To Fight New Spying Bill, House Republicans Try Doublespeak

The House Democrats who are leading the charge on reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act can't seem to make anyone happy. Progressive lawmakers and the American Civil Liberties Union say that the new bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers won't protect civil liberties sufficiently. And at last, House Republicans are showing their cards, finding new ways to argue that the Democratic plans undermine American national security and hurt our fight against terrorists.

But the Republicans have decided to take a page out of the progressive playbook, too. In the days to come, watch for them to argue that the Democratic legislation, the RESTORE Act, will harm civil liberties.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, already did as much in a statement yesterday. Referring to the new requirement that the intelligence community keep records of "the instances where the identity of a United States person whose communications were acquired was disclosed by an element of the intelligence community...to other departments or agencies of the United States," Hoekstra argued:

[T]he bill creates a centralized database that could subject Americans to alarmingly increased risk of privacy violations by requiring the intelligence community report to Congress information on the identities of U.S. citizens disseminated within the community.

[...]

It could open a door for massive civil liberties violations by Congress--by requiring the intelligence community to turn over information on U.S. citizens it would normally black out.

So let's get this straight. Rep. Hoekstra is worried that if a government agency is spying on you, and told another government agency that it's spying on you, the possibility that Congress might find out that you're being spied on could violate your privacy.

I'll say no more.

Comments

[OrvilleHLarson]

Hey, there, Congress!

Anyone interested in civil liberties? Anyone at all? How about you, Senator Klobuchar of Minneosta? You sorry you rolled over for the Liar-in-Chief's bullshit "Protect America Act" in August?

Civil liberties are vital. Without 'em, a country just isn't worth living in.

[lisakaz]

And don't forget all the threats that the "next" attack will be the fault of whomever doesn't pass the GOP's bill (even though they've done little to protect this country other than allow spying on its own citizens).

[Lemeritus]

I say we should make all INcumbents OUTcumbents.

[Mark701]

It's amazing watching these guys squirm. I mean do they really hate our freedoms and our civil liberties that much? How could they grow up in a country that is based on protecting indvidual rights, get elected to congress professing democratic values then be so eager to legislate them all away?? Countries like North Korea and China would LOVE to have these guys working for them.

[NABNYC]

4th 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."

This is my right. I was born with it. The 4th amendment simply confirms that. It is clear. The government has no authority to intrude or to search, or wiretap or eavesdrop unless they get a warrant first, and the warrant must be based on specific facts, under oath, showing probable cause. Probable cause that a crime has been or is being committed, and I'm involved in some way.

Congress is just as delusional as Bush in assuming they have the right to take away my 4th amendment freedoms. Unfortunately the Supreme Court is now just as corrupt as Congress so it may be decades before these violations are legally condemned.

But the constitution is clear. These people are all working together, Democrats and Republicans, to violate the 4th amendment rights of the citizens. And I don't care how pretty they try to make it, it's just plain unconstitutional.

[MSB]

This is just another empty moronic argument for what is to great extent an empty, moronic public.

It is statements like this that should make every citizen realize that if these people (most of Congress) are allowed too remain in power, we will have no rights in the new, authoritarian, fascist US.

People need to be pissed NOW. They need to be withholding the funding to party politics NOW. They need to be informing themselves NOW. There may be no tomorrow. They need to be resisting the theft of their Democracy this very minute!

[xenubarb]

What lies (heh no pun intended) behind this doublespeak is the concept of Doublethink.
From George Orwell's 1984:

To quote from 1984:

"_Doublethink_ means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in
one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. The Party
intellectual knows in which direction his memories must be altered; he
therefore knows that he is playing tricks with reality; but by the exercise
of doublethink he also satisfies himself that reality is not violated. The
process has to be conscious, or it will not be carried out with sufficient
precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a
feeling of falsity and hence of guilt. Doublethink lies at the very heart
of Ingsoc, since the essential act of the Party is to use conscious
deception while retaining the firmness of purpose that goes with complete
honesty."

[faust2001]

Nov. 4, 1859--Congressional representatives of Southern states argue that freeing the slaves would hurt the ability of Southern blacks to find employment.

[Ani]

Thanks, Michael --

You've done the often impossible task of taking a complicated issue and making it simple to understand.

I hope we ALL get it.

Our freedoms ... our Constitutional rights ... our American values, under this administration, are being systematically removed.

With doublespeak.

With clever turns of phrase.

I think of it this way: I used to raise one cow a year to put in the freezer for my family. When it came time for the killer, we knew that the cow would have tastier and less-tough meet if it was killed right in its pen, in its familiar home, surrounded by nice hay and a good bucket of sweet oats. The less the cow knew ... the more tender the meat.

So, knowing about cows and killers who come right to the pen to do the deed ... well, you get my analogy.

Please don't be fooled, folks, by the nice people who tell us that it's good for us when our government comes into our homes and spies on our conversations ... our e-mails ... our keystrokes and our phone lines.

I know that if my cows had known what was coming, they might have enjoyed a longer, happier life.

Be well today,

Ani

[realitytrumpsbull]

This administration could replace the National Anthem with Judas Priests' "Breakin' The Law",
and be a little closer to the honest truth
in the eyes of a lot of people...maybe someday
there'll be a George W. Bush Center For The
Ethically Impaired...? LOL

[drblack]

If the Dems cave on this I am going to explode.
I think that the original FISA law should be in place until we can have a good debate and get a new President.
Just let the "Protect(reads screw) America Act" sunset and keep the original FISA law.
The biggest danger to American Freedom is our Government and their big business masters.
The Dems are doing a good job at pissing off their supporters. Do they think making neoCONS happy is more important then protecting the Comstitution.
The Dems have got to tell the truth...that their way, The Holt sponsered bill , is protecting the Constitution.

[nomobull]

FOUR WORDS WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH

[vkarma]

Liberties melting away? You bet. The plan is working. Dub down Americans with TV and sports, them swip their liberties right out form under their feet. When you trade liberty for security, you lose BOTH. See RonPaul2008.com for a viable solution.

[Meanwhile]

Don't blame TV and sports -- those luxuries exist apart from the government. The reason Americans are dumb is because the Republican party has been systematically gutting the public education system in this country for the past 25 years (or more), and the Democrats who get elected don't seem to care.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

sorry, I can't stand someone who thinks that we have not progressed in the last 230 years...

no thanks.