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Attacking American Values is No Defense

Implicit in the term ‘national defense’ is the notion of defending those values and ideas which set this Nation apart. It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of those liberties which makes the defense of the Nation worthwhile.

Today, US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that President George W. Bush violated the Constitution and broke the law when he set up and executed the program to spy on Americans’ telephone calls without a search warrant or the legally required approval of a FISA court.

I’m reading through her ruling to see exactly what she has to say on the case. It’s great reading, in spots, reminding us about what makes this case so important.

Judge Diggs Taylor chose a particular quotation from, written by Justice Earl Warren, in the case U.S. v. Robel in 1967, to conclude her ruling. In doing so, she is sending a clear message to the citizens of the United States of America. Will we listen?

“Implicit in the term ‘national defense’ is the notion of defending those values and ideas which set this Nation apart. . . . It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of . . . those liberties . . . which makes the defense of the Nation worthwhile.”

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Date: August 17, 2006

Author: jclifford

Categories: general, history, liberty

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(495 votes, average: 2.99 out of 5)

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  Terry

  in August 18th, 2006 @ 16:06

  That would be fine if bush had a sense of irony.

  GWB has no sense of irony because he does not understand the purpose or function of the Constitution. He only understands what his handlers tell him.

  There is nothing in the Constitution that suggests that a President is a decider. On the contrary. All presidents are subject to the laws proposed and enacted by Congress.

  Oh I forgot obergrupenfeuhrer Chaney and standartfeuhrer Rove have told him that he IS the leader and cannot be challenged.

  I still think that something is rotten in Der Wiesen Hause and that something will happen in the next six weeks to ensure GWB’s continued occupation of Der Wiesen Hause.

  Maybe Der Riechstag will catch fire and burn to the ground.

  No. We already did that we have to think of something else.

  Beware the Ide’s of September.

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  greentick dem

  in August 18th, 2006 @ 20:01

  For the sake of the discussion, let us say Bush is impeached, then cast out of office. Who does that leave in the White House? Will it take a second set of impeachment proceedings to remove Cheney as well?

  To be politically realistic, does anyone in this forum believe that this country’s citizenry will stomach two impeachment proceedings in one administration, or do we just trust that the President’s office will have a change of heart about their unified front to all comers and try to push it off on the Vice President’s office first?

  Now, if we assume that the two offices turn against each other (in a typical corporate fashion) in order to save their respective backsides, who will win? My money is on Cheney, which leaves us back at the original question. Unless there is enough evidence to hang both of them simultaneously, why don’t we just let this administration continue to destroy itself and the neo-con movement with it? Why not just cut a deal that puts them under the jurisdiction of a FISA judge and makes the Dems look like a unifying party with the good of the country at heart instead of trying some eye-for-an-eye move because our chosen president lied about something as well (albeit of considerably less import than the chicken hawk we have to deal with at this point)? That is the way my fundamentalist conservative relatives look at the prospect of impeachment, by the way. (The more educated ones in the military who are having their butts kept in the sling by the lies that put them there, the stop-loss orders that are keeping them there, and the idiocy of the micromanagement of the occupation are not stuck on that point– some of them flat out agree with the need to impeach another sitting President)

  A president with the other two branches of Government firmly aligned against him won’t get much done, as we all know, and at least we can keep an eye on them.

  Finally, I believe that a successful attack on the US at this point would probably harm the current admin more than help it.

  Personally, I am praying for a Cat 4 hurricane to head up the Potomac the week after everyone gets back in town for the next legislative session. I wish harm to no one, but does anyone remember what happened when the storms of the Dust Bowl finally made it across the Mississippi river and clear to DC? The whole government finally woke up and did something. That is my idea of a real Act of God…

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  Terry

  in August 27th, 2006 @ 14:40

  Greentick dem.

  Your potential solutions as presented here, have some merit. They do however require the republicans and neo cons to accept that such a concilliatory move would benefit all.

  The last time that the dems chose not to impeach, we were left with a system that lead directly to the present regime. Have we forgotten that Nixon who was clearly by his own words, guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, who was saved from impeachment by the democrats, and it was the Democraticaly controlled house and Senate who chose not to dammage the republic by Impeachement.

  As a reward for this magnanimous action, Clinton was impeached for being stupid and lying about it (no high crimes and misdemeanors here). The Republican House and Senate had a field day wasting $100M to find more. No sign of concilliaton here.

  No. If the dems win controll of the house and Senate, they should first Impeach bush and when Cheyney becomes President, Hog tie him at every turn, starting with criminal charges against Rove and other particpants in the Plame outing.

  There are ways to get the neo cons and their handlers. It starts at the polls.

  Get out and VOTE against the expanding regime!

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  Alan

  in August 27th, 2006 @ 15:37

  1) The public has a short memory, a movement to impeach now will bore the voters and they will have forgotten about it by 2008.
  2) Unlike Nixon and Clinton, everything Bush does is out in the open, or has been admitted to as soon as it is discovered, with a chorus of lawyers in the background thinking up reasons for everything being legal. So somone could argue a legitimate difference of opinion. And once the supreme court has ruled, Dubya backs down from his position. Ethical, no; legal, yes.

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  Ralph

  in August 28th, 2006 @ 15:23

  Does admitting to a crime after you get caught really make it legal?

  Should we stop enforcing the law when voters get bored?

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  Terry

  in August 29th, 2006 @ 22:08

  If bush’s admissions of wrongdoing are ‘out in the open’, why is his presidency the most secret of all time? Why does the bush White House deem it necessary to close files as soon as they are open?

  Unfortunately, History will not have access to the bush presidential papers. They will have either been destroyed or sealed forever.

  Alan. bush has never admitted any wrongdoing. He either blames the dems for ‘bipartisanism’, or blames the press for missunderstanding his pronouncements. My old aunt used to declare that no lie can stand alone. It needs other lies to disguise the original. The truth however stands alone shining brightly through the darkness of calumny. Aunt May was a wordy old broad but smart as a whip. She always new who’s sticky fingerprints were on the candy jar.

  Bush needs an Aunty May to watch over him. Truth only has value when it is displayed for all to see. With this administration, the truth is not only hidden, it is totaly obscured by obfuscation and lies.

  God help the Republic. The idiots are coming!

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  Helga

  in September 7th, 2006 @ 18:27

  cool site

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  greentick dem

  in September 13th, 2006 @ 21:29

  Well, rest assured that I will vote Democratic. As for impeachment, it’s not particularly our call. After some consideration, this administration will go down in history as being at the same level of veniality and corruption as Harding and Grant. Ajime!

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