A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the government’s massive domestic spying program represents a necessary “counter-punch” to the al-Qaeda terrorist network – and as such does not infringe upon the constitutional liberties of American citizens.
“There is no evidence that the Government has used any of the bulk telephony metadata it collected for any purpose other than investigating and disrupting terrorist attacks,” U.S. District Judge William Pauley wrote.
Really? That’s 100 percent Grade A government B.S.
More to the point, did this guy never read the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Or study the strict conditions prescribed for a lawful search and seizure of an American citizen’s private property? Apparently not …
According to Pauley – a Clinton appointee whose court is located in New York City – the federal government’s failure to stop the September 11 terrorist attacks necessitated the creation of a program designed to stop “decentralized” plots that were orchestrated and implemented via “fragmented and fleeting communications.”
“The government learned from its mistake and adapted to confront a new enemy: a terror network capable of orchestrating attacks across the world,” Pauley wrote. “It launched a number of counter-measures, including a bulk telephony metadata collection program – a wide net that could find and isolate gossamer contacts among suspected terrorists in an ocean of seemingly disconnected data.”
Yes … but the net itself is a flagrant violation of one of our most basic liberties, not to mention the latest evidence of the extent to which the War on Terror has been lost.
Not surprisingly, Big Brother praised Pauley’s ruling.
“We are pleased the court found the N.S.A.’s bulk telephony metadata collection program to be lawful,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department said.
Establishment “Republican” lawmaker Peter King of New York took it one step further, calling Pauley’s ruling a “victory for the patriotic men and women of the NSA.”
Wow …
No word yet on how NSA-lover U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will respond …
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – which filed the suit – rebuked Pauley’s decision, saying it “misinterprets the relevant statutes, understates the privacy implications of the government’s surveillance and misapplies a narrow and outdated precedent to read away core constitutional protections.”
We agree …
There is simply no universe in which the warrantless collection, monitoring and storage of confidential communications is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment … except this universe, apparently. And the fact the federal government is now sanctioning such activity means it is every bit as dangerous as the terrorist network it claims to be combating – if not more.
36 comments
Thank you GWB, aka the Shrub. Thank you.
Your boy Obama could dismantle the whole thing anytime he wants via executive order, but he loves the power just as much as the Shrub.
Bullshit, it isn’t black and white. It takes more than an EO to undo what GWB did in his regime.
Sorry but BO is CiC he can turn the NSA off any time he wants to. Obviously he doesn’t want to.
Republicans would be *so* happy if Obama did anything that could be construed to weaken national security… even if they had to go hypocrite to attack him.
Actually, not so much. I know some folks just can’t let ol’ GW go in peace, but this has nothing to do with him. BHO has used (and many say misused) the executive power of his office more than any previous holder. At any rate, the NSA cell call metadata thing is a no-brainer- that’s simply a policy decision. BHO says stop, and they stop. Simple, and (in this case, anyway) black and white.
Actually you are wrong about BHO and executive orders. He’s used fewer than other presidents. http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
Lie.
No, pay attention to what I wrote. I said “executive POWER,” not “orders.” Huge difference. The aggregate, raw number of EO’s a President issues is usually irrelevant. W issued a kajillion during the restructuring of the US homeland security apparatus, for instance, and most of those were merely ministerial. I think most fair minded people would agree that 1000 (don’t hyperventilate, I am making up this number) such orders are less significant, on the whole, than even a few instances of a President openly disregarding, with the wave of a hand, the requirements of a law passed by the Congress. What, I’m losing the business community on the ACA? No problem, you guys get an extra year. What? website doesn’t work? No problem, I’ll keep moving the deadline until it does. What? Turns out I was bullshittin’ you on the whole “you can keep your policy” thing and now you’re suddenly pissed? No problem, we’ll fix that on the fly too. No need to get new legislation; I got dis…
THAT’s what abuse of executive POWER looks like, irrespective of the actual number of specific orders issued. Besides, even by your simple, out of context mathematical comparison, BHO is on track to tie or beat W anyway. You do know BHO hasn’t been in office for eight years yet, right?
Obutthead praised as POTUS. Well documented.
You’re talking about the same administration that argued for the power to kill Americans on American soil without due process. They’re expanding the power of the executive branch, not restraining it.
Obama’s broken a slew of campaign promises. Gitmo isn’t closed, the NSA continues to expand, we’re considering another DECADE in Afghanistan, we blow up tons of civilians with unmanned drones…
This is just the natural progression of the programs started under Bush that many people warned about, but to say Obama has no part in it? Come on. Obama has put up no fight against it, he has not spoken out against it, and if anything he has worked to defend it, both via the people that work for him and through his own spoken words.
