Immunity for Telecommunication Companies

There is just so much going on in politics right now, it's enough to make a person's head swim trying to keep track of everything. It doesn't help when we can't take our leader's words as truths. It was good that the House called Bush's bluff about granting immunity for telecommunication companies. I think a phrase uttered from a House member said it best, If this was about protecting the American public, Bush would have accepted another 15 day extension to keep Americans safe. Bush has basically admitted that the whole thing is about getting immunity for the telecoms saying that any bill not including an immunity clause would be vetoed. So does that make it sound like Bush is really worried about the American public? I don't think so. Why do you think it's so important for Bush to get immunity for the telecoms? Do you think that it's really because he thinks that in the future big companies won't help us if we really need them to? Government can pass laws to mandate that they cooperate, in fact there are already laws on the books allowing for just that, the problem was that the Bush administration didn't use the laws that were in place to access this information. Why? Anyone's guess, but I would imagine that it would have something to do with that in order to go about this legally, Bush would have had to get permission from a court set up just for that purpose. So what's the problem with that? Well then searches would have had to have some legal basis for needing to tap into that person or group's phone(s), in other words the searches would have had to been accountable with limitations on what was and what couldn't be done during the process of tapping these lines. From what little has become public about this process that went on, this was a huge operation that scanned most everyone on the telecom's customer list. Then I think it was last night I heard some republican or spokes person from the administration saying because of this bill not passing, that the telecoms are already starting to not want to continue helping the government, but I was reading that the reason the telecoms want to shut the programs down is that the government agencies that are involved with this aren't paying their phone bills. I agree with some of the people in government that say ultimately any legal damages awarded to groups suing the telecoms should be paid by the Bush administration instead of the telecoms, because when it is the government that is telling you to turn over information like this, it's hard not to comply. There has been at least one telecom company that didn't turn over their customer information which means at least one company figured out the legalities of the deal.

There is another reason why Bush is so intent on giving telecoms immunity. Remember when the congress got duped into granting immunity for intense interrogation techniques aka torture by waterboarding among other things? Congress went on later to pass another bill expressively banning waterboarding after the fact. When asked about the legality of waterboarding Attorney General Mukasey, Mukasey dodged giving an answer by saying that the government claims that it has not done it after the law preventing waterboarding was passed, so it's a moot point making a decision as to whether it was illegal in the past. If the telecoms are given immunity for handing out records without the proper legal process, would that make a moot point of the president asking them to illegally hand over such information?

Will the House Stand Up?

It was finally a pleasant change to see that the House members did not cave in on the FISA bill. I hope that they keep from granting immunity to the major telecoms for going along with an illegal request to turn over everyone's phone records. Now something that I haven't seen since the House took the action of going on recess without voting on the revisions to the FISA or Protect America bill, it would be interesting to see if that one event had any effect on the public opinion polls. It will be interesting to see if anything becomes of their new powers to enforce their subpoenas now. It would sure be nice to see some justice carried out in the government, it's long over due.

The baseball investigation is coming to an end, good thing, we don't really need to be using tax payer's money to get that straightened out. Just when a person thinks they may be done wasting money on things that don't pertain to the government, I wouldn't hold my breath. Look for possible upcoming investigations into video taping of opposing football teams signals, that would seem to be the next big major sports issue that people will want a congressional investigation on. Give me a break.

Missing White House Emails

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been farting around with the issues of missing emails from the White House and other administration agencies for at least a year now with out any results. Even though there are laws to insure that White House and President retain and hold emails and documents to be on record for the sake of documenting history to be accessed by historians and the American public and it is well apparent that for the most part the Bush Administration isn't taking steps to insure this process, the oversight committee hasn't had any luck getting these documents so that they can do their job of oversight. Instead of pushing impeachment against Bush and Cheney for this and other crimes committed during their terms in the White House, the committee has been focusing on the use of drugs by baseball players. I guess if you can't do your job doing oversight on the government you take on important issues like the use of drugs in baseball, you know, so it doesn't look like you are just sitting on your hands letting them grow there. Maybe it's because of the frustration of not being able to provide oversight of the government that the committee has decided to take on an issue that they can handle without too much stonewalling. I think pretty much the whole process of our government is broke. For the most part, Democrats have put impeachment off the table saying that it would be a waste of time when they have so much other things of more importance that they want to address during their terms.....yeah, like baseball. Everything that Democrats have been wanting to accomplish has been loss because they are trying to deal with the administration and its illegal activities, stonewalling, and outright lies. Instead of taking care of the problem's sources, they are taking on the important task of keeping baseball honorable while they sit with their finger up their butt waiting for emails and justice to take care of itself.

The Irony of Arlen Specter

Friday there was an AP article about Republican Senator Arlen Specter-PA, stating that Senator Specter wanted the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence of the New England Patriots cheating scandal, stating that he was concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes.

This is from a Republican senator... Senator Specter, you are concerned about such things when it has to do with a football game? I mean, yes by all means, we have to hold these games above the accountability that your buddies in the Republican party have demonstrated while in power. After all the stakes are so much higher than say whether we as a country have illegally used torture such as water boarding against prisoners and the videos of that were destroyed. Football is maybe much more important to you then missing emails from the administration's deliberations to start a war on false pretenses, or information on the political firings of 8 U.S. Attorneys, or the leaking of a CIA operative's name. I think you are having a case of sour grapes maybe cause you had some money riding on the game or something. Same thing with the congressional investigation into doping in baseball. Is doping in sports disturbing? Yes. Is doping in sports wrong? Yes. Is it something that is so important that we should be spending time and money in the senate investigation? I don't think so. With all the other problems that we need to be sorting out, war, lies, stonewalling, illegal activities, missing emails and other missing evidence by upper administration members, wouldn't it be better to leave the sports problems to be settled out among the sports leagues and associations. Baseball is a multi billion dollar industry I think they could afford their own investigators, set their own regulations and enforce them without tax payers having to front the bill.

Update 3/13/08

I was maybe out of line somewhat on Arlen, it is noted that in the illegal wiretapping subject he wants to change defendant from the telecommunication companies to the government in the court cases now against the telecommunication companies for them going along with illegal requests by the government. I can see the logic to having the government as a defendant, I can understand how it is hard to refuse something the government is pushing you to do. I am not familiar with what effects that may have on any court case. It does seem like it's a rip to the tax payer to have to pay for the government's illegal actions of spying on tax payers. It would amount to the same thing as if someone stole something from a person and they sell it on the black market, spend the money they got from selling the stolen goods, and then we make the person that was ripped off have to pay the thief's fines and court costs. So maybe I'll reserve my praising Arlen for wanting to do that after all. To really be fair, if this was Bush's idea and he convinced the intelligence communities to take this route as a legal option, who in turn convinced the telecoms that this was legal request for information, Bush should be made the defendant and the one liable for any jail time or fines.