Draw the Line. (from Sen. Kennedy, Committee for a Democratic Majority)

[pinto]

Dear friend,

I don't trust Alberto Gonzales with the power to spy on the American people – and neither should you.

In recent months, Gonzales has been under increasingly heavy fire for his shameful role in a number of shocking scandals, including the Bush Administration's illegal eavesdropping program and his refusal to come clean about what he has done. He's lost the confidence of the American people, and many -- myself included -- have called for his resignation.

But rather than holding Gonzalez and other members of the Administration accountable for breaking the law, the White House pushed for legislation that legalizes their actions. Two weeks ago, the Bush Administration and their rubber-stamp Republican allies in Congress forced revisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to expand the government's right to spy on American citizens without outside oversight.

Once again, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez are taking the Bill of Rights into their own hands. Tell the White House to stop scaring the American people into surrendering their basic rights:

http://www.democraticmajority.com/wiretaps

There's no doubt FISA had serious gaps that Congress needed to close. But as the New York Times stated, the new FISA law goes "far beyond the small fixes that administration officials had said were needed to gather information about foreign terrorists."

Under the new law, any conversation between an American citizen and a foreigner can be monitored without a warrant.

Any conversation at all!

But even worse, there's no accountability for this massive new surveillance program. The Bush Administration will set the rules about who gets spied on, and will also have the responsibility for determining whether they're complying with their own rules.

It's like taking a test, and then getting to grade it yourself.

Each of us wants to do everything in our power to protect America from the threat of terrorism. But the Bush Administration refuses to draw any line between fighting terrorism and violating basic civil liberties.

Together, we can draw the line. Sign the petition, letting Washington know that you don't want Alberto Gonzales spying on honest, hard-working Americans like you:

http://www.democraticmajority.com/wiretaps

This is the same Administration mentality that gave us Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Again and again, Alberto Gonzalez, Dick Cheney, and George Bush have thumbed their noses at the Constitution and the rule of law, and then demanded that Congress condone their abuses and trust their judgment.

Not this time. We owe the nation a better approach, and you can help us do it.

Sincerely,

signed

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

[Vincardog]

1. Signed K & R

[loves_dulcinea]

2. hell,

taking tests that you grade yourself? that's how dubya got through college!

[welshTerrier2]

3. sorry, Uncle Ted, but stop lying to me

Kennedy is my Senator. I like him.

But I am not going to go along with this kind of rah rah bullshit: Two weeks ago, the Bush Administration and their rubber-stamp Republican allies in Congress forced revisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to expand the government's right to spy on American citizens without outside oversight.

Sorry, Uncle Ted, but you left out a teensy weensy little detail on your FISA vote scorecard. If you have to lie to make your point, it would have been better to have said nothing at all. Let's remember which party is the majority in Congress, OK Ted?