Bad Deeds for 3-7-2008

Officials Monitor Thousands of Letters Without Warrants – The US postal service approves more than 10,000 requests from US law enforcement each year to record names, addresses and other information from the outside of packages every year, according to information released through a Freedom of Information Act request. The warrantless surveillance mail program — as it is known — requires only the approval of the US Postal Inspection Service Director, and not a judge.

FBI Head Says Give Telcos Immunity Even if They Acted in Bad Faith – At the heart of President Bush’s plea to give telecommunications companies legal immunity is the contention that these companies were merely being patriotic corporate citizens when they facilitated the warrantless wiretapping of Americans. FBI Director Robert Mueller undercut that argument Wednesday, telling Congress that the ‘good faith’ argument should have nothing to do with whether or not they are let off the hook in dozens of pending court cases.

Polster on Fox News Says Jimmy Carter was the First Female President – On Fox News’ Fox & Friends, while discussing the electability of Sen. Hillary Clinton with a focus group in Ohio, pollster Frank Luntz called Jimmy Carter “the first female president.”

MSNBC Host and Reporter Says Protester Should be Tased and Taken to a Secret Prison – On MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe,’ field reported Willie Geist reported the following: “President Clinton was campaigning for his wife in Corpus Christi, Texas, yesterday when an idiot started waving a sign that claimed 9/11 was an inside job. Wah, wah, shut up.” Geist’s associates, including Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, jeered aloud as the video showed the screaming man being removed by security. “What’s Rosie O’Donnell doing in Corpus Christi?” shouted Scarborough. Continued Geist, “As Clinton was working the crowd after the speech, the man got close to the former president and started yelling at him. You don’t do that, y’see, ’cause that’s when the Secret Service steps in.” Scarborough quipped aloud, “Where’s the taser? Tase him, bro!” “The man led away in handcuffs,” Geist wrapped, “and hopefully taken to one of those secret prisons in eastern Europe, never to be heard from again. We can only hope.” As Scarborough pleaded, “Please leave Bill Clinton alone,” Geist added, “I hope we have a special prison for 9/11 conspiracy theorists. They deserve to be together.”

Bush Administration Says Congress (and Thus the People) Get No Say in How Long We Stay in Iraq – The Bush administration yesterday advanced a new argument for why it does not require congressional approval to strike a long-term security agreement with Iraq, stating that Congress had already endorsed such an initiative through its 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein. The 2002 measure, along with the congressional resolution passed one week after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks authorizing military action “to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States,” permits indefinite combat operations in Iraq, according to a statement by the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs.

More FBI Privacy Violations – The FBI acknowledged Wednesday it improperly accessed Americans’ telephone records, credit reports and Internet traffic in 2006, the fourth straight year of privacy abuses resulting from investigations aimed at tracking terrorists and spies. An audit by the inspector general last year found the FBI demanded personal records without official authorization or otherwise collected more data than allowed in dozens of cases between 2003 and 2005. Additionally, last year’s audit found that the FBI had underreported to Congress how many national security letters were requested by more than 4,600.

On Glenn Beck’s Program, Jonah Goldberg Compared Obama and FDR to Hitler – On the February 22 Glenn Beck, National Review Online editor-at-large Jonah Goldberg said: “I think one of the things that is decidedly fascistic, or at least just a bad idea, is looking for silver bullets. You know, when [Sen.] Barack Obama campaigns, he’s basically saying, ‘I’m a silver bullet. I’m going to solve all your problems just by electing me.’ FDR, Hitler, all these guys, they basically said, ‘All your problems can be solved.’ ”

Glenn Beck Says, “If you’re an ugly woman, you’re probably a progressive as well” – On the February 14 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Glenn Beck said, “Ugly people, if you’re a guy, you can get past it. I don’t think you can as an ugly woman. I don’t — no, I don’t. If you’re an ugly woman, I apologize. Oh, you’ve got a double cross, because if you’re an ugly woman, you’re probably a progressive as well. Oh, jeez. I’m sorry. Today’s just not your day. But you know what? If you believed in God, you’d know that there’s going to be another chance for you. You don’t have to be ugly in heaven. You’re going to be your perfect self, and there will be another perfect somebody waiting for you on the other side.”

McCain Amendment Lays Groundwork for Outsourcing Production of American Military Equipment – Yesterday, John McCain defended the Air Force decision to overlook Wichita-based Boeing Co. for a $35 billion contract to build airborne refueling planes, saying he would not work to overturn the decision and saying that military decisions should not be about creating jobs. [McCain Town Hall Meeting, Waco TX, 3/3/08; AP, 3/3/08] Unfortunately for American workers, McCain has the record to back his statement up.

In 2003, Sen. McCain authored an amendment undermining “Buy American” rules requiring U.S. military equipment, defense systems and components to be manufactured in the United States. By allowing the Department of Defense to purchase American military equipment from foreign companies, the McCain amendment laid the groundwork for the Air Force’s decision to outsource the production of refueling tankers for the American military. The amendment passed along party lines with Kansas Senators Roberts and Brownback voting in its favor. [Vote 191, 5/21/03]

(Does it make any sense to have our military dependent on foreign companies for weapons, repair parts and technical support? – JLV)

Regards,

Jim