The timing is exquisite.
Here we are, only a couple of days after a plot to blow up a dozen airliners out of the sky was uncovered by the Bush Administration's wiretapping program, and a leftist federal judge in Michigan rules it unconstitutional!
Detroit U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said in a 43-page ruling that the National Security Agency warrantless wiretapping program is illegal and must immediately be stopped,because it violates rights to free speech and privacy.
Here's a sample of the flavor of Judge Taylor's opinion: "There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution."
The American Civil Liberties Union (who else?) filed the lawsuit against the program, which involves taping selected conversations in suspect phone calls between the US and foreign countries.
The government has steadfastly refused to divulge any details about the program, arguing that the program was within the president's authority but that proving so by describing how it works would require revealing state secrets.
The ACLU attacked the state secrets argument, saying the White House had already revealed enough information about the program publicly for Taylor to rule on its constitutionality.
The ruling is bad law, as the doctrine of ` a clear and present danger'when it comes to free speech and privacy issues is pretty solidly backed by Federal precedent. But she bought their argument...which is not surprising when you learn that Judge Anna Diggs Taylor is an ex-member of the communist front National Lawyer's Guild, an organization with a long history of defending Islamic terrorists. Lynne Stewart, an attorney imprisoned for abusing lawyer client privilege by illegally facilitating prohibited communications between Islamic terorist groups overseas and her incarcerated client Omar Abdel Rahman, who engineered the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was an executive member...and a major cause for both the NLG and the ACLU.
And of course, Judge Taylor was appointed to her judgeship in 1979 by none other than Jimmy Carter, after working on his campaign. No surprises there.
The ACLU knew that they were pleading in front of a very symphathetic ear.
"The ruling of the judge is not only a victory for the American Muslim community but a victory for the entire American population," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR) for Michigan, which joined the ACLU as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
You betcha.
The ruling will likely be appealed by the administration, perhaps as early as Thursday, and that the ruling is unlikely to stop the wiretapping activities anytime soon.
But this is an excellent example of what can happen when you get leftist lawyers working with activist left wing jurists as a fifth column here in America. And since judges like Anna Diggs Taylor are appointed for life by the Jimmy Carters of the world, a reminder to be careful whom you vote for.
11 comments:
"There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution."
what in the HELL does that mean?
It means the Judge hates George W. Bush and favors `rights' for Islamic terrorists.
Hello, Repack.
Let's talk sense here. The NSA program doesn't violate the Contitution in the least. This leftist judge based her opinion on a supposed violation of the FISA Act of 1979 (in itself a rather stupid bit of hancuffing of our intel, but it IS still law).
However, the FISA law is very strictly drawn in that it covers DOMESTIC surveillance, whereas th NSA program covers phonecalls from suspects in FOREIGN countries TO the US.
I trust you see the difference.
As for your being willing to take your chances with terrorists, fine and dandy,but you have no right to play with MY life. The Constitution is not a suicide pact and as I wrote, the concept of `clear and present danger' when in comes to the First and Fourth Amendments has numerous case precedents on its side.
As a mattewr of fact, if we're talking about cowards, I think your inability to face facts on the kind of war we face is hardly heroic, and indicative of the kind of denial typical of much of what I call the Angry Left.
I 'd be willing to bet money that you are the sort of person who refers to yourself as a `proud Democrat'.
There are a number of Democrats who haven't lost their minds yet.
perhaps you'd like to know how one of them dealt with this issue.
Aside from allowing the FBI to detain and deport anyone who even remotely looked like they might be an enemy alien, during WWII FDR gave the FBI complete authority to lntercept all transAtlantic cables and a virtual free hand when it came to domestic surveillance, wiretapping and opening mail.
I could introduce you to one elderly woman I know who got a commendation and a special medal from the government for finding a bit of microfilm under the stamp of an inocuous domestic letter that sent six German spies to the gallows.
American life has changed incredibly since 9/11. Six years ago, if anyone had told you that moms would be getting hassled for trying tobring baby milk on an airplane, you would thought they were insane.
The refusal of people like you to recognize the kind of war we're in guarantees even more far reaching changes to American life if folks like you and Judge Taylor have their way.
Talk about living on your knees!
i am aware of the format of this blog.
and i know this is an off topic comment, however, i thought that ff would get a chuckle, well maybe not a chuckle, out of this quote.
it comes from andrew young, the now former spokesperson for wal-mart.
it is a comment about wal-mart, but sounds like he was trying to imitate mel gibson.
he is addressing the issue of, "is wal-mart running mom/pop stores out of business?"
"Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood," the paper quoted Young as saying. "But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores."
always the jooos these days.......
please keep in mind that andy was the US ambassador to the un in the jimmah cawhta administration.
repacker bloviated:
I'll take my chances with terrorists,
the question is which terrorist and when?
the question is not you, but which family members or loved ones will also have to mano e mano with the said same terrorist?
you do have family members and/or loved ones?
you do care about other people, right?
or is this just about you?
allowing someone of your ilk to make these decisions, we won't be on our knees, we will bending over and grabbing our ankles.
With all respect, Truth..I find your post to be full of platitudes and not much substance.
It's pathethically easy to say `they're all crooks and liars' without bothering to state any specifics.
Politics is politics, whether you're talking about ancient Athens, Victorian England, the Stalin-era Soviet Union or Ashtabula, Ohio..because human nature doesn't change. Or, as Ecclesiates puts it `there is nothing new under the sun.'
If you have an actual, factual, specific disagreement with something I've written here, feel free to toss it out there.
ff
Ho ho...I think I hit a nerve.
That was quite an outpouring, and I recommend an occasional dose of laxative.
As for substance..sorry, no.
If you fail to understand the judicial concept of a `clear and present danger' as applied numerous times by our judiciary, here's a classic example..the old `yelling fire in a crowded theater'.
It's been used against the KKK, White Supremists of all stripes, contract killers and those that hire them. And it most certainly applies to Islamic terrorists talking to their wanna be jihadi pals here in America.
If you feel that the Bush Administration is a bigger threat to your life and liberty than jihad, there's not much I can say, short of `let me know when the shuttle lands'.
I have severe differences with the way the Bush Administration has conducted this war... apparently the President hasn't even realized until lately that we are fighting Islamic jihad aided and abetted by several well known countries. But I don't doubt his sincerity.
I know it's more comforting for you to believe it was the Evil Jooos and the Mossad that pulled off 9/11, but it is nonsense..and an insult people's intelligence.
FTR, I know people in New York City that SAW the planes hit the Towers and saw what happened,there are numerous photos and reports and Osama and company admitted doing it..so kindly zip it.
Who do you think you are? al Ahram? al Jazeera? I though these kind of fantasies only existed in the Muslim world!
You wrote "Dare I ask why, in January of 1991, the Bush administration ordered the FBI and intelligence agencies to "back off" investigations involving the Bin Laden family?"
Umm, Mr. Bill was the president then,`Truth'.
As for Iraq, we could open up that can of worms,but why bother? Nothing I would say would convince you, and I don't want to eliminate a chief joy in your life by crapping on your pet conspiracy theories.
Here's a few clues, though:
One: Both the Clinton and Bush Administrations plus every major intelligence outfit in the West knew Saddam had stocks of WMDs, the scientific knowledge to get things into production and that he was apparently actively toying with the idea of obtaining uranium and doing exactly that.The British Butler report still stands by that.
Two: Thanks to Bush's silly attempt to mollify the temper tantrums of the Left here and in Britain, the ramp up to war took FIFTEEN months...ample time for Saddam to hide, sell or otherwise dispose of what he had. Me, I'd have been more surprised if we HAD found anything.
Three: Saddam was an active participant in the Muslim jihad against the west, and an active supporter of Islamic terrorism. That was reason enough for him to go down by itself.
When I say this, keep in mind that I severely disagree with the way the Bush Adminstration has handled post war Iraq, and with the decision to stop and get bogged down there.
But I don't question the need to dispose of Saddam in the slightest.
As for the Patriot Act,if you don't see the need to apply the RICO Statutes to Islamic terrorists as well in an effort to improve the country's security during war time, you are obviously part of the problem rather than the solution, I'm afraid.
Guess what? There will be more of this in the future, because the jihadis are not going to go quietly. If you want to foam at the mouth about anything, I suggest you start with certain elements in the Muslim world that WANT TO KILL YOU.
Not that I would ever try and convince you of that..or anything else, believe me. Some things are better left undone.
Oh, and one more thing...do check the proper spelling of `Ecclisiastes' and `ammmendments'
Sheesh!
No, I think I hit a nerve, with all respect.This isn't so much a debate as an opportunity for you to let fly with some pretty fallacious `theories'.
