The MSM & the Democrats vs. America

One day after the historic vote in Iraq, a vote where Iraqi insurgents were actually safeguarding the polls, what is the main focus of the MSM?

This of course: Bush Approved Eavesdropping, Official Says .

Oooh, scary! The facist Bush is once again destroying our so called civil rights, right?

Wrong! The NSA is an evesdropping agency, that's its primary mission. They are authorized to monitor US citizens when they are outside the US. So what's the big problem? Well, the President decided (he issued an executive order and informed the Senate Intelligence Committee-including the democrats who sit on that committee, and he went through all the proper channels after making this decision) that it would be alright to monitor phone calls between suspected terrorists when they are in the country and they are calling somewhere outside the country. Egads!

Not only is it not illegal or improper for the NSA to do this, this program has been very effective in the past. In fact, in November of 2003 John Ashcroft gave a speech to the 2003 National Lawyers Convention and talked about this very program!

Here's part of what he said:

"Here's an example of how we use the act. Some of you are familiar with the case of Iman Ferris, a naturalized United States citizen who worked as a truck driver out of Columbus, Ohio. Using information sharing allowed under the PATRIOT Act, law enforcement pieced together Ferris' activities -- how Ferris met senior al Qaeda operatives in a training camp in Afghanistan; how he was asked to procure equipment that might cause train derailments and sever suspension systems of bridges; how he traveled to New York to scout a potential terrorist target. Now, Ferris pleaded guilty on May 1, 2003, and on October 28, he was

sentenced under the PATRIOT Act's tough sentences. He'll serve 20 years in prison for providing material support to al Qaeda and the conspiracy for the terrorist organization, providing them with information about possible U.S. targets for attack.The Ferris case illustrates what the PATRIOT Act does. One thing the PATRIOT Act does not do is to allow the investigation of individuals "solely on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." We know that it does not do that. And even if the law did not prohibit it, the Justice Department has neither the time nor the inclination to delve into the reading habits or other First Amendment activities of our citizens. "

There were other plots in England and Ireland that were exposed by this very program. A program that affected perhaps 500 people a year. The administration asked the New York Times not to publish this story so the NYT sat on this story for more than a year. So, why come out with the story now?

To take a great victory from President Bush, there's simply no other reason.

So the question is how does exposing this program make America safer? It doesn't. But it gives the Democrats another avenue of attack on the administration.

Don't you find it curious that the Democrats only care about leaks if they have absolutely nothing to do with national security? I guess the Democrats feel so safe here in the US that they need to spend their time attacking the institutions that make them safe.

Nice.