Note from Miss Waverly: If the Democrats give in to this demand, I will pull out from my Democracy Bond, the Democratic Party will
not get another dime from me. I am not supporting Bush enablers.

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration wants the power to grant legal immunity to telecommunications companies that are slapped with privacy suits for cooperating with the White House's controversial warrantless eavesdropping program.
The authority would effectively shut down dozens of lawsuits filed against telecommunications companies accused of helping set up the program.

The vaguely worded proposal would shield any person who allegedly provided information, infrastructure or "any other form of assistance" to the intelligence agencies after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. It covers any classified communications activity intended to protect the country from terrorism.

Republicans say immunity is necessary to protect the companies that responded to legal presidential orders to thwart terrorists in the years after 9/11. Yet some Democrats fear the administration's proposal would do much more than advertised, potentially protecting anyone who gave broad categories of aid to the government as part of a spy program that monitors communications.

Because the administration does not want to identify which companies participated in the operations, it is asking Congress to let the attorney general intervene on behalf of any person or company accused of participating in the surveillance work, whether or not they actually did, two senior Justice Department officials said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070831/spy-program-immunity/

administration permission to do one thing and they expand and abuse the priviledge every single time....

who is to decide if the spying was legitimate, Team Bush?

Bush knows he could run into trouble if he doesn't keep the American people in the dark. In 2002, for instance, when the Bush administration launched a project seeking “total information awareness” on virtually everyone on earth involved in the modern economy, the disclosure was met with public alarm.

The administration cited the terrorist threat to justify the program which involved applying advanced computer technology to analyze trillions of bytes of data on electronic transactions and communications. The goal was to study the electronic footprints left by every person in the developed world during the course of their everyday lives – from the innocuous to the embarrassing to the potentially significant.The government could cross-check books borrowed from a library, fertilizer bought at a farm-supply outlet, X-rated movies rented at a video store, prescriptions filled at a pharmacy, sites visited on the Internet, tickets reserved for a plane, borders crossed while traveling, rooms rented at a motel, and countless other examples.

Bush’s aides argued that their access to this electronic data might help detect terrorists, but the data could prove even more useful in building dossiers on anti-war activists or blackmailing political opponents. A targeted individual would have almost no privacy in the face of an all-knowing government.

Despite the administration’s assurance that political abuses wouldn’t happen, the capability would be a huge temptation for political strategists like Karl Rove who have made clear that they view anyone not supporting Bush’s war on terror as a terrorist ally.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/080207.html

You just had to know he'd be back demanding it--- that was probably the biggest thing he was seeking when he threatened to hold Congress hostage through their recess, but he didn't get it. And I don't think he's going to.

His whole psychodrama was that he needed an "emergency bill" because we were in a newly heightened state of alert-- a ter'rist attack might happen in the DC Capitol Hill area sometime between August and September 11. To illustrate his message, his Department of Der Homeland Security were beefed up and visibly positioned all over the Hill (according to TPM reports) in that last week he was demanding his bill.

Funny, that. Upon getting his bill, or at least most of it, we haven't heard him (or his media toads) bring it back up since. The big terrist emergency, I mean. Some might call it extortion.

like the whole race into the War with Iraq, I still don't understand what the need for was for the rush to Iraq. He could
not wait for the UN, he could not wait for the inspectors, no, it had to be done NOW. Now we clearly see
there was no real reason to be there at all.

Why are these always secret, and what possible advantage could the Dems get from caving into to another
set of demands.

week. They are gone, hearing the truth from constituents, and it's all a sham for too many of them. The signs say Democrat. Their votes say Republican.

I was reading an article from one of the leading conservative papers that was questioning the
Dems equating warrantless spying, authorized searches, jailing w/o warrants with any
Republican values. These things are so far from American thinking on the right or
left that's it's laughable that they could be triangulations for the voting base.

Congresscritters so you can't sue the Bushies.

If you are a "Democrat" then you can be spied on and persecuted, you may even go to jail like the Alabama gov. who
wanted a "recount." Then there is the "Republican" America where you can break almost any law as long as it not a sexual
taboo and you are above the law. Fraud, rigging elections, perjury, lying the US into war, kidnapping and imprisonment
w/o charges, torture, bribery, misuse of government funds, neglect, vote suppression, discrimination, the list is
endless.

they were discussing social change, I think our society is going to change, it will have to change. In the 30s, it was
management and labor, in the middle ages it was monasteries that provided stability. Something will give, the
people are going to make the system change. The number one force rebuilding New Orleans is volunteerism which
is a Republican term for people driven change. Do you seriously think all those fat cats profiting with
their tax cuts are down in New Orleans helping. No, it's me and you and all the people here and their families
and friends that are making the difference.

:-)

Amazing... Karl is out. Gonzo can't be there to protect Bush/Republican election fraud and assalt on the people, Tony's made up some bullshit excuse he has to make more money to keep up with the Jones, there are all kinds of investigations...

Yet, when I see this huge hole and the ability of the Democrats to run the ball us their collective asses, even Keith Olberman is supressed tonight to apply indepth reporting, choosing instead to replay the comedy of bathroom sex solicitation. I wish we'd get serious here.

