Bush Confident Surveillance Is Legal

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20060126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_74 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush defended anew his program of warrantless surveillance Thursday, saying "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." He suggested that he might resist congressional efforts to change it.

"The program's legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary," Bush told a White House news conference.

Democrats have accused the president of breaking the law in allowing eavesdropping on overseas communications to and from U.S. residents, and even some members of his own party have questioned the practice.

Asked if he would support efforts in Congress to give him express authority to continue the program, Bush cited what he said was the extreme delicacy of the operation. "It's so sensitive that if information gets out about how the program works, it will help the enemy," Bush said. "Why tell the enemy what we're doing?"

[calico1]

1. Interesting.

He is protecting our civil liberties by violating them. :eyes:

[BlueEyedSon]

5. Black is white, war is peace. So what else is new? 1984 is his playbook.

[saigon68]

24. With ScumBag Alito on his side

Any concept, doctrine or principle, no matter how ridiculous, fascist or demeaning will be OK

Except taking $$$$$$$$$$$ from the privileged class

[DKStreet]

2. The Harriet Miers appointment makes a lot more sense now...

I see what he was up to. I'm sure it was her who gave him his legal advice on this matter.

[Webster Green]

3. Is not!

Legal in the chimp's mind, but his mind is fucked up big time.

[gratuitous]

4. Sure, ask the perp if what he did was a crime

Since there's no more separation of powers in the United States anymore, no more checks and balances between the co-equal branches of government, Bush serves as his own legislative, executive and judiciary. Things certainly are a lot easier in a dictatorship, aren't they?

[mac56]

6. Great! Let him say that!

So if he's got nothing to hide, he needn't fear an investigation. Right?!

[Kalisiin]

8. Exactly! One Only Needs Fear "A Fishing Expedition" If There ARE Fish!!

n/t

[Canuckistanian]

7. Wait until someone explains it to him CORRECTLY

He's surrounded by fascists who feed him this bullshit every day.

He never listens to, or acknowledges contrary information.

He never shows a true understanding of the facts.

And worst of all, he's just so simple-minded it just doesn't dawn on him that he's being lied to.

[Mithras61]

9. Can anyone explain to me...

why his claims that this is legal sound so much like "I didn't do it. No one saw me. You can't prove a thing."?

Beyond that, the claim '"The program's legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary,"' is pure BS. The FBI wants the NSA to stop dumping their "intelligence leads" on the FBI because it's a huge waste of precious resources (and doesn't produce anything exclusive), and the "program" is a clear violation of either FISA, the Fourth Amendment, or both!

[VegasWolf]

10. As if the dem "leadership" is going to object to anything Bush wants.

:puke:

[joefree1]

11. Bush has naked pictures of your Mama!

Can you prove he doesn't? With no "checks and Balances" we can pretty much accuse him of anything.

[baby_mouse]

12. God's TEETH. Does this fuckwit even know what the word "LEGAL" MEANS?

Apparently not.

You can CHECK whether or not it's legal, George. There's no mystery about it...

[barb162]

20. No.

[emad]

13. Wonder how he'll feel when NATO Military Intelligence comes

clean and admits it had HIM under surveillance for the last 20 years....only didn't release its data to the public....

[kurth]

14. Everything you do is legal when you are omnipotent and unrestricted by law

What an arrogant asshole.

[sinkingfeeling]

15. Guess he can't read the US Constitution! Hey, stupid, you're violating

my constitutional rights!

[antonialee839]

16. The murder monkey is always confident, and always wrong.

[endarkenment]

17. Then junior should have no problem with an independent

special prosecutor to determine that legality.

p.s. if it was legal then he could have gotten a warrant.

p.p.s. bush is an habitual liar.

[Beetwasher]

18. Yeah, He Was Also Confident About WMD's, And Confident That Tax Cuts

would create jobs etc.

[LizW]

19. He gave conflicting statements.

He said, "I didn't break the law."

And he said they looked at the law and it did not allow him to do what he wanted to do.

The logical conclusion of those two statements is not that the spying was legal, but that Bush decided that the law did not apply to him.

It's a fine point, but an important one.

[uppityperson]

21. "it's designed to protect civil liberties", Orwell was 20 yrs too fast

as my sig line says, war is peace, freedom slavery, ignorance strength. Amazing that anyone would believe this. Just amazing.

[caledesi]

22. So now * thinks he is a lawyer. He is a cowboy, you know -

one that is afraid of horses.

[AzDar]

23. Bush also " confident" Earth was created in 7 days.... n/t

[madmark]

25. lets get a judicial review of whether its legal or not

[BadgerKid]

26. well, if it's safe for civil liberties

why not go the extra step to have the appropriate language added to Patriot Act bill?

Not that that matters anymore. * will just do another "signing statement" that excludes such language.

[pinniped]

27. What's another signing statement anyways?

It's not like it will bring him over the total of the last three presidents.

Ronald Raygun- 71
POS* #41- 146
Bill Clinton- 105
Illegal POS* #43- 500+

Check this out:

--in 2003 lawmakers attempted to rein in *'s abuse of signing statements by passing a bill that required the Justice Department to inform Congress whenever *Co decided to ignore a legislative provision. * signed the bill into law -- but then immediately issued a signing statement asserting his right to ignore it. Ah, the nauseating poetry of it all.)--

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/01/25/notes012506.DTL&hw=signing+statement&sn=004&sc=623

[superconnected]

28. Everything is a secret with this nazi.

If it wasn't against the law he wouldn't be defending it, trying to stop and investigation, trying to cover it up, and seeking congress to make laws for it to be legal.

[Squatch]

29. Whew! That's a relief!!!

As long as he's confident, I'm good with this.

:sarcasm:

[wildwww2]

30. Just imagine a headline about Bill Clinton saying his illegal spying

was legal. The son`s and daughters of non-vote counting GOP sluts that own the media would have their lapdog pundits screaming impeachment to high heaven. Besides all the worthless rightwing bought and paid for politicians. We no longer live in any kind of democratic republic. When a fraudulent pResident can get away with breaking the law. And the last real President we had could not even get a blow job in private without getting impeached.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[SIU_Blue]

31. Pre-Law Undergrad confident Bush is Wrong

Pursuant to the fact that Bush said it.

[wordpix2]

32. Did anyone see the press conference today? Smirky looked really nuts

I'm not kidding, he is coming totally unhinged.