In the last few days, there have been some remarkable revelations in regard the NSA’s illegal surveillance programs; it appears I was naive to believe that solid facts and evidence of government spying prior to 9-11 would make a difference to our Congress, and rather than address the issue, their actions demonstrate they are deaf and dumb to any evidence that could halt the lucrative campaign donations from the nations telecoms. In this case, money talks and Democracy walks as our Congress refuses to connect the dots and sells-out America for a few piece of gold and silver.
My first stop this morning was where I found this headline on Buzzflash, and after reading the actual article, my heart fell as I realized not one member of Congress had the courage to raise the issue and timing of QWEST and the recent admission that government wiretapping began far in advance of 9-11, and even Congress was lied to - yet the temptation of campaign contributions and pressure from Lobbyists evidently were more important than the rule of law and our federally guaranteed constitutional rights:
If we are successful in raising the awareness of the American people that Bush and Cheney began setting-up their illegal surveillance program(s) the second month they were in office, how will the Democratic led Congress justify their actions in granting retroactive immunity to telecoms even before all of the evidence and facts have been carefully reviewed? LINK Once again Nancy Pelosi has been out-maneuvered by the White House and the Republican minority - and her failure in this matter is ample proof that crime, if you have an “in” with Congress, can be extremely profitable!
There are excerpts from the above link, which is to the Washington Post:
Senate and Bush Agree On Terms of Spying Bill
Some Telecom Companies Would Receive ImmunityBy Jonathan Weisman and Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 18, 2007; Page A01Senate Democrats and Republicans reached agreement with the Bush administration yesterday on the terms of new legislation to control the federal government’s domestic surveillance program, which includes a highly controversial grant of legal immunity to telecommunications companies that have assisted the program, according to congressional sources.
The collapse marked the first time since Democrats took control of the chamber that a major bill was withdrawn from consideration before a scheduled vote. It was a victory for President Bush, whose aides lobbied heavily against the Democrats’ bill, and an embarrassment for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had pushed for the measure’s passage.
Such a demonstration, which the bill says could be made in secret, (emphasis added) would wipe out a series of pending lawsuits alleging violations of privacy rights by telecommunications companies that provided telephone records, summaries of e-mail traffic and other information to the government after Sept. 11, 2001, without receiving court warrants. Bush had repeatedly threatened to veto any legislation that lacked this provision. MUCH MORE
According to the above story, the GOP used scare tactics, their primary method of controlling the population and Congress, and many Democrats were afraid they would appear weak on the fight against terror, and instead - allowed this criminal administration to protect those who aided and abetted their illegal and unconstitutional programs. Remember, it was the Patriot Act that authorized many of these programs - which was signed into law after 9-11; Since the Patriot Act did authorize some of these programs, how can Congress, with a straight-face, grant blanket immunity to illegal actions by the nations telecoms prior to 9-11?
How can they ignore that QWEST attempted to stand-up to the Bush administration, and then were stripped of lucrative federal contracts and their CEO prosecuted for insider trading simply because they attempted to uphold the law? Yes, crime does pay when we reward those who broke our laws and punish those who had the courage to obey the principles and tenants of the Constitution and The Bill of Rights.
Unfortunately, it actually gets worse, and if you don’t read The Smirking Chimp - this is an article you don’t want to miss, as it reveals that spying on Americans has become the rule rather than the exception in this new age of Big Bother watching our every move, and its implication are chilling and demonstrate that we have sunk to new lows under the guidance of the GOP and Bush’s Neo-consevatives:
NSA Likely Reading Windows Software In Your Computer
by Sherwood Ross | Oct 17 2007 - 10:05am | (Excerpts are below, however this is one story you need to read in its entirety!)
European investigative reporter Duncan Campbell claimed NSA had arranged with Microsoft to insert special “keys” in Windows software starting with versions from 95-OSR2 onwards.
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