End of the (Phone) Line

It appears that the NSA story just won't die for the Bush Administration. Congress is still attacking the President about his spy program. It seems as if Congress has finally cut completely away from the president, and it's about time. There needs to be some serious investigations into this matter because I highly doubt the legality of this program. The administration's answers about it are very paltry, and the evidence is minimal. Unless there is some law I don't know about, why doesn't the Bush administration request that the federal judges, who granted their requests for spying on telephone calls, be asked to testify in front of the judicial committee? It also befuddles me how the administration never tries hard to prove to Americans the legality of their system. I understand the importance of not leaking strategy to the enemy, but if you're telling them you're spying on phone calls then the secrets out.

A few Americans have said, "I don't have a problem with these programs, because they are protecting me from terrorists and I want the terrorists stopped." Well, the truth behind that is debatable. The problem with spying on American phone calls is that it contains several loopholes. First, you have to trust the government in power to not abuse this authority, and with the Bush administration I do not. Second, this sets a dangerous precendent for American citizens. Once a government begins spying on its citizens without warrants then that can really set the government up for more and more invasive activities. America needs to be careful, because this wreckless administration has no problem taking our civil liberties and flushing them down the toilet.

I know Bush has told people over and over these telephone taps are legal, but where are the warrants? He doesn't have to show every word of the warrant, but perhaps an outline of one just to prove that he did go to the courts. Such a move would have been recorded in the annotated court reporter's record. So why can't his administration refer us to those documents? They are available in most public libraries, and on the internet. Also, where are the judges who issued these warrants? Couldn't they be subpoenaed for their actions? None of these steps have been made by the President, and that is why i seriously doubt the legality of his actions. Not enough has been done to convince me that he is doing the right thing, or that this is having a serious affect on the police action against terrorism. If anyone can recall, Bush tried defending his spy program by telling America that it prevented an attack on a building in Los Angeles. The mayor of Los Angeles didn't even find out about the botched attack until he read/saw the news and heard Bush talking about it.

Just think about it.