Thank you, ACLU!!!

[texastoast]

FINALLY, we got a public servant to acknowledge the facts:

"There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all 'inherent powers' must derive from that Constitution."



Justice Dept. files appeal to domestic spying ruling
Federal judge's decision claims secret wiretaps unconstitutional


By SARAH KARUSH
Associated Press

DETROIT — The Justice Department launched an appeal within hours of a federal judge's ruling that, for the first time, struck down President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program as an unconstitutional infringement on the right to privacy and free speech.

The judge on Thursday ordered an immediate halt to the program, but the government said it would request a stay during the appeals process, arguing that the secret surveillance program is crucial to stopping terrorists.

"We have confidence in the lawfulness of this program," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in Washington. "We're going to do everything we can do in the courts to allow this program to continue."

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit, said it opposed the stay but agreed to delay enforcement of the injunction until the judge hears arguments Sept. 7.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor was the first to find the National Security Agency surveillance program unconstitutional, and she took the Bush administration to task for its arguments, saying it appeared to be saying the president had the "inherent power" to violate laws of Congress.

"There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all 'inherent powers' must derive from that Constitution," Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

more . . .

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4125339.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. I love her opinion.

Reminds me of the one that took down Creationism last year.

[grasswire]

2. Thank the ACLU by joining or contributing to the fight

This is how we fight Gonzales and Cheney and Bush -- through the ACLU.

Your money and your time donated to the ACLU will directly affect the fight.

Send a message today. NOW IS THE TIME.

Join for just twenty bucks: http://www.aclu.org

Or donate as little as $5 if that's all you've got to give.

Solidarity. That's how we win.

[bluerum]

3. Here here. I pray this is the first in many similar decisions.