Warrantless Surveillance

Oh, Sweet Cynthia, Silence Thy Siren Song!

Russ Wellen | Posted 07.15.2008 | Politics


Russ Wellen

I refuse to be guilt-tripped into thinking I was complicit in Gore's loss, but if I declined to vote for Obama and he lost, no matter how far right of center he leans in the coming weeks, there's no way I could shake off the blame this time.

Obama and the Progressive Base

Norman Solomon | Posted 07.10.2008 | Politics


Norman Solomon

A reasonably evenhanded biography of Barack Obama, published last year, describes him as "an exceptionally gifted politician who, throughout his ...

FISA Fight: Attack Of The Epic Failure

Martin Bosworth | Posted 07.09.2008 | Politics


Martin Bosworth

This was a battle the Democrats absolutely could have won. Instead, they knuckled under and granted a corrupt and authoritarian president one of his greatest victories.

Are Progressives Making Too Big A Deal Out Of FISA?

Matthew Yglesias | Posted 07.08.2008 | Politics


Scott wonders if people are making too big a deal out of FISA: While I understand there are dozens of real policy difference to disagree with Pre...

What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Tuesday

Tim Ferriss | Posted 07.07.2008 | Politics


Tim Ferriss

July 8th could mark the beginning of official condoning of warrantless surveillance of law-abiding citizens in the US. I am not an alarmist and believe in qualified surveillance with process -- this is different.

Obama Network Organizes and Revolts Over Spying

Ari Melber | Posted 06.30.2008 | Politics


Ari Melber

Barack Obama tapped his sizeable grassroots network on Saturday, coordinating over 4,000 "Unite for Change" meetups across the country through the cam...

Obama and Telecom Immunity: The Importance of Pushing

Bill Scher | Posted 06.27.2008 | Politics


Bill Scher

Obama's recent statement on the new surveillance bill serves as a reminder that he is a politician. Not in either a negative or positive sense. It's just a plain fact.

I'll Trade You the 2nd Amendment for the 4th

Cenk Uygur | Posted 06.27.2008 | Politics


Cenk Uygur

If the Bush administration releases the fourth amendment that it is currently holding hostage, I'm happy to consider the Supreme Court decision on the second amendment final and decisive.

Why Congress Treats The Constitution Like A Toy

Art Brodsky | Posted 06.25.2008 | Politics


Art Brodsky

On FISA, our "legislators" had to legislate, or else they would be made to look bad by a president whose policies are now opposed by about 80 percent of the American people.

In the Theater of the Obtuse

Leslie Harris | Posted 06.23.2008 | Politics


Leslie Harris

The new FISA bill makes U.S. citizens' most private conversations when communicating with people abroad rendered more vulnerable to eavesdropping without adequate judicial oversight. Some in Congress see this as a compromise.

The Father and Daughter Who War-Monger Together

Russ Wellen | Posted 06.15.2008 | Politics


Russ Wellen

Cheney's aide-de-nepotism -- daughter, Elizabeth -- has once again rallied to his cause of pursuing war with Iran.

News Hunt Update: Breaking Records, But Still Not Done

NewsTrust | Posted 06.07.2008 | Home


NewsTrust

Together, we've broken several new records for NewsTrust -- thank you all! When we checked your stats the morning of June 6, the 'Off The Bus 10+ Reviews Club' had grown dramatically as well.

Mea Culpa, or, I Believe I May Have Misspoken

Robert Davey | Posted 04.09.2008 | Politics


Robert Davey

I think I have to eat my own words, because it looks as if I did misread the Protect America Act. But in my defense I must say that the law is very confusing.

2001 DOJ Memo Justified Warrantless Surveillance

AP | PAMELA HESS and LARA JAKES JORDAN | Posted 04.02.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — For at least 16 months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001, the Bush administration believed that the Constitution's protecti...

House Dems Near Surrender on Bush Spying

Ari Melber | Posted 03.04.2008 | Politics


Ari Melber

Tuesday's Washington Post reports that House Democrats are close to granting all of President Bush's demands for more domestic spying powers and telecommunications amnesty, in exchange for, well, nothing.

Jason Linkins

Alarmist Lede Drives Times Wiretap Story

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 02.27.2008 | Politics


The New York Time's Eric Lichtblau is all a flutter today because, as his headline reads, "In Wiretap's Stead, Uncertainty." Harrowing, terrifying, "...

Court Rejects ACLU Challenge to Wiretaps

AP | MARK SHERMAN | Posted 02.19.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — An attempt to blast a crippled U.S. spy satellite out of the sky using a Navy heat-seeking missile _ possibly on Wednesday night _ ...

Wiretap Law Expires As Dems Stand Up To Bush

TPMmuckraker | Paul Kiel | Posted 02.15.2008 | Politics


What happened? The administration did everything right. The invocation of "countless American lives" hanging in the balance, the specter of terrorists...

FISA Is Ratings Poison

Marty Kaplan | Posted 02.15.2008 | Politics


Marty Kaplan

The power of the president's fear-mongering derives from the same media ecosystem that empowers all terrorists, whether at Ground Zero or Cole Hall at Northern Illinois University.

Will the Spies Come Out of the Closet?

Leslie Griffith | Posted 02.13.2008 | Media


Leslie Griffith

With all the lies this administration has told the American people, how in the world we can give up our basic right to privacy?

Bush Warns of Attacks While Backing Bill

AP | DEB RIECHMANN | Posted 02.13.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — President Bush, at loggerheads with House Democrats over how closely the government can eavesdrop on U.S. citizens, warned Wednesda...

St. Veto's Day?

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 02.07.2008 | Home


Jayne Lyn Stahl

This president's concept of the veto is not unlike Reagan's notion of detente, i.e. the threat is more potent than the thing itself.

GOP Effort To Force FISA Vote Fails

TPMmuckraker | Paul Kiel | Posted 01.28.2008 | Politics


The fight goes on. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) cloture vote failed 48-45 just now, well short of the 60 votes necessary. In the ...

Senate Delays Eavesdropping Vote

AP | PAMELA HESS | Posted 01.24.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The Senate granted at least a temporary victory to the White House on Thursday, turning back an attempt to increase court oversight...

Reid Considers Extending Protect America Act For One Month

The Hill | Manu Raju | Posted 12.19.2007 | Politics


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Tuesday he would seek to extend a controversial interim wiretapping law through February to avoid the ea...