Don’t feel too bad, though. It isn’t like the people are getting a choice. Hillary and Edwards likely would’ve done the same, as would McCain, Romney, etc. The media works hard to make sure that, on issues like this, your choices are reduced to something like this:
http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/y12r4o/futurama-c-span9-debate
Correct.
Obama could do a lot to stop this crap, at least under his administration, but Congress has to close the door completely. This isn’t something that should exist as its very nature is something to be abused.
Be sure that both the GOP and Democratic nominees in 2016 will readily abuse these powers. The ones who speak out against it or are less supportive of it get sidelined on MSM and crap out in the primaries. Ron Paul is evidence enough of that. If Bernie Sanders runs like he is saying he might, he will be further evidence of it. People who aren’t status quo are the most dangerous to those who are.
Saw this coming. Was there ever any doubt?
Say it ain’t so, Aunt Bea. Say it ain’t so.
What’s the big deal with this ruling?There was another one last week that said the opposite.
Its meaningless really.the whole thing is going to be decided by the Supreme Court.
Not meaningless. Don’t be niave. Respect. Know thy enemy.
Where was this judge when George was lying to us about spying on us?
Bush was intercepting Terrorists you F*#k!ng leftwing idiot…Obama wants to see my tax records so he can jail me for not voting for his Communist @$$……Have you not read the news, Dumb@$$???
Big F*#king difference. you NAZI piece of $#!*….
Bush was intercepting Terrorists you F*#k!ng leftwing idiot…Obama wants to see my tax records so he can jail me for not voting for his Communist @$$……Have you not read the news, Dumb@$$???
Big F*#king difference. you NAZI piece of $#!*….
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oh… an independent. Sorry for bringing up facts and all… but you know, I’m in the.. uh… reality-based community… the one that heard the lies about WMD, and about spying on us. I’ve got this problem with authority, I guess.
I mean, between you and me, the Bushmonicas were [circling ear with index finger] koo-koo… [knowing look]
No one, sane, has a problem w/ running a computer program that filters words like “Jihad” and Allah Akbar and “kill all the American Satanists”…That’s what the Bush Adm. did. I thank them for that…
F#*king Nutjob terrorist-rights idiots like you, FITS and Bill Clinton enabled 9-11 and 3,000 murders. Remember Clinton’s “The CIA-FBI Wall” and the desire to treat dangerous and imminent foreign national security military enemies as criminal justice-due process cases…You F*#kin Dumb@$$…
If we don’t start slapping the $#!* our of fools like you…and defending our country…more people will die…and that’s just fine w/ you America Haters…until people have enough of it…and you are called to account for your ignorance and hatred of our nation…
No one, sane, has a problem w/ running a computer program that filters words like “Jihad and Allah Akbar and “kill all the American Satanists”…That’s what the Bush Adm. did. I thank them for that…
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sane? Gee.. down the rabbit hole I go… sane, I expect, means “think like me” – only it only holds when it’s you. Did I get that part right? Because I seem to remember a lot of folks (lower case ‘f’) complaining about Carnivore under Clinton. Did Bush dismantle that? Or is it just that you don’t have a problem with computer programs “filtering words?”
Oh, darn.. I forgot to ask – how did you access that “eyes only” Bigot class security protected information about who was spied on, and what information was collected? If it’s one of those “if I tell you, I’ll have to kill you” things – no problem… I know how that goes – all facts that support conservative views are classified… not that I’m saying you’re a conservative, or a Republican, or anything like that… but this is a grey area that covers the actions of Bush, the former CIA director’s boy king and televangelical spy-in-chief.
F#*king Nutjob terrorist-rights idiots like you, FITS and Bill Clinton enabled 9-11 and 3,00 murders.
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Don’t I know it, though? We were ALL looking the other way while Bush was clearing brush on his ranch in Cleburne… I, for one, could not even IMAGINE that “Bin Laden determined to strike within the United States” using airplanes as weapons. It came as a complete surprise that the Bush administration was completely asleep at the switch. Clinton, I’m sure, was watching porn that night.
Remember “The Wall” and the desire to treat dangerous and imminent national security military enemies as criminal justice-due process cases…You F*#kin Dumb@$$…
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oh yeah.. the wall… you’re not referring to the Pink Floyd album, I hope…. you mean the 700 mile wall that would have added insult to the collapsing economy had it actually been built, right? How much did it cost to not build it again? Was that Bush’s idea? Russia tore down their wall, just before Israel built theirs – too bad we didn’t sell grandma’s retirement stocks to finance ours – it would have stood for generations as a testament to the wisdom of checking into our own private jail every night for safety’s sake.
