TalkLeft: "USA Today reports that the National Security Agency has been collecting billions of domestic home, business and cell phone records on tens of millions of Americans, obtaining the records from phone companies...Who was in charge when the program was implemented? Gen. Michael Hayden...
"The three major phone companies, AT&T, Verizon and Bell South have contracted with the Government to provide the information. Another company, Qwest, balked at the legality of it and refused to participate."
"'Qwest's refusal to participate has left the NSA with a hole in its database. Based in Denver, Qwest provides local phone service to 14 million customers in 14 states in the West and Northwest. But AT&T and Verizon also provide some services -- primarily long-distance and wireless -- to people who live in Qwest's region. Therefore, they can provide the NSA with at least some access in that area.' Three cheers for Denver-based Qwest."
TalkLeft is on a roll today. They write, "The ACLU's lawsuit against Bush's NSA warrantless surveillance program is set for hearing in federal court in Michigan on June 12. Today, the organization announced that 72 members of Congress, led by Rep. John Conyers, have filed a friend of court brief."
Oliver Willis has a link to the YouTube video of Senator Leahy blasting his fellow congressmen and the Republican controlled U. S. Congress. Money line from the Senator, "Shame on us."
Andrew Sullivan: "Who needs the law when you're the King? Some of us have long been worried by the Bush administration's contempt for the rule of law in its legitimate efforts to protect Americans from terrorism. And we've been dismissed and criticized for it. But the more you know, the more troubling it gets. In all this, trust in the president's word is important. That's gone. For good reason. You don't abandon limited government, enable torture, declare the executive above the law, pile up countless signing statements to undermine the Congress ... and then take pains to protect Americans' privacy. This monarch, already eager to perpetuate a dynasty, needs more scrutiny. It may require voting Democrat this fall to give it to him."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:06:29 PM 
|
