I guess if you go after reporters, even the Times might get cranky

[solarbird]

Probably too late for it to matter in the Senate, the New York Times editorialises against the PAA/FISA revision bill, stating in plain terms some of the actual realities involving what's been going on:

The Senate debated a bill that would make needed updates to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — while needlessly expanding the president’s ability to spy on Americans without a warrant and covering up the unlawful spying that President Bush ordered after 9/11.

The Democrat who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, John Rockefeller of West Virginia, led the way in killing amendments that would have strengthened requirements for warrants and raised the possibility of at least some accountability for past wrongdoing. Republicans declaimed about protecting America from terrorists — as if anyone was arguing the opposite — and had little to say about protecting Americans’ rights.

We saw a ray of hope when the head of the Central Intelligence Agency conceded — finally — that waterboarding was probably illegal. But his boss, the director of national intelligence, insisted it was legal when done to real bad guys. And Vice President Dick Cheney — surprise! — made it clear that President Bush would authorize waterboarding whenever he wanted.

The Catch-22 metaphor is seriously overused, but consider this: Attorney General Michael Mukasey told Congress there would be no criminal investigation into waterboarding. He said the Justice Department decided waterboarding was legal (remember the torture memo?) and told the C.I.A. that.

So, according to Mukaseyan logic, the Justice Department cannot investigate those who may have committed torture, because the Justice Department said it was O.K. and Justice cannot be expected to investigate itself.

As it was with torture, so it was with wiretaps.

Lawlessness, torture-stateism, domestic spying, Democratic enabling - it's all there. So, well, there you are. Too bad they were silent - continually and repeatedly - when it mattered, and didn't support Senator Dodd's filibuster when that could have mattered, and didn't press the presidential candidates - mostly members of the Senate - on this at any time.

It's a damn shame, that. But at least they've, well, talking about it now. Maybe that'll help in the conference fight with the House version.

Comments

[brombear.livejournal.com]

And when the Attorney General was before the House Justice Committee, his comments to waterboarding was, in effect, "The A.G. can not comment on practices that are classified, because we might give away to our enemies what they can expect in an interrogation, and the only members of Congress that have access to the document are those on the Intelligence Committee". Talk about tap dancing...he would make Fred Astaire proud!

[solarbird]

I think you misspelled "ashamed."