AT&T. Your World. Delivered. …to the NSA.

The Democratic Congress finally had the gumption to stand up to President Bush on one of his pet projects; reading your emails and listening in on your phone conversations.

Well, a little gumption anyway. The President wanted complete amnesty for telecom companies for illegally delivering your private data to the White House. He’s been ranting about this for weeks; that we’re tying his hands on fighting terrorists if he can’t read your emails. Congress refused to comply with the amnesty, but then gave in somewhat. They are waffling on granting immunity, but will allow innocent people to defend themselves with classified data that the government already illegally collected.

Whoopee! But, I still smell a veto coming.

Does anyone even care about privacy laws anymore? Do you care that, yet once again, the Decider ignores a long-standing law? The privacy laws in the 1930’s were put into place precisely for this reason; to prevent a knee-jerk reaction and excuse by the government to invade your private communications.

And don’t think they just look at call records ‘if one party is outside the United States.’ Without actually listening to the conversation, it’s impossible to determine the origination and termination points based on phone numbers. So you’ve got to scan them all.

It’s a documented fact that the government has installed a server farm with a fiber-optic cable at the large AT&T installation in San Francisco. All calls, emails and text messages going over the Internet can be diverted, and perused later by the NSA.

I’ve no doubt that Dick Cheney is thinking about Rights Boy right now, what to do about his spilling the beans; disclosing national security secrets and all that.

You can read the report on the recent Congressional action at:
http://saveaccess.org/node/1865

As well as the position of Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the few friends you have left on this issue, at:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/03/11

You can read about the government installation at AT&T at:
http://www.eff.org/cases/hepting

We are all about two steps away from getting water-boarded for keeping a secret.

Friday Funnies

To heck with the Drake Bulldogs! Let’s talk about the true heroes today.

The pale-face four of the CIETC scandal managed to get their trial moved to Davenport, trying to get far enough away to find a jury that won’t convict then.

I don’t think it will work. I still have faith in Iowans that we’ll eventually throw these crooks in jail and throw away the key. Come on, where are the smiles in that picture?

And where is Archie Brooks? After receiving all those sexual favors from Mona, and writing all those check, he’s going to walk. He’s turning State’s evidence and squealing like a pig. But he’s not a pig. He’s a weasel.

Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales seem to be in a race to be the highest-paid speaker after leaving this administration. Rove gets $40,000 for each engagement. Gonzales gets $30,000.


I’ve got to give it to ol’ Karl. He has a mind like Darth Vader and is smarter than most people in Congress or the White House. Rove is going to speaking in Iowa City soon, and I understand that there is quite a welcome planned. Watch for fireworks.

But Alberto Gonzales? He made John Ashcroft look like a man of the people. And John Ashcroft made Janet Reno look like a man of the people. Literally. But Alberto Gonzales was a complete disaster. He never understood anything about the law, he was a crappy manager, never took responsibility for anything, blamed everyone else for his ignorance and missteps, and made a nice lap dog for the President.


And that brings me to the Man!

I’m really starting to warm up to President Bush in his last year in office. He has lightened up, and seems to be looking forward to retirement. He’s making jokes daily. Like he’s never heard that gas is headed to $4 per gallon. That’s funny! I think he is counting the days just like the rest of us.

And I really love it when he shakes his groove thing!

What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know YOUR opinion. And click on a …bla, bla, bla.

Have a great weekend everybody! Root for the Bulldogs when they take on Indiana State today at noon in the MVC tournament.

Irony on Parade

White House spokesperson Dana Perino said that the administration is deeply disappointed with the measures in Pakistan, and agreed in a press conference this week that “it is never reasonable to restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism.”

Rights Boys wonders if Perino knows the definition of irony.

If you care anything about your constitutional rights you are probably ROTFLMAO.

Rights Boy must be so old. He has fond memories of the good old days when the U.S. Justice Departments protected and upheld rights, instead of trampling on them - before the Patriot Act, wiretapping without warrants, suspension of habeas corpus and unlawful search and seizure – just to name a few.

At least General Muschariff is honest that he has suspended citizens’ rights instead of acting like the people never had them.

Speedy Gonzales Takes Off

It is a rare person that can make John Ashcroft look good, but Alberto Gonzales has been up for the challenge since day one.


Now, as Gonzales - the Attorney General of the United States, the head of the Justice Department, the chief law enforcer of the land – resigns, let us humbly summarize the Alberto Gonzales Record:

• Expanded secret domestic spying over the Justice Department’s protest
• Expanded executive powers to conduct unconstitutional warrantless wiretaps of U.S. citizens
• Thought the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war was ‘quaint’
• Stated that pornography is a greater threat to the U.S. than terrorism
• Turned U.S. Justice Department from a legal into a political organization
• Lied to Congress under oath on numerous topics
  

All in just two short years. President Bush’s bench is getting pretty weak… Who should be the next AG?

Can you think of any other Alberto achievements?

Scooter est libre !

Convicted of perjury, obstructing a federal investigation and lying to FBI agents, Scooter Libby breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when his sentence was commuted by President Bush.

No real surprise here. Cheney was never going to let his designated fall guy go to jail. Bush had promised before “not to intervene until Libby had exhausted his appeals.”

"With the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent," Bush said, "I believe it is now important to react to that decision…I respect the jury's verdict, but…"

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who prosecuted Libby, reacted, “It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. "

The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted.