Civil liberties oversight board goes dark as White House rejects nomination of progressive advocate.
Civil liberties oversight board goes dark as White House rejects nomination of progressive advocate.
Since January, the U.S. civil liberties oversight board — meant to monitor the government’s impact on American’s privacy and civil liberties — has been shuttered with the expiration of the five members’ terms. Unfortunately, the White House is now blocking the board’s progress by refusing to accept the nomination of progressive civil liberties expert and Center for American Progress senior fellow Morton Halperin:
Without any public announcement, the White House recently sent a letter to Capitol Hill stating it would nominate only one of two names recommended by congressional leaders to sit on the five-member civil liberties panel. The candidate whose name it would not forward: Morton Halperin, a veteran and sometimes controversial civil liberties advocate who has a famous role in the history of modern debates over government wiretapping. While serving on the National Security Council during the early days of the Nixon administration, Halperin’s phone was secretly wiretapped by the FBI because his then boss, Henry Kissinger, suspected he was leaking to the press.
The White House has refused to give any reason for Halperin’s rejection. However, as Newsweek notes, this development means there is “a decreasing chance” of the board “ever actually meeting, much less doing anything, for the rest of the year.”
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Civil rights?? We don’t need no steenking civil rights!! This is AMERIKKA!!!
July 9th, 2008 at 3:48 pmHonestly, at this point who really gives a fck?
Bush and the Boyz are doing whatever the hell they please, shit on the constitution, torture, rendition, spy on citizens, politicize the whole fcking shithole of government and the pussy Democrats don’t have the balls to even try to defend our country.
Fck them all in the ass.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:50 pmThey could have nominated Jesus Christ for the position and Chimpy would have found a way to blow up the board. There is no way Bush and his pack of criminals would ever allow this board to convene. Civil liberties are so pre-9/11 after all.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:51 pmWiretapping? We don’t do no stinking illegal wiretapping.
– and we sure as heck aren’t gonna allow a Civil Rights Activist on a civil liberties board… especially one that was wiretapped in an administration that we have based our whole administration on… Nixon’s.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:54 pmAfter today’s FISA vote, what’s the point? In fact, we should have a thinning of the rest of those pesky civil rights. Let’s start with the 2nd Amendment. I don’t want no activist Supreme Court telling me I have a right to a gun, especially, since statistics show that possession of one increase the likelihood of my own death. Does my government want me dead?
Thanks to the corpo’s we don’t have the 1st Amendment to worry about no more.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pmSoooo, where is the Congress on this threatening to castigate Bush with hearings if he doesn’t abide by the law? Civil liberties seem to take a backseat for the Dems as well.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pmMay Bush, Cheney and all their enablers suffer the same fate as Mussolini. (Human piñatas.)
July 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pmThere are NO CIVIL RIGHTS in a fascist-pig police state under Martial Law(after the self-appointed “Decider” invokes it).
July 9th, 2008 at 4:07 pmCivil liberties oversight board goes dark as White House rejects nomination of progressive advocate.
Face it, the United States went dark when Impeachment was taken off the table, torture was rubberstamped by Bush enablers, and the 4th Amendment was shat upon. We are no longer a country “For and By the People”. We are now ruled by the Dark Side.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pmThat’s OK, it only needs to be vacant for another 6 months.
A bigger problem for this country is the death of Democracy.
July 9, 2008, the day the United States of America died and the United Corporations of America was formally accepted.
RIP USA
July 9th, 2008 at 4:12 pmI don’t know why but I can’t get the song American Pie out of my head. I keep singing it, “the day that liberty died” instead of “the day the music died”.
RIP USA.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:14 pmThe White House has refused to give any reason for Halperin’s rejection. However, as Newsweek notes, this development means there is “a decreasing chance” of the board “ever actually meeting, much less doing anything, for the rest of the year.”
What difference does it make. Our media is in the toilet, and no one (except for the internets) is monitoring the administration, congress, or our judicial branch of government anyway. Our only hope is when Jan. 9 2009 finally gets here, and that’s even iffy!
July 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pmWayne sez “Face it, the United States went dark when Impeachment was taken off the table, torture was rubberstamped by Bush enablers, and…”
The darkness started earlier. Remember the coup by activist judges back in 2000?
July 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
I don’t know why but I can’t get the song American Pie out of my head. I keep singing it, “the day that liberty died” instead of “the day the music died”.
Same here. I kept going to that song every time I picked up my guitar today. My version said “The day America died”.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pmnanlichi Says
Honestly, at this point who really gives a fck?
They dont. I do. So, I’ll keep fighting. Care to join me?
July 9th, 2008 at 4:22 pmThat goes to everyone whose boiling over the fisa vote. Take a few minutes, hours, no more than 48 to be angry? Then, get up, sober up, dry your eyes, fill the holes you put in your wall and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Ooops, Jan. 20 2009 ~ Getting my todays and tomorrows mixed up, and tomorrow can’t get here quick enough!
July 9th, 2008 at 4:24 pmWhat an embarrassment. We continue to send signals to the rest of the world that we, as a people, have lost control of our government, and that we are willing to sacrifice the basic freedoms and rights that so many fought and died for because we have let ourselves become afraid.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:27 pmWe are now, without a question a fascist regime. The Democrats have no balls and to not represent us. It is time to form a 3rd party,one with leadership that has read the Constitution and respects it.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:30 pmWe are no longer America. What happened in the Senate today just turned the lights out.
I am more than outraged!
kungtruth,
Which windmill should we go after first?
It’s been a bad day, a bad year, a horrible 7-1/2 years under the worst excuse of a leader ever. I plan to hang in there and fight for another 4 months but if enough of the citizens of this country vote as they have the last two elections, I am done. It’s depressing as hell to think that this election will even be close, that there are enough voters out there who would vote for a continuation of the darkest stain in American history.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:31 pmLink
July 9th, 2008 at 4:37 pmFascists & Felons Now Rule America
July 9th, 2008 at 4:49 pmnanlichi Says:
——————————————————————————–
kungtruth,
Which windmill should we go after first?
Don’t know. I’m too distracted by emotion to answer right now. All I can say is that I am not giving up.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:54 pmZimzone;
Fascist felons now rule Amerika.
There, I fixed it for you.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:03 pmNO Bush administration appointees should be confirmed…THEY all know how to charm the gullible Democrats into voting for them, and then they refuse to do their jobs…No appointees period…They have lied one by one and this administration needs to pay sometime…
July 9th, 2008 at 5:37 pm…there is “a decreasing chance” of the board “ever actually meeting, much less doing anything, for the rest of the year.”
Or at least until November 5th.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:43 pmSeriously… who cares about a Civil Liberties oversight board when there are no more Civil Liberties to oversee?
July 9th, 2008 at 6:25 pm#24 ucsb . . . CORRECT!
Besides THIS sitting Congress would confirm Chalibi as head of the FBI if Bush proposed him and endorsed him as “A good honest man” . . . . and Linsey and Lierman would testify on his behalf!!
July 9th, 2008 at 10:24 pm