Personally, I like giving urine and blood samples, giving out my fingerprints and DNA, having my facial features cataloged, taking off my shoes and putting my toothpaste in a sandwich bag. The inside of my house is still covered with plastic and duct tape. It costs quite a bit to insure it’s nerve gas and plutonium dust proof,, but it’s worth every penny.
If we don’t start slapping the $#!* our of fools like you…and defending our country…more people will die…and that’s just fine w/ you America Haters..
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haters will hate, you know. Crucifixion is my suggestion.
Look at American under your god Obama…and what a laughing stock we are w/ liberals in control…And look at the total lack of confidence in the economy now, from jobs to energy prices. You are a Total F*#k Up…America is in Bad, Bad Shape. No one respects us…
Under Bush the Economy was Great, no matter how much you Dumb@$$#$ got fooled or believe otherwise…and the U.S. was respected by the noble and feared by the murderers and despots….
Spying on Americans for your own power is just one more embarrassment of Obama..and his idiot minions…not to mention the lack of national security…
Look at American under your god Obama…and what a laughing stock we are w/ liberals in control…And look at the total lack of confidence in the economy now, from jobs to energy prices. You are a Total F*#k Up…America is in Bad, Bad Shape. No one respects us…
If only we could get back to the America George left us! *sob*
Under Bush the Economy was Great, no matter how much you Dumb@$$#$ got fooled or believe otherwise…and while Bush was president the U.S. was respected by the noble and feared by the murderers and despots….You’re in bed with evil, or they tell you to kiss off, and you have no recourse…
I know, right? it was paradise! That whole mass hallucination thing was bothering me too. I’m glad you brought that out.
..and about the world respect… pouring bottles of French wine down the gutter, “freedom fries”, the Italian forgeries used as pretext to war, abu Graib, bombing residential areas, the use of white phosphorus on the civilians of Fallujah, Israel’s carpet bombing of Lebanon… the “ugly American” rubbing Merkle’s shoulders… the terrorist pretzels, strutting around as a passenger of a military jet with his nuts pulled into a sack claiming that the major military operation was completed.. No wonder the global community dubbed him “Dubya.”
I’m sure they respected us – sort of like the respect the American Indians gave to the insane.
The way you look at America – in the cold light of reason, completely free of spin or apology… makes me ashamed to be an American. You have shamed me.
And you know the entire list of words they are filtering because ???
Look at the character of Obama compared to Bush. Bush was pretty honest and upfront He cares for America…..
Obama has been caught targeting reporters and persecuting voters, who he hates for political reasons. Obama hates America…And look what Obama and Hillary did in Benghazi. You are a disgrace to this country.
Look at the character of Obama compared to Bush. Bush was pretty honest and upfront He cares for America…..
Finally! an unbiased look at Bush’s character! His lies and subterfuge about spying on us, being asleep at the switch on 9/11, his lapse of memory about uranium in wartime. He did it all for us! Outsourcing, oil subsidies, switch grass, AIDS, faith-based initiative, lowering barriers for minority housing, deregulation, the bail-out… He didn’t fuck up – he protected us! Now that I look at it that way, he does seem pretty honest. Almost as honest as Nixon.
I’m overcome by a warm feeling of being patronized. I don’t blame Bush so much any more – not even for all the embassy attacks during his regime.
Anyone who takes this NSA,bullshit propaganda ‘scandal’,seriously,is an idiot.Makes more dumb blog fodder,though.Eat it up.
Some on this thread are proof, the less intelligent people are the more likely they are to show it.
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He’ll probably have to clean the ejaculate out of his shorts first.
That will take a while.
Interesting that you would have direct knowledge on this subject.
The judicial branch is the last branch we can rely on to reign in these abusive powers. If the judicial branch is complicit with these abuses, we’re going to be fucked until we can bump out the elected officials who defend this crap.
What a shame that we do not fight for our rights to privacy.
Said it before, say it again. Fight is the operative word.
An Unbelievable outrageous even criminal ruling by this Clinton has-been appointee. Now, we know where the NSA went to get judges to approve of their Hitler Gestapo tactics. The other Federal Judge, whose not as crooked as a root stick like Judge Pauley, noted that these wire taps were not only unconstitutional, but bordered on the Orwellian. The 1984 Book on exactly this type of Government take over of society. This is scary as hell. When the bad guys not only own the Congress but the Judges: too. Don’t expect the “Corporations are People,” Supreme Court to take a different position. They are a complete sell out to who ever has the money to pay them off.