Bush Lawyer: "The memos released Monday are “just the tip of the iceberg” (LAT)

[kpete]

Those other memos should be quite interesting.
From the LATimes:

The October 2001 memo “gave rise to the Justice Department discussing with the Defense Department whether the military could be used to arrest people and detain people inside the United States,” a former Bush administration lawyer said. “That was considered but rejected on at least one occasion.

The officials asked not to be named because the debate over using the military to detain people inside the U.S. was secret.

Under the proposal, the suspects would have been held by the military as “enemy combatants.” The proposal was opposed by the Justice Department’s criminal division and other government lawyers and was ultimately rejected, and the suspects were arrested under criminal statutes, the lawyer said.

The memos released Monday are “just the tip of the iceberg” in terms of what the Bush administration authorized, the lawyer said.

more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-documents3-2009mar03,0,2090482.story?page=2

(anyone care to guess which "Bush Lawyer",
i am curious, hmmmmmmmm, popcorn & justice - i can smell it, kp)
.............

More Terror Memos May Be Released

By NEIL A. LEWIS and CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: March 3, 2009

WASHINGTON — One day after releasing a set of Bush administration memorandums claiming sweeping presidential powers to bypass legal constraints when fighting terrorism, Justice Department officials said on Tuesday that they may soon disclose further secret opinions about interrogation, surveillance, and other national security policies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/washington/04legal.html?_r=2&hp

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. We came within a hair's breadth

of becoming a fascist state, I'm thinking.

[midnight]

4. Unless he is tried in a court of law, I'm thinking we already are

living in one.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. You may be right, what in Mexico we used to call

a dictablanda...

[zeemike]

25. dictablanda... I love it

I don't speak Spanish but I still get it.

[defendandprotect]

12. Over the last 30-40 years, government has worked against interests of

the people --- that's fascism IMO --

And in that time, even the myth of a free press has died!

Wholesale buying and selling of government and government officials.

All government agencies have been corrupted --

We now have a prison industry with "Homeland Security" and the "Patriot Act"

moving in on us. And a phony Drug War to keep the prisons filled.

Computers permitting huge election steals from greater distances!

Security programs -- Welfare and health care -- being pulled out from under us ---

and privatized.

De-regulation of capitalism which simply leaves us with organized crime.

Vietnam replaced by TWO wars.

Sadly . . . fascism came long ago!!!

[Supersedeas]

21. and yet these same people TEACH.....TEACH at our law schools

[Usrename]

22. We've had our first despot and that puts us firmly over the line.

We were in freefall, and we are not in the clear yet. There must be justice first.

[Faygo Kid]

2. OK, that's it. Haul that f*cker off his bicycle and try him.

That includes Cheney, Rove, Condi, Fredo and the whole sorry mess of felons.

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. I have returned my tinfoil to the national tinfoil supply

in fact, all you tin foil hatters... that tingling sensation is your tinfoil hat magically transforming into a tricorner hat

Folks we were right. And to all those who screamed, but we were never in danger and you all were wrong to even think an American Preznit was capable of even thinking fascist thoughts, I only have two words fer ya

STUFF IT!

Ah, the tricorner fits well

And this should be a lesson to the why we need to be ever vigilant

I am starting to wonder... oh wait, not really,... never mind...

I can clearly say one reason they didn't go there was the military would not have followed.

And for you asking fer evidence am afraid that will be hard to come by... suffice it to say heard some stories from service members

[tblue37]

24. The Christofascists have taken over the Air Force, and

the Army allows open harassment of atheists, Jews, and Christians who don't belong to an "approved" fundie sect.

Recruits for the Army are drawn disproportionately from the poorer class of the red states and red state areas of blue and purple states. And since they have trouble meeting recruitment goals, the Army now takes people who would have been rejected in the past—like gang members and neonazi skinheads.

Many of the officer corps and a lot of those in the ranks have a strong authoritarian mindset and consider people like us to be dirty hippie commies who need to be locked up and treated harshly.

I fear that you vastly overestimate our military's commitment to Constitutional freedom and the rule of law.

[alsame]

6. This confirms my worst fears about Bushco. Way back when the

John Walker Lynd story was in the news, I was telling friends and family that it was a 'test' to see how the American public would react to another American being accused of being an enemy without being shown proof.

Then, the Jose Padilla case really freaked me out, because I saw it as escalation of this plan to start arresting Americans without giving them their constitutional rights.

People told me I was over reacting.

[chill_wind]

8. self-delete dupe info

[indepat]

9. My one prayer for our country is one day soon, all the crimes of Junior's administration will be

unearthed and disclosed in detail for the whole world to see. :P

[defendandprotect]

15. W was only a continuation of the fascist movement begun at least

as far back as the coup on JFK/"people's government" . . .

I would guess that these fascists have always been with us from the beginning of time --

but it certainly didn't begin with W and it won't end now that he is gone!

[indepat]

18. Right, one of junior's grandfathers had close ties/dealings and the fascist

movement goes well back before even then. :D

[defendandprotect]

19. Yes . . .

and we're still in the same gene pool -- same as we've ever had.

[flyarm]

26. Dear defendandprotect..you are 100% correct!!!!!!!!!

and until and unless we have a special prosecutor investigate and arrest hold trials on these bastards..nothing will change..and all the same cast of criminals will be forced on us again and again.

