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Shocking...Not So Much
From ABC's Brian Ross yesterday:
A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.
"It's time for you to get some new cell phones, quick," the source told us in an in-person conversation.
ABC News does not know how the government determined who we are calling, or whether our phone records were provided to the government as part of the recently-disclosed NSA collection of domestic phone calls.
Other sources have told us that phone calls and contacts by reporters for ABC News, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, are being examined as part of a widespread CIA leak investigation.
Now, if the tracking of reporters phone call as part of a leak investigation were all this were limited to, it may be justifiable, but I seriously doubt that's what we're talking about.
I believe what we're talking about is the government using National Security Letters provision of the Patriot Act to tap the phones of anyone it thinks may be thinking about doing a story on leaked information some time in the future. Or whatever.
This is a continuing part of the story where in the Bush Administration declares war on the Rule Of Law. It's just one more way of saying "The Constitution begins with Article II and ends there, and all of crap about Congress and the Courts is just a bunch of typos".
As I said, I was waiting to see what the reactions of reporters would be to this development.
Uh, I'm still waiting. I was pretty surprised last night on "Hardball" when Matthews declined to ask either Michael Isikoff or (more especially) Eric Lichtblau about this story. Nada.
I was expecting to see one of the major newspapers write an editorial brimming with outrage and defense of the First Amendment, but nada.
Is it really such a leap to think that this government, which has now gained infamy for it's many law-breaking activites, would go just one step further and use this information to spy on political opponents, or anyone at all it sees to be a threat to their agenda?
Isn't it time reporter start asking those questions, if not for our sakes, for their own? What will it take to motivate the press corpse to do their jobs if not the threat of the government illegally spying on you in an attempt to send you to jail?
Once again, we are left asking, "Where's the outrage?"
Apparently, the rapid evolution of a police state is of little concern to the media franchises which are now having their free press rights infringed upon. This may change, though, if it is found to impede the ability to perform the kind of investigative reporting that draws viewers. The market may decide the response, rather than moral outrage. It is a sad reality, but Capitalism may be the ballast to right this listing ship.
I loved the spelling of press "corpse" above. That just about says it all, doesn't it?
Oy, I am shocked AGAIN.
And, in the continuing saga of a little country watching it's entire value system and culture get pissed on, this just in:
May 16, 2006
Dear Karen:
Now is the time to voice your support for the arts! Americans for the Arts has just learned that Congressman Bob Beauprez (R-CO) plans to offer a floor amendment to cut $30 million from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) during House consideration of the FY 2007 Interior Appropriations bill this Thursday, May 18. Please take two minutes to visit Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center to send a message to your Representative to urge opposition to the Beauprez amendment. In the customizable message that we've set up for you, you can also urge your Representative to support the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus amendment to increase funding for the NEA and NEH by as much as $15 million.
We need to defeat the Beauprez amendment and to pass the Arts Caucus amendment because the bill under consideration does not provide any increase to the NEA's current funding level of $124.4 million. A modest increase would allow the NEA’s grant programs to keep up with inflation and improve their level of service to the American people.
The Congressional Arts Caucus has successfully offered a similar amendment each of the past six years, just as foes of the NEA have attempted unsuccessfully to pass hostile amendments. We have prevailed in large part because of the efforts of passionate arts advocates like you. More than 3,000 concerned arts advocates have already sent a message to their House Members in the past 24 hours alone – but we still need your help. Members of Congress are much more likely to vote for the Arts Caucus amendment if they hear directly from their constituents about the importance of the arts.
We’ve made it very easy for you to send a quick and customized electronic message to your Representative by using Americans for the Arts' E-Advocacy Center. You’ll be able to send a message to your Member urging them to vote *for* the amendment to increase funding for the NEA, and *against* the amendment to decrease funding. We've also provided convenient talking points to help you make your case.
http://capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?alertid=8761041&type=CO
I am shocked to discover that I am not a conspiracy theorist, and instead, a cold hard realist.
Sad, really.
Linda E.
Nice to see you commenting again.
And Corpse just about says it.
I forgot, welcome to leathej1 and HI to Linda!
U.S. Bans Arms Sales to Venezuela
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060516/ts_afp/usvenezuelasanctionsmilitary_060516054548;_ylt=AvX9henYONeFegAkwevP05JjhuIA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
My favorite part of the article:
"Washington has charged Chavez's government with restricting the freedom of the press and harassing the opposition..."
Truly laughable.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...........
oh my...
In response to the ban, Venezuela is now considering selling its fleet of American made
F-16s to Iran.
Good work, George... In one week, you've managed to work it out so that the EU sells nuclear technology to Iran, and Venezuela will provide them with F-16s made by the U.S.
Keep it up. Maybe by this time next year, China will be selling them high-speed missile delivery systems and you can just declare yourself King to protect us from certain death at their evil hands.
Stupidest. Little. Man. Ever.
Stupidest. Little. Man. Ever.
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at May 16, 2006 01:44 PM
S.L.M.E
I got an I for an aye and a tooth for a truth.
Oy oy, sir!
