White House Privacy Board Says Bush Spy Programs Okay

   Isn't it so nice to know that a White House privacy board gave Bush the go ahead on two of his surveillance programs? The two would be electronic eavesdropping and the tracking of finances and the board stated that these two programs don't violate the US citizens civil rights.

   Of course, the Democrats came to the same conclusion that I have and that is basically WTF, as the board came from the White House where honesty and integrity don't exist and even worse is the fact that some of the board members are close to the " Bush Department of Constitutional Shredding,Inc. "

   This board ( Privacy and Civil Liberties Board ) has been doing it's thing in secrecy for a year and it is now do to give a report on its findings to Congress next week.

    I am drooling on myself in anticipation of reading that piece of junk!

AP

"We looked at the program, we visited NSA and met with the top people all the way down to those doing the hands-on work," said Carol Dinkins, a Houston lawyer and former Reagan administration assistant attorney general who chairs the board.

"The program is structured and implemented in a way that is properly protective and attentive to civil liberties," she said.

   The Congress wishes to give the board more authority and to make it more independent of the president, which would be a good first step if this board is to stay around.  There were some individuals who did have some things to say about this up-coming report.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called it absurd that the White House board effectively gave the eavesdropping program its stamp of approval even before the administration was forced to backtrack and submit it to court oversight.

"I have no confidence in the current board in its ability to provide meaningful evaluation of important programs such as the no-fly lists, based on its work on the domestic surveillance program," he said. "It is critical that Congress make the civil liberties board independent of the executive branch."

The board does not have subpoena power, and the White House can change its annual reports before they go to Congress. The members serve at the pleasure of Bush, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has final say over whether officials must comply with the board's recommendations.

Separate House and Senate measures would require that the entire board — not just the chairman and vice chairman — be confirmed by the Senate.

   I would prefer the House version which is much the same as the Senate version except that the House would give the board subpoena power whereas the Senate would have the board go to the attorney general to have subpoena's issued.

   It's a safe bet that any member of the " Bush Department of Constitutional Shredding,Inc. " ( Gonzales ) isn't going to be issuing to many subpoena's when it comes to " the decider " and the rest of the boys in the hood.

 

Technorati tags: White House, Bush, Spy Programs, Congress

John Edwards Speaks On Faith And God

   Presidential candidate John Edwards did an interview with David Kuo from BeliefNet and he had the opportunity to discuss his religious faith and the role that it plays in his decisions.

   I am of the personal opinion that those so-called Christian conservative's and the rest of the groups that claim to be Christians,Coulter is one who comes to mind, should heed some of John Edward's learning's. 

Belief Net

Interview by David Kuo

 

What parts of American life do you think would most outrage Jesus?
Our selfishness. Our resort to war when it's not necessary. I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs. I think he would be appalled, actually.

Do you have a favorite prayer?
No. My praying is more conversational than that. It is me explaining to God what I am going through, what our family is going through, and asking him to help me see the way, to do what's right.
And asking him also, which I do regularly, to allow me not to focus on myself and my own selfish desires. Because I am a sinner and selfish, like every human being on the planet. And asking him to give me the power to get outside that and do what he would have me to do. That's sort of the heart and soul of my prayer.
In what ways do you feel God is happiest with you right now?
I think he would be happy with the fact that I have focused on people who live in poverty here and people without healthcare. And the suffering of others in other parts of the world, like some of the work that I've done on humanitarian issues in Africa, for example, and going to the slums outside of Delhi and India.
Focusing on problems in a very personal way that exist, and without regard to my own selfish ambitions, talking about things that may not seem so politically powerful, but are important to me, and I think important to God.          Entire Article

john edwards, faith, god