Look, Obama sent Kissinger to Russia to represent his administration..the same Kissinger that Bush named to run the 9/11 commission, until the families screamed so loudly..and everyone here at DU was going nuts about it as well..and 'crickets' now that Obama sent him to represent his administration to Russia..this is the same MTF who in my lifetime is one of our worse war criminals...and he should have been in the Hague when I was a young woman!

I keep saying this and I mean it..there are no longer two parties..there is only one party with one big money pot in the middle.. There are crooks on both sides of the isle..it is our responsibility as Americans to be diligent of everyone in our government, and to scream out from the rooftops if anyone is usurping our rights and our constitution and our laws..irregardless of who is president or in congress!

When Pelosi said "impeachment was off the table"..she did not have that right..she was stealing our rights.
6 Times in the constitution it mentions impeachment..who the hell did she think she was to make a blanket statement that "Impeachment was off the table"..she knew damn well that laws were broken by the Bush administration..how dare her..my "employee"... tell me ..she would not hold people accountable for breaking the laws of my land?????? And Usurping my constitution.....How dare her...but she did and people chose to sit by quietly, because she was supposedly "on our side"..

Our side is the "Constitution"..nothing less. It's about time we hold all of our elected officials accountable..in every way..or replace them ..and not allow them to be recycled.

Leahy wants a commission..well that is bullshit..nothing good has ever come about in a commission..but a pure unadulterated white wash..and it allows these sob's to be recycled.

Shall I remind others of the Warren Commission, the Rockefeller Commission, Tower Commission, 9/11 Commission

I will stand firm..no commission..a Special Porsecutor must be assigned to hold those accountable from the Bush administration, and anyone else complicit in what has been done to our nation, so no other entity ever thinks they can get away with this shit ever again..we must have 100% justice for anyone involved ..anyone..and everyone..so no one can ever do this to our constitution and our republic democracy again. So the very principles of this nations constitution can be upheld..the rule of law.

And Defendandprotect..I would go futher than you..I would say it goes back to Eisenhower..as he stated in his farewell speech..I believe Eisenhower was being controlled by the military industrial complex...and didn't like it a bit and was sending a warning to us all... JFK rebuked the military industrial complex and the CIA...over the Bay of Pigs....

here from Eisenhower's farewell speech........

"Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present -- and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow. "


ps..PEOPLE ..PLEASE TAKE THE TIME AND GET THE BOOK.."BARRY AND THE BOYS" by DANIEL HOPSICKER

[Turborama]

32. We should be regularly reminded of Eisenhower's farewell speech

Thank-you for posting it, flyarm. Have you seen the movie "Why we Fight"?

BTW thanks for the book recommendation, I've just started reading reviews on Amazon and it looks like very interesting reading.




:kick:

[malaise]

10. The most frightening part of the Bush coup was that terrorism

was anything Bushco decided it was on any given day. Give thanks that progressives stood up to the criminals via blogs and websites like DU.

My tin foil hat feels so comfortable these days.
Keep digging Holder. I can't wait for 9/11 details.

[Jambalaya]

11. It isn't paranoia if you're justified in being paranoid!

"2001Bush legal memo allowed ‘First Amendment speech and press rights’ to be ’subordinated.’

Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder released several Bush administration Office of Legal Counsel memos, which show the astonishing extent to which the administration expanded its wartime powers. An October 2001 memo from John Yoo, for example, states that the “Fourth Amendment would not apply” for domestic military operations. The memo also restricted basic First Amendment rights:

In perhaps the most surprising assertion, the Oct. 23, 2001, memo suggested the president could even suspend press freedoms if he concluded it was necessary to wage the war on terror. “First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully,” Yoo wrote in the memo entitled “Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activity Within the United States.”

“Freedom of speech is integral to a free society,” President Bush said in May 2008. After reading the memos, Harpers’ Scott Horton wrote, “We may not have realized it at the time, but in the period from late 2001-January 19, 2009, this country was a dictatorship.”

Think Progress,March 03,2009

[rucky]

13. The Pentagon people are still there.

We have an active fascist element in our government with access to the weapons. Just sayin'

[defendandprotect]

16. Gates is a fascist -- played a primary role in "October Surprise" . . .!!!

Evidently, Obama hasn't changed the Joint Chiefs!!!!

[defendandprotect]

14. We need to destroy the Patriot Act and Homeland Security/No funds for fascism!!!

[L. Coyote]

17. Meanwhile, how many of the Bush USAs are still in place? Bush still rules the DOJ??

[defendandprotect]

20. Obama invited them all to stay -- 51 did stay --- !!!!

Nor has Obama replaced the Joint Chiefs --- !!!

[flyarm]

27. I believe I was trying to explain that to you in another post L.Coyote

Obama has kept 51 of Bush's Prosecutors..

my question remains..why????????

[peacetalksforall]

30. What does that mean for the political 'to do' lists ordered by the WH?

Accusing Dems of vote fraud, rigging cases? I didn't know he INVITED them to stay. This is really scary. Really scary.

[Individualist]

23. K&R

[acmavm]

28. These treasons need to be tied firmly to the republican party

too. Of course, we have a few dems who might find themselves on the wrong side of the dock as well. But hell, good riddance. They enabled bush**.

[beac]

29. None of this is surprising, but it still makes me sick to my stomach.

And even sicker to think they are probably going to get away with it.

[goforit]

31. When they start arresting these thugs. America will have a change in spirit!!!