January 16, 2007

Bush Expands His War on The Constitution

In an editorial in today's P-G, we can read:

Continuing the Bush administration's disgraceful romp across Americans' privacy and civil liberties, we now learn that the Pentagon and the CIA are collecting the banking and credit records of thousands of Americans to compile in a database.

Last week we learned that President Bush had ruled that his administration has the right to open Americans' mail without a court-approved warrant. Earlier we had learned that Mr. Bush had decided that the National Security Agency did not need to respect the measures of the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act requiring a court order before intercepting Americans' telephone conversations and reading their e-mails.

The latest outrage, described by The New York Times over the weekend, has the Pentagon and the CIA, both barred expressly by law from domestic law enforcement, collecting banking and credit information from banks and credit agencies on thousands of American citizens whom the Department of Defense or the CIA suspect of terrorism or espionage.

Here is the article from The Times. The editorial touches on something in the article that needs to be expanded upon. From the editorial:
Apart from specific legal prohibitions on Defense and the CIA involving themselves in domestic law enforcement, they sometimes apparently step on the toes of the FBI -- which is legally charged with that responsibility -- in their independent collection efforts.
And from The Times:

In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has complained about military officials dealing directly with local police — rather than through the bureau — for assistance in responding to possible terrorist threats against a military base.

F.B.I. officials say the threats have often turned out to be uncorroborated and, at times, have stirred needless anxiety.

The military’s frequent use of national security letters has sometimes caused concerns from the businesses receiving them, a counterterrorism official said. Lawyers at financial institutions, which routinely provide records to the F.B.I. in law enforcement investigations, have contacted bureau officials to say they were confused by the scope of the military’s requests and whether they were obligated to turn the records over, the official said.

Companies are not eager to turn over sensitive financial data about customers to the government, the official said, “so the more this is done, and the more poorly it’s done, the more pushback there is for the F.B.I.”

So it looks as though dubya's latest assault on the law might make actually things more difficult for the FBI to pursue real leads in investigating terror in the US.

And while the FBI's hands are not sqeaky-clean either,
Some Democrats have accused the F.B.I. of using the letters for fishing expeditions, and the American Civil Liberties Union won court challenges in two cases, one for library records in Connecticut and the other for Internet records in Manhattan. Concerned about possible abuses, Congress imposed new safeguards in extending the Patriot Act last year, in part by making clear that recipients of national security letters could contact a lawyer and seek court review. Congress also directed the Justice Department inspector general to study the F.B.I.’s use of the letters, a review that is continuing.
Even they don't like the new program:
Some F.B.I. officials said they were surprised by the Pentagon’s interpretation of the law when military officials first informed them of it. “It was a very broad reading of the law,” a former counterterrorism official said.
I'll give the P-G the last word:

Given that Vice President Dick Cheney has already endorsed these Defense and CIA activities on Fox News Sunday, it will take some effort on the part of the Congress to shut them down. One effective way to do so would be by holding hostage upcoming Pentagon requests to the Congress for $100 billion and for authorization to add 92,000 troops.

Tell the Pentagon in the legislation to start by taking the people currently working on its domestic surveillance program and put them instead to some legal purpose. Such specific action is clearly necessary if this further step toward an American police state, carried out by the U.S. military and the country's external intelligence service, is to be headed off. [emphasis added]

11 comments:

  1. Speaking of the Constitution, which you take delight in quoting:

    Seems as if your fellow Democrats with to violate the First Amendment by bringing back the Fairness Doctrine because that's the only way they can deal with the conservative competition when it comes to radio and television.

    And then we have U. S. Senate imposing criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress.

    Yep, that's right. Section 220 of S.1:

    Section 220 would amend the existing lobbying reporting law by creating the most expansive intrusion on First Amendment rights ever. For the first time in history, critics of Congress will need to register and report with Congress itself.

    On January 9, the Senate passed Amendment 7 to S. 1, to create criminal penalties, including up to one year in jail, if someone ‘knowingly and willingly fails to file or report.

    Not a Representative Republic, but complete totalitarianism.

    The liberal way is not to compete, but to silence altogether.

    Welcome to the Socialist state which you voted to create.

    I'm just wondering. Aren't you outraged? Or are you for this now, considering that the Democrats are now back in control? I can imagine that if the Republicans attempted this, this story would be all over your main page.

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  2. And then we have U. S. Senate imposing criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress.

    This is not true.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Not true?

    Ok, this should be simple:

    Prove it. I presented my evidence. Now, let's see yours.

    That is, if you keep yourself from bringing your fascination with animal sex into this debate.

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  4. I see no evidence, just false assertions.

    Read.

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  5. Translation:

    You see no need to discuss this because you don't have any proof.

    ReplyDelete
  6. By the way, clicking on your link brings this:

    Please resubmit your search
    Search results are only retained for a limited amount of time.Your search results have either been deleted, or the file has been updated with new information.

