Lawrence R. Velvel on the derelict and complicit Congress.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/velvel2.html

Gary North on the take-a-bathists.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north423.html

by David Isenberg, TomPaine.com

When we see activity like illegal citizen surveillance in other countries, we usually call them police states.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20060106/the_imperious_president.php

Eric Alterman writes that the willingness of our most powerful media corporations to defer to this White House for reasons that relate far more to political embarrassment than national security is deeply disconcerting.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010606O.shtml

E.J. Dionne Jr. writes that Abramoff, who used to pal around with close Bush allies Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed in the College Republicans, and who has been a central figure in the rise of Republican dominance in Washington, is not a lone wolf.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010606N.shtml

Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said that the Bush administration cannot use recent legislation he helped craft to seek the dismissal of habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, contending that the law applies only to new cases.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010606M.shtml

When Tracy A. Henke assumes a top homeland security job Monday, she will begin under a swirl of controversy. Critics said she had little experience relevant to the job she is about to assume, while others questioned her role in a racial-profiling study last year that resulted in some discord within the Justice Department.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010606K.shtml

Tyco International, whose former CEO became a symbol of corporate corruption, acknowledged Thursday it is the Jack Abramoff client referred to as "Company A" in court documents describing the lobbyist's scheme to funnel millions of dollars in lobbying fees to himself.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010606J.shtml

President Bush continues to push reauthorization of the worst parts of the Patriot Act, but as revelations about warrantless NSA spying continue to shock the nation, the ACLU and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now calling for a full investigation into his authorization of these illegal activities. This week the ACLU ran the third advertisement in a series of messages sharply criticizing the president for violating the Constitution and lying to the public.

The fight to reform the Patriot Act won a crucial victory at the end of December, when a bipartisan group of Senators successfully filibustered the White House's Patriot Act reauthorization bill. Supporters of freedom sent a clear signal to President Bush that Americans believe that we can be both safe and free.

The Patriot Act in its existing form has been extended for one month, to allow time for the addition of vital reforms that protect the privacy and civil liberties of innocent Americans.

The failed bill faced staunch opposition for its proposals to make all of the expiring powers permanent. Although the final bill set a four-year expiration date on two of the act's most egregious provisions, it also contained changes that would have worsened the controversial National Security letter powers.

The ACLU and many others have been questioning the administration's assurances about the Patriot Act and government surveillance for a long time. In attempts to assuage the mounting concerns of Americans, they have lied about their actions. The president now must explain assertions made in a speech given in 2004, in which he called for Patriot Act renewal:

Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.

The White House has argued that President Bush was just talking about domestic surveillance, but the NSA's warrantless wiretap program unequivocally applies to communications from American citizens originating in the United States.

This week's ACLU ad also quotes President Bush discussing the Patriot Act on June 9, 2005, stating that law enforcement officers need a federal judge's permission to engage in electronic surveillance of a suspected terrorist. But, in light of the president's repeated NSA authorizations, our ad asks, "Why did we bother debating the Patriot Act if President Bush could make up his own rules about spying on U.S. citizens?"

The ACLU will be working tirelessly this month in Congress, working closely with lawmakers to ensure that the Patriot Act renewal includes real reform and protections for the privacy and freedoms of innocent Americans.

In advertisements and other grassroots outreach, the ACLU is calling for a special counsel to determine if oaths of office were broken or federal laws were violated. We have also requested records from the NSA and other agencies in our ongoing campaign to reveal and limit unchecked government spying on Americans.

President Bush's secret authorization of the NSA's warrantless spying on Americans violated the law and raises the specter of Nixon and Watergate.

http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=T3nJUE6FrQgjKHMG8Q-7WQ..
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/23356prs20060105.html
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spyads/index.html
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=VYt0qa_totGVk1td6GHO6g..

Richard Pierce

http://snipurl.com/l9oq

"The sole topic of conversation inside knowledgeable Washington circles this holiday season is the coming impeachment of Bush and the removal of Cheney from office. And this is not solely restricted to Democrats by any means but also includes a growing majority of Republican lawmakers, the military commands, the senior federal judiciary and those who comprise the so-called Power Elite of this country. Bush is seen as completely out of control. As Bush is a very weak man, he constantly needs reinforcement by those around him to assure him of his manliness and ability. He lacks both but his staff has spent years filling him full of sycophantic and dangerous propaganda to the point that Bush now actually believes that he is divinely protected and a great leader in his own right. Most do not know of currently-discussed plans among certain foreign countries to force Bush and Cheney before the World Court on charges of war crimes to include planned massacres of unarmed civilians, theft of private property, making illegal warfare and lesser charges such as the deliberate killing of foreign journalists. None of this has come to pass. Yet. But the very discussion of the idea in the chancelleries and foreign offices of Europe, and the Middle East is only adding fuel to the fires now lit under two of three branches of the American government."


Informant: ranger116



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=impeach
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Downing+Street+Memo