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Re: BIG change re: spy-on-Americans program
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Originally Posted by jotathought
This is the case I mentioned, and the 6th Circuit Court stated in October that the administration could continue the surveillance while it appeals the case of Taylor [it was also stayed immediately after the Taylor ruling]... even many experts have claimed that the ruling would not surive an appeal. |
White House reverses course on spy program - [love that "reverses course"  ]
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Last August, a federal judge in Detroit declared the spying program unconstitutional, saying it violated the rights to free speech and privacy and the separation of powers. In October, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based appeals court ruled that the administration could keep the program in place while it appeals the Detroit decision.
That appeal, which was scheduled to be heard on Jan. 31, will now likely be rendered moot, said one Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the government has not yet officially decided whether to drop its case.
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Hmmmm. The same month that the appeal was supposed to be heard, the government does a 180 and puts the program under FISA. Ya think maybe they saw the writing on the wall?
However, if I rob banks for a year and then stop, I still broke the law while I was robbing banks, right? Even though I stopped?
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The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the government over the program, called the Justice Department's announcement "a quintessential flip-flop."
"The NSA was operating illegally and this eleventh-hour ploy is clearly an effort to avoid judicial and congressional scrutiny," said ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero. "Despite this adroit back flip, the constitutional problems with the president's actions remain unaddressed."
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Indeed.
__________________
Curly
The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.
- Hermann Goering
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