    Nice try.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry, Master Lie, I don't know why that link doesn't work for you.

    Here ya go:

    SEC. 220. DISCLOSURE OF PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING.

    (a) Definitions- Section 3 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1602) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph (7), by adding at the end of the following: `Lobbying activities include paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying, but do not include grassroots lobbying.'; and

    (2) by adding at the end of the following:

    `(17) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING- The term `grassroots lobbying' means the voluntary efforts of members of the general public to communicate their own views on an issue to Federal officials or to encourage other members of the general public to do the same.

    `(18) PAID EFFORTS TO STIMULATE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING-

    `(A) IN GENERAL- The term `paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying' means any paid attempt in support of lobbying contacts on behalf of a client to influence the general public or segments thereof to contact one or more covered legislative or executive branch officials (or Congress as a whole) to urge such officials (or Congress) to take specific action with respect to a matter described in section 3(8)(A), except that such term does not include any communications by an entity directed to its members, employees, officers, or shareholders.

    `(B) PAID ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR SEGMENTS THEREOF- The term `paid attempt to influence the general public or segments thereof' does not include an attempt to influence directed at less than 500 members of the general public.

    `(C) REGISTRANT- For purposes of this paragraph, a person or entity is a member of a registrant if the person or entity--

    `(i) pays dues or makes a contribution of more than a nominal amount to the entity;

    `(ii) makes a contribution of more than a nominal amount of time to the entity;

    `(iii) is entitled to participate in the governance of the entity;

    `(iv) is 1 of a limited number of honorary or life members of the entity; or

    `(v) is an employee, officer, director or member of the entity.

    `(19) GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRM- The term `grassroots lobbying firm' means a person or entity that--

    `(A) is retained by 1 or more clients to engage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying on behalf of such clients; and

    `(B) receives income of, or spends or agrees to spend, an aggregate of $25,000 or more for such efforts in any quarterly period.'.

    (b) Registration- Section 4(a) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)) is amended--

    (1) in the flush matter at the end of paragraph (3)(A), by adding at the end the following: `For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii), the term `lobbying activities' shall not include paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying.'; and

    (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

    `(4) FILING BY GRASSROOTS LOBBYING FIRMS- Not later than 45 days after a grassroots lobbying firm first is retained by a client to engage in paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying, such grassroots lobbying firm shall register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.'.

    (c) Separate Itemization of Paid Efforts To Stimulate Grassroots Lobbying- Section 5(b) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(b)) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph (3), by--

    (A) inserting after `total amount of all income' the following: `(including a separate good faith estimate of the total amount of income relating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying and, within that amount, a good faith estimate of the total amount specifically relating to paid advertising)'; and

    (B) inserting `or a grassroots lobbying firm' after `lobbying firm';

    (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting after `total expenses' the following: `(including a good faith estimate of the total amount of expenses relating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying and, within that total amount, a good faith estimate of the total amount specifically relating to paid advertising)'; and

    (3) by adding at the end the following:

    `Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) shall not apply with respect to reports relating to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying activities.'.

    (d) Good Faith Estimates and De Minimis Rules for Paid Efforts To Stimulate Grassroots Lobbying-

    (1) IN GENERAL- Section 5(c) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1604(c)) is amended to read as follows:

    `(c) Estimates of Income or Expenses- For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:

    `(1) Estimates of income or expenses shall be made as follows:

    `(A) Estimates of amounts in excess of $10,0000 shall be rounded to the nearest $20,000.

    `(B) In the event income or expenses do not exceed $10,000, the registrant shall include a statement that income or expenses totaled less than $10,000 for the reporting period.

    `(2) Estimates of income or expenses relating specifically to paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying shall be made as follows:

    `(A) Estimates of amounts in excess of $25,000 shall be rounded to the nearest $20,000.

    `(B) In the event income or expenses do not exceed $25,000, the registrant shall include a statement that income or expenses totaled less than $25,000 for the reporting period.'.

    (2) TAX REPORTING- Section 15 of the Act (2 U.S.C. 1610) is amended--

    (A) in subsection (a)--

    (i) in paragraph (1), by striking `and' after the semicolon;

    (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and

    (iii) by adding at the end the following:

    `(3) in lieu of using the definition of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying in section 3(18), consider as paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying only those activities that are grassroots expenditures as defined in section 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.'; and

    (B) in subsection (b)--

    (i) in paragraph (1), by striking `and' after the semicolon;

    (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting `; and'; and

    (iii) by adding at the end the following:

    `(3) in lieu of using the definition of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying in section 3(18), consider as paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying only those activities that are grassroots expenditures as defined in section 4911(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.'.

