[taliv]

link to wsj article (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114549771456130732-fNMKc3AWRNO7Kt58oXWNzzR_pms_20060519.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top)

offhand, i'd say this is a lame attempt to placate the libertarian wing of the reupblican party. we don't need another beaurocrat. what we need is for the president and his immediate staff to stop pissing on the constitution and asking us to "just trust them".



When the NSA wiretapping program began, Mr. Joel wasn't working for the intelligence office, but he says he has reviewed it and finds no problems. The classified nature of the agency's surveillance work makes it difficult to discuss, but he suggests that fears about what the government might be doing are overblown.

yeah, this is going to go over like a turd in a punchbowl

[Don't Tread On Me]

What is that? Like the Kommissar?

[Clean97GTI]

I'm sorry, but isn't that what our courts are here for?

I also love that Mr. Joel just fell into line with what the rest of Bush's men are saying. I am curious though, if Joel says all is well, he must have reviewed what the NSA has been obtaining. I'm curious if there is a way to find out what they've got. Perhaps a request for info under the Freedom of Information act is in order.

[ibex]

Civil Liberties Protection Officer
What, someone like the President of the United States? Or more something like the SCOTUS? :confused:

[Derek Zeanah]

The Slashdot commentary on this pointed out something interesting: he appointed a commission on human rights more than a year ago, and the group's never even met...

Expect no changes. This is spin, kind of like changing out the dude that talks to the press...

[ArmedBear]

http://www.ragtagfilm.com/archives/images/strangelove.jpg
Alex Joel

[MrTuffPaws]

This is getting insane. I wonder how long until we get Political Officers?

[American By Blood]

This is getting insane. I wonder how long until we get Political Officers?

Likely sooner rather than later. An ever-increasing amount of private institutions are hiring "chief diversity officers" to make sure that the entities in question are "sensitive" and "multi-cultural" enough. Many of these offenders are colleges and universities.

Get the future leaders of America accustomed to ideological dragooning at a young enough age and they'll go forth into the world and demand it takes place in every facet of society.

[xd9fan]

...so.....another Govt agency watching the Govt.........oh yeah thats it!! that'll work! Still missing the point GOP.....how about reading the Constitution (with the Bill of Rights) and then following along.

Its limited Govt, stupid.

This is a clear sign of too little too late.


Civil Liberties Protection Officer is that like Central "Intelligence"

wow this is to USSR-ish

stupid me I thought the Bill of Rights protected my civil Liberties. Now I need a govt officer to tell me what they are....and what they mean??

boy when they fall they sure do fall fast.

[Cosmoline]

Meanwhile, a reporter with the guts to challenge the Chicom tyrant is forced away, with Bush kowtowing and apologizing to the scum he's chosen to honor.

I have no President.

[Kodiaz]

Nothing like watching POTUS kissing the butt of a Communist slave owner. Nothing like watching Bill Gates watching a man that would make him a slave to govt. And people watching our president sit across a table from this communist bastard asking what he thinks. I can't believe this crap. Who would have thought, Jefferson and company are up there looking at us screaming at the tops of their lungs.

[ArmedBear]

Jefferson and company are up there looking at us screaming at the tops of their lungs.

They wouldn't have done that. It would have been so uncivilized. They would have taken snuff, and had their slaves do the screaming for them as they looked on, approvingly.

Jefferson was a great man in some respects, but not others. We're on our own here. There are no perfect patron saints of liberty. We must forge our way, ourselves.

[Cosmoline]

We also own plenty of slaves. They're just working for us in Chinese prison camps :cuss:

[Kruzr]

Our very own Baghdad Bob to tell us our rights are intact while they are searching through the house.

[Clean97GTI]

I think the approach we take towards China is going to have to be similar to how the USSR fell. The Chinese government will never want the people to be free from communism. Communism keeps powerful men on top and everyone else in a constant state of work.

We're going to have to begin pushing capitalism into China. Show the Chinese what they're missing. The Chinese government can ignore the USA, but its going to have a lot harder time ignoring 2 billion citizens.

[ArmedBear]

The reality of the Chinese streets looks more like the old-fashioned free marketplace than what you see here in the US, though, GTI. Except maybe for Quartsite AZ, I guess.

My parents just got back from there a few weeks ago.

I'm thinking that things might look more like the 13 Colonies, circa 1776, at some point. People will realize that they built the country, and tire of serving their arbitrary overlords.

It might get a lot uglier before it gets prettier.

[Frandy]

Armed Bear, posting that photo from Dr. Strangelove was PRICELESS! :D

[Can'thavenuthingood]

"He says that if he thought a program went too far and those responsible weren't responding to his concerns, he would be able to have Mr. Negroponte and other agency heads help make his case more forceful."


Good grief, those writers in Hollywood couldn't make this stuff up.

Socialist's, every dam one of them, socialist's through and through.

Political officers coming.

Vick

[Clean97GTI]

the rampant counterfeit problems the Chinese are having is a clear indication that the people aren't going to be satisfied forever.
When I say counterfeit, I don't just mean money. I'm talking about all sorts of goods from baby formula to airplane parts. The Chinese have been brutal with some of the counterfeiters though. Executions are not uncommon at all.

[American By Blood]

There's already a whole lot of capitalism in China. Just not much democracy.

My cynical prediction is that it will likely stay that way. The Chinese have always shown great interest in mercantile pursuits, but very little predisposition to freedom-based politics. In the West we make a big deal about the pro-freedom dissidents, but they're a small minority that tends to offend the bulk of the Chinese citizenry. Exposure to non-Chinese thought via the internet and other forms of media is having an effect, but it's unlikely that this will be strong enough to counteract millenia of cultural inertia and the effects of the tundra on heritable psychological mechanisms.

I'd prefer we not do much business with China, but I don't think we'll see liberty flower there regardless of our trade policy.

[RealGun]

There was nothing in the article to suggest that the appointment is not part of a genuine attempt to address concerns about possible abuse of civil liberties. Rag on Bush if you must, but this appointment is constructive.

[Kim]

Well how about the great corrupt Civil Rights Commission that had that lady that refused to leave when her time was up. All that commisssion ever did was sprew out there is a White Racist under every bed in the country and don't forget to check the closet while you are looking. It is there I swear. And if you can not find racism it is still there you can at least smell it. :banghead:

[MrTuffPaws]

There are no perfect patron saints of liberty. We must forge our way, ourselves.

Darn, if that is not one of the most beautiful things I have read....

[Flyboy]

I'm sorry, but isn't that what our courts are here for?
It would be, but the President doesn't seem to think he needs to talk to them.

[Sevengunner]

Sorry to disappoint here, but Mr. Joel's position was created by Congress when they enacted the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. While I would not be in the front of the line to congratulate the Pres on a job well done, Congress created the position and it's Bush's job to fill it.

[Standing Wolf]

I'm so glad Jorge has big plans.

[RealGun]

I'm so glad Jorge has big plans.

Are you by any chance referring to President George W. Bush?

[LAR-15]

The truth does not belong in this thread Sevengunner! :mad:

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Having an executive appointed officer oversee what the executive is doing isn't a particularly inspiring or effective oversight of the NSA program in my opinion.

Having said that, some of you are your own worst enemies. I have repeatedly opposed this NSA program and was extremely sympathetic to the initial posts; but if I hadn't had to read some of the hyperbole in this thread repeatedly on a daily basis, I would think it was carefully crafted satire due to the level of paranoia and lack of historical awareness.