Comments on: Eyes On The Spies: What Obama Can Do About Illegal Surveillance

By: bmaz

bmaz — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:52:34 +0000

Both bad. What you are seeing is a hollow publicity stunt.

By: bmaz

bmaz — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:50:05 +0000

Holder gives us hope? I want some of what you are smoking.

By: BearCountry

BearCountry — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:47:14 +0000

I have a further question. Who is the bad guy and who is the good guy in the struggle between the DoJ and NYC police over illegal surveillance? How will that work out under the new DoJ?

By: BearCountry

BearCountry — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:45:35 +0000

Exactly right. My view is that no matter who is President we are going down the road domestically that w set us on so clearly. We were already on the greater surveillance road, just not so blatantly. The best that Obama can do is slow us down. The bureaucrats who actually have the power to do the surreptitious work will be loathe to give it up.

By: bobschacht

bobschacht — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:21:04 +0000

There has been an odd duality about this whole business:

Democrats are afraid to take issues like Bush’s impudent response to subpoenas to court, for fear that they would lose in the Roberts SCOTUS, and then have on the legal books a decision that they don’t want.

The administration, however, has lost almost every case that goes to court, from Libby to Hamdan.

Consequently, the DOJ has been busily obstructing justice by preventing the court’s involvement (most of the time).

Maybe letting the Courts sort things out is not such a bad idea– and once the Obama administration gains control, they can do a lot of good just by stopping the obstruction of justice. Of course, I would prefer that they strike a more aggressive posture on administration abuses, but it would be a start just to open up the floodgates.

And if they are really truly scared of looking like meanies taking revenge, they can appoint some independent prosecutors to do the nasty work for them, so they can’t be accused of partisanship.

Bob in HI

By: neurophius

neurophius — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:20:17 +0000

What Obama can do about illegal surveillance: Tell all federal employees and contractors that they are to follow the law. Period.

By: plunger

plunger — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:18:01 +0000

Obama cannot, and will not, do anything to investigate or truly STOP the warrantless wiretapping. That’s because it would reveal the foreign country that installed the equipment that enables it, from the White House to Your House, and how they have used it.

Welcome to the Foreign Surveillance Society.

Don’t forget to thank your (s)elected officials for enabling it.

By: john in sacramento

john in sacramento — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:12:03 +0000

Marcy had it last night

By: DrBong

DrBong — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:07:40 +0000

Mason, I feel your pain.

‘ere!

;~P

By: john in sacramento

john in sacramento — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:56:25 +0000

Check it out

Verizon Employees Snoop on Obama’s Cellphone Records

An unspecified number of Verizon Wireless employees snooped into President-elect Barack Obama’s personal cellphone records, the company announced Friday.

Verizon immediately suspended all employees who accessed the records and will take “appropriate disciplinary action” against employees found to have looked at them without authorization.

Obama had a simple flip phone, not a smartphone, meaning the interlopers found only records of phone calls and text messages. The account has been inactive for several months, the company said.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstrok.....ploye.html