Try to Think of Something More Unconstitutional

In case you haven't heard the big news, the New York Times has revealed that in early 2002 President George Bush ordered the National Security Agency (NSA) to begin eavesdropping on American citizens within the United States without warrants (story here). When confronted with reports of this egregious violation of federal law and constitutional provision, the president took responsibility for ordering the spying, and defended the measures as both "critical to saving American lives'' and ''consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution.'' He added defiantly that he would continue to support such warrantless eavesdropping.

Surveillance of US citizens without a warrant has long been prohibited by the fourth amendment and Supreme Court precedent, as well as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was passed in the 1970s. As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune:

Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said FISA ''expressly made it a crime for government officials 'acting under color of law' to engage in electronic eavesdropping 'other than pursuant to statute.' '' FISA described itself, along with the criminal wiretap statute, as ''the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance . . . may be conducted.'' (story here)

The secret 2002 authorization by the President does not establish adequate legal grounds for the eavesdropping -- it merely directed NSA officials to act in violation of federal law and constitutional limitation. Oddly, the President claims that the attorney general and his White House counsel had both cleared the order prior to its circulation among NSA officials. If, indeed, the attorney general and Bush's counsel both found the directive to be within the bounds of law, their justification of its legality should be tested in the near future.

It is doubtful that there has ever been such a clear-cut case of a President so shamelessly violating both federal law and his oath to uphold the constitution. If any president has ever been deserving of impeachment, it is president Bush -- right here and right now. Good luck to anyone trying to convince this insane country of something so obvious.

Bush just ripped the constitution to shreds -- for the 10th time since he became president -- and the evidence is staring everyone in the face. He even admits that he did it. He isn't even sorry. Will we do something about it?
But Bill Clinton lied about having sex with a chubby girl!
America, you are pathetic.