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POPSBush Spy Revelations Anticipated When Obama Is Sworn In
One encouraging sign for civil liberties groups is that John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, is a key figure in Obama's transition team, which will staff and set priorities for the new administration. The center was a tough and influential critic of the Bush administration's warrantless spying. Among the unanswered questions: * Were there quid pro quo promises made to the phone companies and internet carriers who cooperated with the secret spying? For example, were co-conspirators promised lucrative government contracts? * Did the program appropriate the CALEA wiretapping infrastructure? Under CALEA, Congress forced telecoms to build surveillance capabilities into the phone and internet network, but promised it would only be used with court orders. * What did the first version of the surveillance program sweep into its net? In March 2004, a squadron of top officials at the Justice Department, including then-Attorney
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POPSSC shuns appeal by ex-professor in terror case I remember this! O'Reilly never let up on bringing national attention to this 'professor'. Why would he not want to testify...if there is nothing to hide? Why would he "argue that the terms of his pleas bargain barred the government from demanding his testimony in other terror cases"? Is he involved or associated with other terrorists and their activity? (wolves within our midst)
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POPSPlease Be a Voice For Becca Becca McEvoy's voice has been silenced and waiting for another day. Please read entire entry, go to the link provided for email addresses, copy and paste the sample letter and raise YOUR voice in support of Becca!
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POPSJoe Biden's Really, Really Big Brain He also said that he ”ended up in the top half” of his class and won a prize in an international moot court competition. In college, Mr. Biden said in the appearance, he was ”the outstanding student in the political science department” and ”graduated with three degrees from college.” Well, if we measured political IQ, Biden might barely show up on the scale. As Dionne notes later in the article, Biden got one degree from college, a double major. He didn’t get a full scholarship to law school; he got a partial scholarship and received grants to cover the rest. He didn’t graduate in the top half of his class, as he asserted to “Frank”, whose IQ score has been lost in the mists of time. In fact, Biden came in 76th in a class of 85, which isn’t even close.
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POPSAnti-Obama Movie On The Way: Citizens United One prominent Citizens United movie is “Celsius 41.11,” which says it tells the “truth behind the lies” of the Michael Moore movie “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Other Citizens United movies are critical of the United Nations, illegal immigration, and the American Civil Liberties Union, while one movie promotes Newt Gingrich and his ideas. The conservative group is also looking to the U.S. Supreme Court for help in advertising the anti-Hillary movie. It is opposing a federal regulation, under the McCain-Feingold Act, requiring that a disclaimer that identifies the group be placed at the end of television ads promoting the movie and criticizing Mrs. Clinton. It is also arguing that it should not have to disclose how much it spent to produce the movie and the ads, nor who contributed to it. The Supreme Court is scheduled to decide next week whether it will hear the case.
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POPSNew rights for terror detainees as deeply split Supreme Court rules It isn't hard to figure out why the right wingers are all in an uproar over this--you see it gives rights to human beings that aren't Amerikans and that's unthinkable because if we actually see our "enemies" (anyone not Amerikan or kissing our leader's butt) as HUMAN BEINGS and not just some vile brown monkeys like we're supposed to. How sad is that? What has Amerika become? Are we so vile as to deny basic rights to everyone not born here? And when theyu are given the barest of rights--not freedom, juist a chance at Justice--The bile that comes from the Right wing, from Scalia to Giuliani to Limbaugh is so odious, I may gag.
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POPS A Cautionary Tale In Journalism History Last month, Katharine Q. Seelye of the New York Times live-blogged the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas. As the discussion bounced from subject to subject, she marked the topic and the time, then gave her thoughts. At 8:34 p.m., it was driver's licenses; 8:55, Pakistan; 9:57, the Supreme Court. By night's end she had 17 entries totaling almost 1,500 words. And she hadn't typed "Iraq" once.
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POPSStakes high as court hears case on gun rights versus control In March, the U. S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the meaning of the Second Amendment. It's the first time in 68 years the high court will look at the amendment, and arguably the first time ever that a definitive interpretation will emerge of what the Constitution guarantees with those incendiary words, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Gun rights versus gun control is at issue in District of Columbia vs. Heller, and the societal stakes are enormous. Because if the court does render an NRA-friendly judgment that the words are pretty much what they say, that an individual has the guaranteed right to keep a pistol at home for personal use, then a tsunami of test cases can be expected across the country that will crash over existing state and local gun control laws.
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POPSBlackwater Doesn't Give A Damn About Rules It seems as if Blackwater is out of control. The answer to no laws in either the U.S. or Iraq. Paul Bremer made certain of that when he was Viceroy. He left Blackwater and other military contractors immune to Iraqi law, and also released them from any requirement to follow the military rules of engagement. Our soldiers who are paid a small fraction of what these professional killers are paid, and yet must follow all law to the letter or face court martial. These contractors are paid thousands of dollars a week and are given essentially a free hand. I know Republicans like to privatize as much as possible, but this is just ridiculous.
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