The police state arrived in 2002

[LuckyTheDog]

http://nytimes.com/2005/12/15/politics/15cnd-program.html?ei=5094&en=0a4739ca3ab6d63b&hp=&ex=1134709200&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 ­- Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

(snip)...

Some agency officials wanted nothing to do with the program, apparently fearful of participating in an illegal operation, a former senior Bush administration official said. Before the 2004 election, the official said, some N.S.A. personnel worried that the program might come under scrutiny by Congressional or criminal investigators if Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, was elected president.

[mhr]

1. Why Should We Be Surprised?

eom

[LuckyTheDog]

2. Impeachable?

If that isn't an impeachable offense, nothing is. If the GOP-controlled Congress fails to act on THIS, then we'll know they have no respect for the rule of law.

[BOHICA06]

3. The Whole Story ....

...looks like this wasn't done in a vacuum. Congress was informed. After 9/11 I wouldn't expect less.

[LuckyTheDog]

5. The operation was illegal

There should be a special prosecutor appointed immediately to investigate anyone involved.

[BOHICA06]

7. The Operation might ...

be illegal, depending on what court you ask on what day! After being pummeled for not connecting the dots, I imagine the envelope was pushed in a bunch of areas.

[LuckyTheDog]

8. This is more serious than that

The operation was a felony. And anyone in Congress who knew about it and didn't blow the whistle was engaged in an illegal conspiracy.

[unkachuck]

4. if our civil liberties....

....constitution and democracy can be so easily ignored, I guess we were living in a delusion....

[stillcool]

6. Went to the library today...

and got into a conversation with the librarian....who was very knowledgeable and very concerned with tracking devices, and their apparent use without cause. We had a laugh about my being on the 'list' for my insatiable reading of political books. She said something about 'terrorists', and how we are all now 'terrorists'...just hysterical. After I left, the whole thing seemed ominously absurd..the fact that the conversation is so main-stream and matter of fact. We have arrived.