Jun. 26, 2006 - 20:42 MDT

COMES THE FRAMEWORK

And once in place they can do with us as they please, it appears to me.

There is an article in The Rocky Mountain News this morning by The Associated Press -- quoted here in full:

LEGISLATION WOULD OK SURVEILLANCE

White House near deal with Congress

WASHINGTON -- "The White House is nearing an agreement with Congress on legislation that would write President Bush's warrantless surveillance program into law, the Senate Judiciary committee chairman said Sunday."

"Bush and senior officials in his administration have said they did not think changes were needed to empower the National Security Agency to eavesdrop -- without court approval -- on communications between people in the U.S. and overseas when terrorism is suspected."

"But Sen. Arlen Specter. R-Pa., and other critics contend the program skirted a 1978 law that required the government to get approval from a secretive federal court before Americans could be monitored."

"We're getting close with the discussions with the White House, I think, to having the wiretapping issue submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court," Specter told Fox News Sunday."

"While insisting the program is legal, White House officials have been saying for several months that they are willing to work with Congress if it feels further "codification" of the program is needed."

"The administration has asserted that a post-Sept. 11, 2001, congressional resolution approving the use of military force covered the surveillance of domestic communications."

"In related news:

"Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, urged the Bush administration to seek criminal charges against newspapers that reported on a secret financial-monitoring program used to trace terrorists."

"King cited The New York Times in particular for publishing a story last week that the Treasury Department was working with the CIA to examine messages withing a massive international database of money-transfer records.

"We're at war, and for the Times to release information about secret operations and methods is treasonous," King said."

++++++++++

Yeah right, we are at war, a premptive one, based on a paranoid idea that Saddam was the devil behind our troubles.

To me it seems that the nit picking number crunchers of the administration want to have a complete file on every citizen of our country complete and detailed in every way, from our birth to our death and in addition where we are buried and which way we were facing when planted.

I have nothing against our secret CIA and other arms getting intelligence in whatever way they can - - - BARRING SURVEILLANCE THAT DELVES INTO OUR OWN PRIVATE BUSINESS AND LIVES.

It appears to me that if they can railroad a law or two through Congress, then they will be able to excuse whatever they do with, "Well we thought John Doe was engaged in communications with terrorists." I objecture to the conjecture by paranoid, or dictatorship prone that all this surveillance is needed and am strongly against them having a law in place that puts us John Does in a hazardous place.

But, if we don't watch out, COMES THE FRAMEWORK . . . . . . . . . .

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