Here's another affirmation that the GOP is buried in the mindset of Nixon and Stalin.  Wikileaks and the ACLU (MN) have recently covered the super secret security briefing from the RNC that indicates the usage of the US Military against law abiding US citizens.  Another 'dragnet' surveillance conducted by paranoid tyrants in the party of hate and lobbyists (aka GOP).

In a nutshell, the party that loves (using) the military (to seize power and make fortunes) - the GOP, used military spy satellites to spy on US citizens.  This should come as no surprise, given the Bush/Cheney dictatorship's penchant for spying on us all.  

(Cross posted at The National Gadfly)

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A blog poster named Rooh made an interesting observation in his Salon Letters' commentary.
He asked...if Comey was the Acting AG, what were Gonzalez and Card going to do (to make his signature legal if obtained)...backdate it?
A clear exposition about the legal status between Comey and Ashcroft might be quite interesting and meaningful.

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The House passed a bill Friday that would provide congressional authorization for President Bush's warrantless domestic spying program.

Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, charged: "Hidden in the fine print are provisions which grant the administration authority to maintain permanent records on innocent U.S. citizens, granting the administration new authority to demand personal records without court review, and terminating any and all legal challenges to unlawful wiretapping."
Link

Today a staggering amount of personal information is being collected by the government on millions of Americans. This information is being used to compile a massive social network of American citizens that we are told is for the purpose of identifying terrorist cells. But others say it is easy for terrorists to avoid being caught up into this type of data-mining. I find it curious that what may be of little value in uncloaking terrorist cells is precisely the type of data-mining you would dream about for political election microtargeting.

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When The New York Times first reported on Bush administration efforts to spy on Americans without warrants, the White House generally responded in two ways. One, blaming the press for disclosing the programs. And two, claiming that the programs were necessary to protect the country so that another 9/11 doesn't happen. But a report this weekend by Bloomberg's Andrew Harris thoroughly undercuts the President's spin.

The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court.

The allegation is part of a court filing adding AT&T, the nation's largest telephone company, as a defendant in a breach of privacy case filed earlier this month on behalf of Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. customers. The suit alleges that the three carriers, the NSA and President George W. Bush violated the Telecommunications Act of 1934 and the U.S. Constitution, and seeks money damages.

``The Bush Administration asserted this became necessary after 9/11,'' plaintiff's lawyer Carl Mayer said in a telephone interview. ``This undermines that assertion.'' [emphasis added]

At this stage, it is important to note that there are only allegations that the Bush administration began spying on Americans before 9/11. But should these allegations pan out -- or even if the White House is in some way able to convince the courts to throw out this lawsuit -- it's not clear to me that the President will ever be able to win back the trust and faith of the American people. The recent revelations out of California -- that the state's Office of Homeland Security was spying on political dissenters -- only underscore this.

No matter how much Republicans try to rattle their saber on the issue of Iraq in an attempt to pummel the Democrats into submission on all issues of national security, the Democrats cannot give in whatsoever. The Dems must stand up to President Bush and the Republican Congress and voice their disapprobation with the warrantless domestic program -- particularly if it began prior to September 11, 2001 -- and hold the Republicans responsible for their dishonest and reckless surveillance of countless Americans.

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Have you all seen this?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060521/pl_n m/security_leaks_gonzalez_dc_1

 Valerie... who?  Oh but they.. someone... outed OUR uber secret DOMESTIC Spying!  How dare they!   1984 here we come!  Oh how I long to be like the old Soviet Empire!

GGGRRRR!!!!

   Sun May 21, 1:20 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government appears to have the authority to prosecute journalists or newspapers for publishing classified information, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Sunday. The Justice Department is investigating who disclosed the government's secret domestic surveillance program to The New York Times, which broke the story in December.

More here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060521/pl_n m/security_leaks_gonzalez_dc_1

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