From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com> [...] The Wall Street Journal
December 20, 2005 REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Thank You for Wiretapping December 20, 2005; Page A14 [...] There is no evidence that these wiretaps violate the law.[...]
Well, no evidence if you can't read. If you can read, I suggest looking here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sup_01_50_10_36_20_I.htm... That is the text of the law. It was passed in 1978 after the congress got upset about the NSA spying without court orders, so the intent is unmistakable. The law says "you can listen in on US citizens all you like, but you have to request permission of a special court, the FISC. You can start listening in on their communications up to 72 hours before asking the FISC so you can't make a claim that there was no time to ask, but you must ultimately ask the FISC. If you do not ask the FISC, what you do is a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, and the people you listened in on get to sue you for civil damages, too." You can read the law yourself. Yo do not need to believe me on it. I suggest strongly that people take the five minutes needed to read this section of the law in its entirety. It is short and simple. There is no complicated legal language in it. It is also utterly impossible to misinterpret. Once you have read it for yourself, no spin doctor like Bob or the Wall Street Journal can tell you what to think. No one can pretend to you that the truth is not the truth. You will know for yourself, without the need for the media to interpret things for you. So, I suggest you arm yourself against people who choose to tell you things that aren't true by reading for yourself. Again, it will take you less than five minutes. There are also lots of people out there who will claim to you that the President can ignore the law. That's not true -- we have multiple Supreme Court precedents that say otherwise. Still others will tell you that the President's military authority lets him ignore the law in certain ways, and again, we have Supreme Court precedents that cover that. So, why are some people pretending that black is white and white is black? Because for once, George W. Bush has actually slipped up and committed a federal crime. That means that everyone involved is dancing as hard as they can, trying to kick up enough dust that people forget about lines in the law like: An offense described in this section is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. They're gambling that you won't read the law for yourself, that you won't know what it says, that you'll believe them when they say that the truth is not the truth. They're betting on the ignorance and foolishness of the US public, on the laziness of the public. Do not let them win. Read the law for yourself. See for yourself that the President of the United States willfully committed a felony and encouraged others to do so, not to protect anyone, because the law already allowed legal surveillance, even in emergencies, but because the administration arrogantly decided that it was above the law. Read for yourself. Then, call your congressman and your senators and tell them to read for themselves. Do not let this die. Do not let it be forgotten. Perry