Check this out~ Rants and Raves

The photo above is not mine...and the article below I didn't write, but it's from this great blog I just read called Planet Moron...witty and smart. I liked it. So if you hit the header to this post you'll be taken to Planet Moron too...as if we weren't all ready there.

And I LOVE this digital collage, by an unknown sorce, it was sent to me...So I wanted to share because I thought it was great too...I hope homeland security isn't looking....If you are a goverment spy...I offer you my furry middle finger...free.

Here's the article:

December 21, 2005
warrants so secret not even judges can be told about them
Defending his authorization of warrantless monitoring of overseas phone calls and emails of American citizens, President Bush noted that “This is a different era, a different war.”
Indeed, back in World War II the only threat we faced was from militarist fascism sweeping across the globe while the Cold War merely threatened the annihilation of every living thing on the face of the earth. Today, the stakes are much higher. Consider this: One well-placed explosive device on a crowded train platform or at a popular sporting event could easily take out not only the Republican majority in Congress but could quite possibly cause the White House to fall into Democratic hands.
Under the wholly inadequate current law, intelligence agencies may listen in on international calls for three days without any warrant at all and then seek retroactive approval from a secret court. This level of openness is a luxury we just can’t afford anymore. As former NSA director, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, pointed out, the requirement to get retroactive court approval is troublesome because it "involves marshaling arguments.” As anyone in law enforcement will tell you, thinking through an issue carefully to ensure its validity just gums up the works.
There is also the problem of secret activist judges sitting on the secret court. Since 1978 these judges have denied numerous requests for retroactive warrants and by numerous we mean five. Out of 18,748. This is clearly a secret court “out of control” and “making law.”
Fortunately, we have a two-party system that offers additional checks on power. When Democratic leaders were informed of the activities a couple of years ago their responses ranged from “voicing concern” all the way to Senator John D. Rockefeller taking the bold step of writing a very sternly worded letter to the Vice President. (It’s exactly that kind of consequences-be-damned courage that made the family fortune.)
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the program noting that they believed they had the authorization but didn’t seek specific legislation covering the activity since it would “be difficult, if not impossible" to get done. This is the cookie jar approach to governance. You know mom would never give you permission so you just take them anyway.
It’s all good until someone catches you with chocolate-chip breath.
J.

http://planetmoron.typepad.com/

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Later taters.