"Scare Tactics and Our Surveillance Bill"-By Rockefeller, Leahy, Reyes & Conyers (Wapo)

[kpete]

Scare Tactics and Our Surveillance Bill

By Jay Rockefeller, Patrick Leahy, Silvestre Reyes and John Conyers
Monday, February 25, 2008; Page A15

Nothing is more important to the American people than our safety and our freedom. As the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees, we have an enormous responsibility to protect both.

Unfortunately, instead of working with Congress to achieve the best policies to keep our country safe, once again President Bush has resorted to scare tactics and political games.

First, our country did not "go dark" on Feb. 16 when the Protect America Act (PAA) expired. Despite President Bush's overheated rhetoric on this issue, the government's orders under that act will last until at least August. These orders could cover every known terrorist group and foreign target. No surveillance stopped. If a new member of a known group, a new phone number or a new e-mail address is identified, U.S. intelligence can add it to the existing orders, and surveillance can begin immediately.

If President Bush truly believed that the expiration of the Protect America Act caused a danger, he would not have refused our offer of an extension.

..............

It is clear that he and his Republican allies, desperate to distract attention from the economy and other policy failures, are trying to use this issue to scare the American people into believing that congressional Democrats have left America vulnerable to terrorist attack.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/24/AR2008022401668.html

[mirrera]

1. I am supposed to be relieved that the TELE COMS are still spying?

Who in their right minds believes that anything this regime does is for our safety? They can frame this a million different ways, they are still spying on us, the patriot act still denies our civil rights, we are still torturing people. Everything this administration does is for power, period. We the people are treated as the enemy more than any "terrorist". If I were a Saudi, I would be more "protected" than I am now. It is all such Bull.

[fasttense]

2. But didn't Rockefeller vote for immunity for the telecoms?

He gave the bushes exactly what they wanted but the House of Representatives Did Not. Now Rockefeller is bashing bush. So why didn't Rockefeller see the light Before he voted for the bill?

[lonestarnot]

3. Running fucking commercials in AZ to call Harry Mitchell because

Congress left for ten days instead of passing authorization to spy on us. Commercial contains the usual scare shit. I called Harry just to see, all voice mail boxes full. I do not know whether this was due to response to this bullshit or just because it was the weekend.