Senate leaders have reached an agreement to extend the Patriot Act for 6 months so it can be examined more and possible have further protections of civil liberties added in. The extension is twice as long as Democrats were asking for but it is a Democrat victory none the less. It is also a victory […]
An interesting story from Germany which gives us some insight into how they view our leaders and their use of rendition: German police in 2003 shielded a German national suspected of terrorism by the United States from questioning by the CIA, according to a newspaper report to be published on Thursday. Die Zeit weekly said […]
United Steelworkers havereleased a statement that delivers a strong message to Republican’s about the budget cuts passed in Senate today: WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 /U.S. Newswire/ — Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) said today’s U.S. Senate 51-50 vote on a budget bill sent a chilling message to workers by including repeal of the […]
Senate Blocks Alaska Refuge Drilling By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer The Senate blocked oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday, rejecting a measure that had been put into a must-pass defense spending bill in an attempt to garner wider support. Drilling supporters fell four votes short of getting the required 60 votes […]
During his press conference on Monday, President Bush said the leaking of the classified eavesdropping program was a serious matter and that the Justice Department has protocols for leaks and should be investigating it. For those of us who follow politics this sounds very familiar. When asked about investigation of the leak, President Bush responded […]
Here is an interesting tidbit from Think Progress. Colin Powell on spying program: “My own judgment is that  it didn’t seem to me, anyway, that it would have been that hard to go and get the warrants [through FISA]. And even in the case of an emergency, you go and do it [begin surveillance]. […]
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 – The limited oral briefings provided by the White House to a handful of lawmakers about the domestic eavesdropping program may not have fulfilled a legal requirement under the National Security Act that calls for such reports to be in written form, Congressional officials from both parties said on Tuesday. The White […]
This story keeps going and going. federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush’s secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources. U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter […]
The LA Times has an article today I find rather disturbing and it gives us a closer look into the way the Republican Party thinks: WASHINGTON  With disputes raging about Iraq, domestic surveillance and the Patriot Act, President Bush faces more resistance from Democrats on a number of his national security policies than at […]
To really add nervousness to our politicians over this holiday season, the New York Times is reporting that Jack Abramoff may be working out a deal with prosecutors in the federal investigation involving his dealings: WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 – Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that […]