It's not going to get better if we keep relying on leaders. We are the leaders.

the whole thing before the recess was meat and drink to Bush, he loves bullying and beating down someone's arguments
with fear. Oh, yeah, and what if we are attacked while you're gone and we don't have this bill in place.

... How much longer can anyone believe this, anyway. Clearly WE don't!

:hi:

If he's worried about his "legacy" then why all the movement behind the curtain, he's not running for office now, so what's
the point of gaming the system. He certainly never cared about anyone in Congress either Republican or Democrat. Why,
should he even bother with this sneak, peak now unless they are listening in on Congress, journalists, fed employees
and those investigating them.

they should be trying to push reform, it's the only hope they have in 2008

they left their morality at the Bush inaugural ball. I still don't understand the
change that has occurred between the two administrations. In Clinton's we had
a Congress with too much oversight of the Executive Branch, In Bush's we have
no oversight by Congress of the Executive Branch and a rubber stamp of
his appointments.

WHAT ARE THEY WORRIED ABOUT?

:eyes:

which means that it's only legal if they don't get caught.

there was a reason this story was dumped at 5:02 pm last night.

local good ole boys who pulled strings for favors to spy on us just because we participated on DU or because we were activists in our communities.

The Democrats need to toe the line on this one and protect Americans. And if they don't you know it's because quasi Democrats have helped to twist their arms. Quasi Democrats, like the ones you find in Florida and elsewhere.

I kid you not, the politics go bad in both directions. I read an article around 1998 of a lawyer who was disbarred for doing egregious wrong-doing. He was heavily investigated by the FBI and the evidence was overwhelming. He was convicted of a crime. But when sentencing time came, he reached outside of Florida to the midwest and had strings pulled by a big-wig Democratic relative. How does that shit happen? He does harm to Floridians, and a big wig in the midwest lightens the sentence. All the information was right there in the paper the way it should have been. It was not the Orlando Sentinel, obviously. But once I read the article, I knew my personal situation was a lost cause because the developer that damaged us was related to this guy. Probably a son.

Guys, this shit has to stop. They have to stop protecting these politically connected sons of bitches because it's killing the rest of us.

it's says justice for all, not "just us" and the rest don't get it becuz they don't have a PAC, or a crony or a relative
in power. Speaking of "just us" have you heard the AIPAC trial has been delayed again, this time into 2008.

God knows what damage these people can do in the time they're out free to spend the money they have. By the time sentencing does occur, and civil cases begin, they won't have any money to give to their victims.

You are correct that any delay of wrongdoing by one of the most powerful "lobbies"
in this country is not in the best interests of the country. They are all for
National Security except when a crony might be involved
in a transgression.

Those are words that should scare anyone when it concerns this administration.

Vaguely worded proposal + Signing Statement = No law at all.

wink, wink, nudge, nudge, trust us.

Voice Peering Fabric from Stealth Communications...

I have not forgotten how the Dem dialed a "porn" number by mistake in the privacy of his hotel room, did not even complete the
call and it was dredged up and used in the GOP smear years later.

There should be stiff criminal penalties for declaring demands under the false guise of heightened terror threats, if there is any chance those were false claims at the time he was doing this a few weeks ago. Only his pals at DHS would know for sure if he did that (I'm being polite here...)but it is interesting to notice how quickly those reports went away upon the day he got his bill, and it will be interesting to see how quickly they re-materialize-- just like that--when Congress gets back, if they don't give him his final demand, first thing.


Here was- and remains-- his damnable "Emergency": There was an upcoming Federal court hearing scheduled in San Francisco for about a week after Congress was to go into recess.

August 15, 2007
AT&T Must Face Justice for Illegal Spying

NSA Surveillance Comes Under Fire Today in Appeals Court Battle

San Francisco - In a packed San Francisco courtroom today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow AT&T customers to continue to fight against illegal spying on their telephone and Internet communications.

EFF is representing the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class-action lawsuit brought by AT&T customers accusing the giant telco of violating their rights by illegally assisting the National Security Agency in domestic surveillance. The U.S. government is fighting to get the class-action lawsuit thrown out of court, contending that the litigation jeopardizes state secrets.

"The courts cannot permit the government to evade responsibility for unconstitutional activities with thin claims of 'state secrets.' Without judicial review, there is no way to stop abuses of power," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "The courts are well equipped to protect state secrets while determining whether the spying is illegal and if so, to put a stop to it."

"In trying to shut down this case, the government is hoping to avoid accountability for spying on millions of AT&T customers," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "Our system of checks and balances is supposed to thwart abuses of power. The White House is trying to wiggle out of those checks by taking the courts out of the picture."

(more)

http://www.eff.org/news/

It remains his big "Emergency", his effort to keep his boot firmly planted on Congress despite the sunset provision, which would bring it back up for review soon enough- in just a few short freakin months, because.........


"The appeals court did not make a ruling Wednesday. The decision will be released at a later date."


(bold-face mine)

it has nothing to do with National Security just their own legal hassles.