Lincoln Journal Star
by staff

12/21/05

The best line in the controversy over the Bush Administration's spying on U.S. citizens came from Russ Feingold, D-Wis.: 'He's President George Bush, not King George Bush,' Feingold said. Exactly. The republic was founded by Americans who revolted against the sort of monarchial power wielded by King George of England back in the late 18th century. The president's defense of his actions seems to be that he needed to do what he did in order to protect citizens of the United States. No he didn't. Bush could have done exactly what he did by following the law, which was carefully written to provide oversight by a secret court to prevent the sort of abuse that can happen when the executive branch of government's power goes unchecked...

http://tinyurl.com/76qtp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

American Chronicle
by William Grant

12/20/05

Even before the recent revelation that the Bush administration has been secretly spying on Americans in defiance of traditional authority, many people had begun to wonder: how much security are we getting for the things we're giving up? When the government claims it has to go behind our backs to make us secure, are we really secure? What do we do about all those freedoms that those soldiers are supposedly protecting that we are giving up? Can we (as some have said) give them up temporarily to work through this crisis and restore them later? History paints a forbidding picture in its response to those questions. Even the most enlightened governments are reluctant to release power once they have it, and if Bush is the man who erodes our freedoms, it is not him we have to worry about. He just opens the door...

http://tinyurl.com/cbsmk


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Wired
by Jennifer Granick

12/21/05

Ignorance of the law is no defense. Someone should tell the president. ... Statutes prohibit government interceptions of the phone and e-mail conversations of United States citizens unless officials have first sought and obtained court approval, either under the Wiretap Act, for criminal investigations, or under FISA, for national security investigations. The only exceptions are following a declaration of war, when the president has very narrow, time-limited powers to order surveillance to obtain information to prevent attacks, terrorism or espionage, and under special circumstances when no U.S. citizens are involved. The administration's actions clearly fall outside these boundaries. There is no legal justification for these warrantless interceptions, which included calls to and from American citizens...

http://tinyurl.com/9ukp9


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

AlterNet
by Jim Hightower

12/22/05

I need -- we need, our country needs something much bigger to strive for than mere possessions. There's a widespread hunger for a sense of national commitment and purpose. We need a connection to a common effort that'll enlist us to stop Washington's and Wall Street's abandonment of our egalitarian values, that'll reverse the growing sense most of us have that our America is headed in the wrong direction, that'll rekindle our democratic idealism. So, Santa, bring me no stuff. Instead, the one and only thing I want is this: A REAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ALIVE AND KICKING!

http://www.alternet.org/story/29788/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Human Events
by Robert Novak

12/22/05

Liberals who reflexively oppose anything Bush supports are overjoyed to welcome four apostates, but in fact they represent doctrinal Republican belief in individual rights against governmental power. That sums up the ingrained philosophy of Craig, who at age 60 has held public office since he was 29 years old and has been one of the Senate's unyielding champions of gun rights. But what was Larry Craig doing consorting with the likes of John Kerry and Dick Durbin as co-sponsors of his amended Patriot Act? Craig told the Senate on Dec. 15 that he knew he faced 'an uphill battle' when he got involved in this fight: 'I knew it would be an uphill battle because Americans have grown to be frightened. But now they have grown to be emboldened when they recognized that some of their freedoms were and are at risk'...

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=11057


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.reason.com/links/links122105.shtml


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

AntiWar.Com
by Charles Pena

12/22/05

It's probably safe to say that the filmmakers are not particularly pro-deregulation and pro-free markets and trade. However, even if its perspective is liberal-leaning, it would be a mistake to dismiss Syriana as a movie not worth watching. Syriana is an important movie because it is a metaphor for the problems of U.S. foreign policy. The central premise of the movie is that U.S. dependence on foreign oil -- particularly from the Middle East -- makes oil a U.S. national security interest. Yet this conventional wisdom is at the heart of what is wrong with U.S. Middle East and national security policy...

http://www.antiwar.com/pena/?articleid=8278


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Strike the Root
by Mark Davis

12/21/05

The clear message from the establishment is that happiness is more important than truth. So shut up and everything will be OK. This lesson remains with too many people far too long into adulthood. Some carry it to their grave in the most militant fashion. Still the light of shining truth must be put on a table for all to see. Those who wish to remain in darkness must be awoken. The surprising story of the year was not that Bush and Company told so many lies that led us into an immoral war, but that so many people fell for it, again...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/52/davis/davis6.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Boston Globe

12/21/05

In the three-decade struggle by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to win federal tribal recognition -- a key requirement for building a possible Massachusetts casino -- the money that passed hands in September 2003 stands as a turning point. Six members of the Cape Cod tribe gave a combined $12,000 to a political action committee that is led by a California Republican, Representative Richard William Pombo. As chairman of the House Committee on Resources, Pombo has jurisdiction over most matters concerning Indian interests. The donations to Pombo's committee that month also included one from a Detroit casino developer who is bankrolling the tribe's recognition effort. The developer, Herbert Strather, kicked in an additional $2,000. But the biggest contribution to Pombo's committee, $5,000, came from Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist whose firm represented the Wampanoags...

http://tinyurl.com/a9gag


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Patriot Act Extended for Six Months

In a major setback for the White House on a top domestic priority, the Senate on Wednesday passed a mere six-month extension of the Patriot Act - due to expire on December 31 - even though President Bush had demanded that most of the law become permanent.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/122205Z.shtml