Saturday, January 14, 2006
Your Government at Work: Breaking the Law
For those who believe Bush is above the law in spying on US citizens, I refer you to the 4th amendment to the US Constitution:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
That means that even the President of the US should not be able to listen in on phone conversations of US citizens without a warrant. And the bogus argument that securing a warrant would disrupt the ability to protect citizens is a load of crap. The NSA has a provision for obtaining warrants _after_ the fact or retroactively. Bush's only excuse is that he is drunk with executive power and arrogance and thinks he can rewrite or ignore laws. It's time to put King George back in his place and to remind him that this is supposed to be a democracy, not a dictatorship.
FindLaw: U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
That means that even the President of the US should not be able to listen in on phone conversations of US citizens without a warrant. And the bogus argument that securing a warrant would disrupt the ability to protect citizens is a load of crap. The NSA has a provision for obtaining warrants _after_ the fact or retroactively. Bush's only excuse is that he is drunk with executive power and arrogance and thinks he can rewrite or ignore laws. It's time to put King George back in his place and to remind him that this is supposed to be a democracy, not a dictatorship.
FindLaw: U.S. Constitution: Fourth Amendment
