We're doomed...
US judge rules wiretaps illegal.
A US program to tap some phones without warrants is unconstitutional, and must be halted at once, a federal judge in Detroit ruled.
The scheme, approved by President George W Bush in 2001, involves tapping conversations between some callers in the US and people in other countries.
The American Civil Liberties Union brought the case against the program, which was uncovered by the US media.
And, hey, while we're at it, why don't we take the guns from policemen too.
A US program to tap some phones without warrants is unconstitutional, and must be halted at once, a federal judge in Detroit ruled.
The scheme, approved by President George W Bush in 2001, involves tapping conversations between some callers in the US and people in other countries.
The American Civil Liberties Union brought the case against the program, which was uncovered by the US media.
And, hey, while we're at it, why don't we take the guns from policemen too.
posted by Grant-Will-Rant at
9:53 AM
5 Comments:
I don't know, man. Mr. Bush did swear an oath to uphold the constitution. The program is unconstitutional. The transitive property takes hold here.
By
Oliver Dale, at 12:02 PM, August 17, 2006
The judge did not rule wiretaps illegal. The judge ruled that wiretaps require a warrant. We even have a special court (FISA) set up to expedite the process. They've denied something like 5 requests in the last 20 years. The precedent for terrorism wiretaps isn't even "probable cause", it's "reasonable suspicionm," which translates roughly to "wiretapper must alledge that wiretap is for someone who might somehow someway be vaguely related to terrorism, and not just wiretapper's former spouse."
If the analogy is the police's guns, then the rest of the analogy is that the police were authorized to shoot at random people with no reason and no accountability, and a judge just ruled that the guns must be taken away unless the police will actually follow the rules of engagement.
By
Anonymous, at 1:02 PM, August 17, 2006
The process for getting a warrant approved through the FISA court takes too long. If we're serious about protecting our cities and citizens then we need to do away with all the red tape.
By
Grant-Will-Rant, at 5:53 PM, August 17, 2006
It takes a couple minutes and can be done 3 days after the fact. The only thing that makes it hard is if you actually have no reason to be spying on someone.
An East Germany style surveillance state didn't protect East Germany, and it isn't protecting us. We need to fight terrorists, not citizens. And we can't protect the freedoms this country was built on by destroying them.
By
Anonymous, at 7:08 PM, August 17, 2006
The notion that the process of getting a FISA warrant is too long is simply a lie. The warrant can actually be obtained even AFTER the actual wire tapping has been done. How on Earth is that too long?
By
Survivor, at 8:06 PM, September 02, 2006
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