FISA courts dismantled just in time

[struggle4progress]

August 12, 2007
By Marlene Lang

~snip~ Bush's National Security Administration was accused in 2005 of listening in on the international calls of Americans, without getting warrants first. Two American attorneys for an Islamic charity organization have since sued the administration, armed with a log of their calls -- inadvertently released and copied -- despite the TOP SECRET stamp on every page. Their case is to be heard in federal court in San Francisco on Aug. 15.

What to do? The Bush administration had asked the court to dismiss the case altogether, then claimed it could not defend itself in such a lawsuit, because to do so, it would have to give up information that would threaten national security. In the New America, there seems to be no constitutional tromping that cannot be justified in the name of national security.

But, just a nose ahead of the first serious legal challenge to the NSA's spying program, Bush signed a law on Aug. 5 that revamps the NSA program, broadening the spy scope, making it all legal. ~snip~

So, relax. You can trust the Administration of the Freely Reigning Executive never to abuse or stretch the limits of its power. Or, you can stay off the phone with your friends overseas.

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/lang/504761,121LNG1.article

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. don't forget foreign governments are listening too

you would think that they had something better to do.

perhaps the agency would concentrate on finding terrorists in the future?

[lynnertic]

2. and depending upon who you write to, your snailmail is read.

Happened to me.

[EVDebs]

3. The Constitution, vestigial paperwork from a bygone era. Welcome to the PoliceState