets constant good…..
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:27 pmThis has got to stop, we could have paid for Health Care for ALL Americans in a few months instead of paying for an illegal war and a shadow military,
Who told you this nonsense?
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:31 pmThe NRO, STRATCOM, secret government, neocons and all the rest of the crap-folks are inexorably moving us right into WW IV – all for their grandiose plan for global hegemony (including, probably, WW IV) – China, Russia and India are obviously aware of the threat – should you have been monitoring international news (vs MSM tripe).
M12 who appears to believe there is some sort of ‘war on terra’ …. However, there is only a war on the American people (excluding the perpetrated by the elites et. al. Remember, al-CIA-duh was created by us…. it means ‘the base’ or ‘the toilet’ in Persian. We even used them in the Balkans’ war. Further, 9/11 was a psyop. A pretence for multiple laws that have removed all consitutional protections. A pretence for illegal wars, a pretence for the militarization of the U.S., more encompassing media control, corporate control, economic catastrophe imminent and dissolution of the United States as a soveriegn country into the NAU….and the list goes on, unfortunately. If any don’t ‘get’ this, well….. I’m not sorry for you. and it will not change what awaits you.
Fortunately, because he is -probably- not a mockingbird, M12 is likely to suffer perhaps more than the rest of us as incroaching fascism boils him longer in the end than the rest of us. But we shall all be boiled. Piece by piece.
And views entranced and entrenched in the government’s meme only make that more likely.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:25 pm