Posted by: Otter at May 16, 2006 02:56 PM
Mulligan Stu
First Congressional members rolled over and gave The Worst President Ever anything and everything he has ever wanted since 2000 when he was given his office by SCOTUS, no matter how idiotic any of his proposed legislation or wars sounded. He's the de facto dictator. The only thing remaining for him to do is declare himself the dictator for life, at which time he could (and would, if no one opposes him) cancel the '06 and/or '08 elections. Would that wake up the people of this country who won't stand for any changes to the electoral process every four years? Somehow, at this point, even with The Cretin's ratings at only about 30%, I doubt it.
Now the press corpse is just waiting for a coroner to officially declare them dead, and the First Amendment null & void. Unless members of the press are shocked with a defibrilator and come back to life (i.e., use disposable cell phones or other untraceable methods of communication to seek out news that the people of this country desperately need to get back to a center of reality), there is no one who can or will get any truths out to the American people (especially those who do not have internet access).
Dead-Eye Dick was in the Cities yesterday, and the in-state press corpse has dutifully replayed a sound byte from his speech before one of the national guard units in the Cities ('fighting abroad, helping at home' rhetoric - nothing that hasn't been said before) on last night's snooze and today's noon snooze. Sadly amusing was the snooze anchors' piously patriotic tones of voice when they did the set-up for the sound byte, as well as for The Cretin's taped speech last night.
No mention yet of Turd Blossom's indictment. Whether it was an open idictment or sealed indictment, there has to be some kind of leak to Lamestream Media; it can't just be something known only to people who do their primary reporting on the internet and those of us who get our information from the internet. I guess I'm no longer surprised. If the press corpse isn't permanently comatose, or hypnotized into the state of endless repetition that has us all bored out of our minds, it's definitely only waiting for a defibrilator - or a mortician to officially pronounce it dead.
I would like, however, to walk out of this surreal Dali painting reality that has now morphed into dadaism. I'm now officially bored senseless with surreality and other forms of idiotic nonsense. This state of boredom could lead to early senility....
Noticed headline that Mitt Romney calls flooding "almost Biblical" - probably veiled reference aimed at social conservatives, to suggest that God is punishing for people attempting to have gay marriage, to elect people like Kerry & Kennedy etc.
FBI Acknowledges: Journalists' Phone Records Are Fair Game
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051606L.shtml
The FBI acknowledged late Monday that it is increasingly seeking reporters' phone records in leak investigations.
Three news stories on this link. The second article is from The Nation with these quotes:
On an evening when every politician in the Washington was trooping in front of the television cameras to add their commentary to the slurry of blather that is the immigration "debate," and most Washington reporters were trying to figure out whether White House political czar Karl Rove will be indicted this week, little attention went to what could turn out to be the most significant story of the day.
But as journalists wake up to the fact that they are now being spied on, that should change.
~~~~~
This could mark a turning point for the usually pliant Washington press corps, however.
White House reporters are by any measure a docile lot, and there is no question that the Bush-Cheney administration has benefited tremendously from the frequently stenographic reporting of even its most outlandish spin by unquestioning national correspondents - two words: "Judith Miller." But it is difficult to imagine, especially with the approval ratings for the president and vice president dipping to depths previously explore by Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in their darkest days, that Washington reporters will take kindly to being spied on by an administration bent to shutting up confidential sources.
To be sure, the members of the White House press corps should not need a threat to their own privacy - not to mention their most vital sources of honest information - to be inspired to practice their craft as the founders intended. But the track record of the past several years indicates that a jolt of some kind was needed. Let's just hope that the reporters who cover the Bush-Cheney White House will prove to be self-serving enough to want to protect the whistleblowers without whom journalists cannot begin to tell the full story of what this administration is doing in our name but without our informed consent.
{{{Click on link for entirety of all three articles.}}}
Marjorie Cohn | What Will It Take?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051606J.shtml
"What will it take?" asks Marjorie Cohn. "What will it take for Congress to exercise its Constitutional authority to stop the president when he has gone too far?"
Hi everybody - just checking in...
On the phone privacy issue, if you use one of those companies that sold you out, I'd encourage everyone to switch to Working Assets, http://www.workingassets.org/
They are a branch of Common Cause, and they donate profits to good causes.
AND....the best part... there is free Ben & Jerry's involved. Yum.
Posted by: Carol at May 16, 2006 04:52 PM
I might have made that up that they are a branch of Common Cause, because I can't find anything about that on their website now.
Sorry if that's false. Good group, anyway!
Carol,
We have it and the part about free Ben and Jerry's is not a lie!
They will donate to groups (nonprofits) that the subscribers recommend too.
And the mome raths outrage.
through the looking-glass darkly,
Otter
Carol
I think instead of Common Cause it might be True Majority or might have link from there. Can't check from here, but I think that's Ben Cohen's deal.
a Cherry Garcia fan
Posted by: leathej1 at May 16, 2006 12:01 PM
Yes, welcome...
I'm sorry I didn't welcome you before, but I posted as I was running out the door.
Why are we waging war on Mexicans?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/16/20714/2394
good diary