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  8. And here you go:

    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070119-8651.html

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  9. Sorry:

    One of the Democratic priorities for the new Congress was passage of a lobbyist reform bill, but the introduction of S.1 into the Senate has caused a veritable firestorm of controversy. That's because section 220 of the bill introduces disclosure requirements for "paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying." The Traditional Values Coalition calls this section the "most expansive intrusion on First Amendment rights ever proposed in the United States Senate," while GrassrootsFreedom.com chairman Richard Viguerie says that if it passes, "We'd be living under totalitarianism, not democracy." But are these accurate statements, or is truth the first casualty of rhetoric?

    S.1 would change the rules for lobbyists. It bans all gifts from lobbyists, imposes restrictions on trips and accommodation offered to elected officials, and requires all "earmarks" to be identified in spending bills, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But the bill also wants to bring disclosure requirements to the murky world of astroturf groups (so-called because they mimic real grassroots organizations). This is certainly a noble goal; undisclosed corporate money washes through so many front groups now that it can be difficult to tell when opinions are genuine and when they are bought and sold.

    Section 220 of the bill "would require grassroots causes, even bloggers, who communicate to 500 or more members of the public on policy matters, to register and report quarterly to Congress the same as the big K. Street lobbyists," said Viguerie in a statement, but the truth isn't that simple.

    First, a couple of facts: though groups like the Family Research Council claim that "the liberal leadership in the US Senate seeks to silence groups like the Family Research Council," the bill was actually cosponsored by Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the top Republican leader in the Senate. What's more, the bill appears to be an exact reintroduction of last year's S.2349, which was introduced by Trent Lott (R-MS) and actually passed the Republican-controlled Senate, complete with section 220.

    So much for the liberal plot. In fact, some liberal groups oppose the measure, including the ACLU. The group argues that the reporting requirements are "onerous" and that "people must be able to disseminate information, contact their representatives, and encourage others to do so as well."
    So what's in the bill?

    Section 220 introduces a series of modifications to the 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act. The most important is that "paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying" now counts as "lobbying" under certain circumstances. Currently, lobbyists are only considered as such if they have contact with elected officials or staff members. Should the new bill become law, disclosure and reporting requirements for lobbyists would be extended to groups who attempt to influence the general public to contact legislators.

    This is what has inspired claims that bloggers and activists of all stripes will suddenly be classed as lobbyists and will be monitored by the government. What the bill says, though, is that the rules only apply to people who are paid by clients to encourage the public to contact Congress about specific legislation. The rules do not apply to any communication directed at less than 500 people, they do not apply to any communication directed at a group's current membership, and they do not impose any speech regulations (all that is required is a quarterly report describing where one's money came from and what bills were worked on).

    Would this apply to a political blogger? Not usually. Because section 220 is only a series of changes to the Lobbying Disclosure Act, that legislation's other rules still apply. According to OMB Watch, a government accountability watchdog group, the LDA's registration requirement is only triggered by groups that spend more than $24,500 on lobbying semiannually and employ a least one person who spends 20 percent or more of their work time on lobbying. The bill also concerns only the federal government; groups operating at the state level are exempt.

    It might apply to groups like the Family Research Council and the ACLU, however, but that seems to be exactly the intent of the bill. These are major advocacy groups in the same league as the astroturf groups so often funded by industry, not tiny nonprofits operating out a rented storefront in a downtrodden Midwest town—or bloggers operating from a basement.

    The measure will hardly "send critics to jail," as Richard Viguerie warns, and it's simply not true that the "Senate will have criminalized the exercise of First Amendment rights." Sending in a form can hardly be counted as draconian government harrassment, much less criminalization of free speech, and it won't apply to most small advocacy groups or bloggers anyway. (Note that Viguerie is referred to as the "direct mail titan of the right" by SourceWatch, and that he would need to disclose his clients and their payments to him in many cases if this law were to pass).

    The legislation seems designed instead to give the public more information about who is funding public advocacy campaigns. Much as prescription drug makers have begun advertising their products directly to the general public, other corporations have found it more productive to disguise their interest in an issue, convince the public that it's either good or bad, then let individuals contact Congress directly. This gives their message more credibility, but citizens first need to know that the sources for these messages are credible.

    Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT), though, is concerned that section 220 is overly broad. He has introduced amendment 20, which would kill section 220 but leave the rest of the bill intact. (As a sign of just how much interest the bill has received on Capitol Hill, it currently has 96 proposed amendments).

    S.1 has not yet come to a vote, though debate has progressed vigorously and a vote could be called at any time.
    Update

    S.1 has passed the Senate on a vote of 96-2 with most of its teeth intact. It did lose a molar, though, as the Bennett Amendment passed 55-43. This amendment removed the controversial section 220 from the bill, which means that federally-focused grassroots political campaigns will not be counted as lobbyists and can continue to raise and spend money without disclosing its source.

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  10. And then we have U. S. Senate imposing criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress. Yep, that's right.

    As I said, this is just not true. Ten paragraphs of obfuscation does not change that, Master Lie.

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  11. Shitrock,

    I hope you're right.

    ReplyDelete