News and Politics // Current

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2 years ago

Transcript of the Democratic youtube debates

FORMER SEN. MIKE GRAVEL: I wouldn't use either word (OFF-MIKE) Zach asked about change. You're not going to see any... more

laurenli
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Fabulous Christmas Present

Do you have an extra $20 - 30 million lying around? If so, why not buy an essential piece of history with it and give it to the... more

ccampbell
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Classy and the Clintons

Gennifer Flowers, who went on national tv in 1992 during Bill Clinton's run for president to talk about what she said was a... more

Tori
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NIE - Why are so many media experts and government officials attacking it?

"It's not the intelligence community's job to "object" to the Iranian program, it's their job to... more

jubal
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Great Iraq Poster

Looks like someone 'improved' this billboard to be much more compelling.

somerandomdude
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Omaha Shooting Pictures

Check out these pictures of the past mall shooting. i found them really disturbing.

kimrich09
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Secret DoJ Legal Memos: Bush Determines What Is Constitutional

When are you going to write your representative and senators?

From remarks just delivered by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:

We will shortly consider making right the things that are wrong with the so-called Protect America Act, a second-rate piece of legislation passed in a stampede in August at the behest of the Bush Administration. It is worth for a moment considering why making this right is so important.

President Bush pressed this legislation not only to establish how our government can spy on foreign agents, but how his administration can spy on Americans. Make no mistake, the legislation we passed in August is significantly about spying on Americansa business this administration should not be allowed to get into except under the closest supervision. We have a plain and tested device for keeping tabs on the government when its keeping tabs on Americans. It is our Constitution.

Our Constitution has as its most elemental provision the separation of governmental powers into three separate branches. When the government feels it necessary to spy on its own citizens, each branch has a role. The executive branch executes the laws, and conducts surveillance. The legislative branch sets the boundaries that protect Americans from improper government surveillance. The judicial branch oversees whether the government has followed the Constitution and the laws that protect U.S. citizens from violations of their privacy and their civil rights.

It sounds basic, but even an elementary understanding of this balance of powers eludes the Bush Administration. So now we have to repair this flawed and shoddy Protect America Act.

Why are we in Congress so concerned about this? Why is it so vital that we energetically assert the role of Congress and the Courts when the Bush Administration seeks to spy on Americans?

Because look what the Bush Administration does behind our backs when they think no one is looking. For years under the Bush Administration, the Office of Legal Counsel within the Department of Justice has issued highly classified secret legal opinions related to surveillance. This is an administration that hates answering to an American court, that wants to grade its own papers, and OLC is the inside place the administration goes to get legal support for its spying program.

MORE: http://harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001875
When are you going to write your representative and senators? From remarks just delivered by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:... more