Smile! Bush Wants To Spy On You From The Sky

A Bush administration program to expand domestic use of Pentagon spy satellites has aroused new concerns in Congress about possible civil-liberties abuses.

On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment denying money for the new domestic intelligence operation--cryptically named the "National Applications Office"--until the Homeland Security secretary certifies that any programs undertaken by the center will "comply with all existing laws, including all applicable privacy and civil liberties standards."

Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on intelligence, told Newsweek that majorities in both the House and Senate intend to block all funding for the domestic intelligence center at least until August, when the Government Accountability Office, an investigative agency that works for Congress, completes a report examining civil-liberties and privacy issues related to the domestic use of picture-taking spy satellites.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[mrqapla]

9/11 was an inside job.

[Blurp]

Like they're not doing it already.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this country founded on Revolution?

[MajorKong]

Sigh. If only the 4th amendment was as sacrosanct as the 2nd.

[imusintheevening]

Hey Bush take a picture of my middle finger

[V4Vigilance]

Pentagon spy satellites? I'd think that's a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

[Jules1]

Sorry, couln't find another place to post this,
Kucinich: 'We went to war for the oil companies'

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who has introduced measures to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, said Thursday that oil executives who secretly met with the vice president in 2001 should be held criminally liable for pushing an illegal war.

"In March of 2001, when the Bush Administration began to have secret meetings with oil company executives from Exxon, Shell and BP, spreading maps of Iraq oil fields before them, the price of oil was $23.96 per barrel. Then there were 63 companies in 30 countries, other than the US, competing for oil contracts with Iraq," the Ohio Democrat said during a speech on the House floor.

"Today the price of oil is $135.59 per barrel, the US Army is occupying Iraq and the first Iraq oil contracts will go, without competitive bidding to, surprise, (among a very few others) Exxon, Shell and BP."

The New York Times reported last week that those companies, Chevron, Total and some smaller companies were set to receive no-bid contracts from Iraq's Oil Ministry. According to the paper, such deals "are unusual for the industry," and the companies prevailed over more than 40 others, including some from Russia, China and India.

[GingerB]

The Reichstag Fire ...er... 9-11 changed everything. We The People need to be spied on for our own good. There's a turrist lurking behind every Bush. Don't forget to be afraid, be very afraid.

[trollsbwild]

Bush has done more damage to this country than the 9/11 attacks. All in the name of protecting us. The sad part is that the sheeple really believe we are being better protected by giving up our bill of rights.
After seeing how Congress is caving into this madness, It is my belief that our Democracy is gone. There is little doubt that we have evolved into a fascist state. Accordingly, the terrorists need not bother to try to attack. They can just watch us implode.

[Stretchumall]

On July,4th we should all go outside and moon the sky so that the gov. will get a good picture of how most of us feel.

Stretchumall

[PATina]

Wow... I gues it's true... Life does imitate art.

Enemy of the State.

[lvdragonlady]

Someone should have been spying on his @$$ for the last eight years.

IMPEACH BUSH/CHENEY 08

[ddharder]

As if congress actually cares about civil liberties. They just passed the FISA bill did they not?

[plainsman]

I think there will be post-cloture debate for a while today, possibly heading into the night. The vote 80-15 for cloture pretty much assures the bill's passage though. Sad day for America.

[vippy]

And no support for Obama from me on this. The first major lie. I have standards and no,
I want stretch them.

[jimmy2001]

I think they're more afraid of those satellites being focused on them as they go about on their secret rendezvous... the last few weeks shows they couldn't care less about civil liberties!

[WFV]

Why don't they just make TVs that watch us?

There really is no end to what this administration will do in the name of 'national security'.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Big Brother

[Bendersky]

This guy makes Nixon look like a friggin boyscout. It's almost hard to believe that 35 years ago Watergate was a HUUUUGE scandal. Now we have a president that could (and would) sweep it under the carpet as just some frat boy hijinx, and the press would help him. Hell, he'd probably be congratulated for being willing to go the extra mile.

Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now! Impeach now!!!

[ofbbg]

Hill and Bill did some sweeping of their own, I seem to remember. And the MSM gave the Kennedy brothers a free ride with Marilyn Monroe. What's your point?

[RENREVARD]

Harman voted for the Fisa Bill so I do not think she has the any moral high ground on this issue!