The Patriot Act Did Not Go Far Enough-Bushco Revises Spying To Include ALL Americans

[kpete]

This is where we find ourselves today. From Spencer S. Hsu and Carrie Johnson in today's Washington Post:

The Justice Department has proposed a new domestic spying measure that would make it easier for state and local police to collect intelligence about Americans, share the sensitive data with federal agencies and retain it for at least 10 years.

The proposed changes would revise the federal government's rules for police intelligence-gathering for the first time since 1993 and would apply to any of the nation's 18,000 state and local police agencies that receive roughly $1.6 billion each year in federal grants.

Quietly unveiled late last month, the proposal is part of a flurry of domestic intelligence changes issued and planned by the Bush administration in its waning months. They include a recent executive order that guides the reorganization of federal spy agencies and a pending Justice Department overhaul of FBI procedures for gathering intelligence and investigating terrorism cases within U.S. borders.

....................

If police officers no longer see themselves as engaged in protecting their communities from criminals and instead as domestic intelligence agents working on behalf of the CIA, they will be encouraged to collect more information," German said. "It turns police officers into spies on behalf of the federal government."



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081503497.html?hpid=topnews

[NightWatcher]

1. I hope Obama uses the same power to squeeze all the fundies for a year or two. (Gitmo for Rushbo)

before he revokes the damned thing

[eallen]

2. Not even in jest. I hope he revokes it on day one.

:hippie:

[NightWatcher]

3. naw, rush, hannity, savage wienner, and a few others are dangerous and belong in gitmo

[Truth4Justice]

11. I wish they were all locked up at Gitmo. These are * enablers.

[Canuckistanian]

4. How far can you go with an Executive Order?

At what point is it blatantly illegal to make changes like this without legislation?

And does an Executive Order trump legislated law?

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Congress can nullify an executive order with a statute.

But THIS Congress????

[spanone]

6. now THAT'S funny

[Canuckistanian]

7. No kidding

Bush could issue an EO killing all first born male babies and Congress would craft a bill to make it retroactively legal.

[VP505]

10. and call it a compromise.

:grr:

[Supersedeas]

8. and Nancy Disaster will just roll over as she promotes her book about Power

[GoesTo11]

9. At least the DOJ that administers this has been purged of liberals

Oh wait, that might not be the best combination.