If you want to seriously believe that 9/11 was an `inside job' and a conspiracy by the PNAC, and that Saddam had no ties to Islamic terrorism , fine by me.
As far as 9/11 goes, you've presented ZERO evidence of an `inside' job except for couple of coincidences. On the other hand, I know eyewitnesses that saw the planes hit the towers...and there are pictures and eyewitness reports galore. Again, this is obviously a major part of your life and I don't want to ruin it for you..but save it for Daily Kos or something.
Likewise, if you don't feel Saddam was involved with Islamic terrorism, didn't have any WMD's, was not out trying to buy uranium and was perfectly harmless, the last thing I want to do is disturb you.
The British Butler report, Able/Danger, The widespread and frequent presence of terrorists like Abu Nidal and Imad Mugniyeh in Iraq, Saddam's own little terrorist training camp complete with a mock up of a 747 in SalPack, Saddam's own scientists and generals who claim that the know-how existed and that substantial materials were shipped to Syria prior to our invasion in right-wing, Bush apologist organs like the NY Times and some of the tapes and documents recently declassified and released by the DOD say different.
Sorry, `truth'. You're not dealing with an idiot.
(BTW, The Butler report was the equivalent of our 9/11 commisiion, and M15 were the people that first revealed that Saddam had sent a major delegation to Niger. Since the only thing Niger produces is peanuts and uranium, I have a feeling they weren't there for the peanuts. And the Butler Report, while fairly critical of Tony Blair in many respects still stands by that intel.)
I don't recall saying you were better off dead..merely that you are part of the problem we have on the home front in fighting this war rather than part of the solution.
President Bush, in some ways, has been part of the problem too, but I give him credit for at least fighting half a war. I've seen nothing to change my opinion of his integrity, even though I have some questions about his judgement.
One more thing: given the virulent hatred President Bush enjoys in a significant part of the population, if there was a shred of real evidence that he committed treason, I guarantee you that this evidence would be front page headlines as his enemies, especially in Congress attempted to not only have him hung, but light cigarettes under his feet while he was swinging.
Sorry, no sale.
The reason no one is `contributing' is simply because they realize, as I do, that your tactic is to state something and then deny you said when you're confronted.
Kind of a waste of time on all sides.
You're right. it's impossible to answer ill informed nonsense.
"The official government story is STILL that Oswald killed Kennedy. I want to vote for a leader who will tell me the truth. The truth about Kennedy... about the OKC bombings... about 9/11."
*********************
"Fact: Larry Silverstein (WTC leaseholder) says in an interview on PBS that WTC Building 7 was "pulled" (trade term for controlled demolition).
Speculation: First of all, controlled demolitions take weeks (minimum) to plan. How did they pull that one off? Those charges had to be pre-placed and ready to go. All the eye-witnesses (including firefighters in the building) kept referring to multiple explosions going off all over the place. Samples of molten metal reveal thermate (sulfur, potassium & manganese), used to cut through high strength steel.
The structures collapsed at near free-fall speed. Maybe the towers were "pulled" too.
Fact: The original hole in the Pentagon was 16 feet in diameter, and pierced through 9 feet of reinforced concrete. No wreckage was visible outside of the pentagon in any photograph or video. No video has ever been released showing a plane hitting the Pentagon. However, our honest government was kind enough to provide us with a simulation.
"Speculation: Well, it's hard to call a 757 disappearing through a 16 foot hole anything short of impossible, but speculation comes into the picture when we start asking ourselves where the real planes went."
"Google the following if you wish to learn more:
911 Coverup
911 Truth
Mike Ruppert
In Plane Sight
The Great Deception
The Great Conspiracy
911 Loose Change
The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
If you want to take speculation to a new and scary level, Google Alex Jones or Illuminati."
**********************
"I must be crazy to believe that trillions of dollars would be ample motive for anyone to kill us by the thousands.
No, it must be that "they hate us for our freedom." That's far more believable. It's because they're crazy religious fanatics!"
********************
"Warren Report = 9/11 Commission Report = BS"
Nuff said.
Truth, you are truly hilarious!
Run along now...I hear Wal Mart has a sale on tinfoil for your hat.
Oh, and by the way..your right to `freedom' and `privacy' ends when you impact someone else's.
I realize that the concept of freedom and responsibility is somewhat foreign to you, but it DOES exist. And frankly, I don't think the majority of Americans feel a lot more threatened by the sort of rulings a political leftist hack like Judge Taylor Diggs makes than by the Patriot Act.
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