Rights group readies suit over US domestic spying WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading U.S. civil liberties watchdog said it was filing a federal lawsuit on Tuesday to stop the domestic spying program that President George W. Bush authorized after the September 11 attacks. The American Civil Liberties Union said the lawsuit would be filed against the National Security Agency in U.S. district court for eastern Michigan on behalf of journalists, scholars, attorneys and national nonprofit organizations that frequently communicate by telephone and e-mail with people in the Middle East. The lawsuit, which also names NSA Director Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander as a defendant, seeks a court order declaring that the spying program is illegal and ordering its immediate and permanent halt. Bush acknowledged last month that he had authorized the NSA to monitor the international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without first obtaining warrants in an effort to track al Qaeda members and other terrorism suspects. News of the program set off an outcry among both Republicans and Democrats who questioned whether the administration was violating the Constitution by spying on Americans. The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act makes it illegal for the U.S. government to spy on Americans without first getting approval from a secret federal court. The ACLU said its legal complaint charges that the spying program violates Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the first and fourth amendments of the Constitution. The ACLU also charges that Bush exceeded his authority under separation of powers principles. Plaintiffs in the case believe their communications are being intercepted by the NSA and that the program is disrupting their ability to talk with sources, locate witnesses, conduct scholarship, and engage in advocacy, the ACLU said. Plaintiffs include authors and journalists such as Christopher Hitchens and Tara McKelvey as well as James Bamford, a leading expert on U.S. intelligence and the National Security Agency. Nonprofit groups that have joined the lawsuit on behalf of their members and staff include Greenpeace and Council on American Islamic Relations, the ACLU said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Susan you know this one's just for you. What do you think of this? Is ol' Hitch wrong now?

Remember that I am the one who has always pointed out Hitchens is a leftist and a self-proclaimed Trotskyite so it is no great surprise that he is, yes, wrong on much.  I am not sure which thread it's in, but somewhere within the last week, I posted that Christopher Hitchens was sliding down my credibility scale. Good timing, huh, Dave! I'll have to locate it just to demonstrate that this little stunt was not the precipitater of his demotion.

Over the years I have openly opined that I was not always sure how much I respected his views or if it was just his wonderfully seductive modus expressionus. Recall? I'll bet herofix does. Well, it doesn't matter. Who agrees with anyone across the board straight down the line on every subject? I was smitten with his breakaway hawkish views and his rejection of the Nation magazine. I loved his countless celebrity author spats and his poison pen and tongue. And I'll continue to read him and I'm sure we'll line up in synch every now and again.

You probably also realize that Christopher and I have always disagreed on one of my fundamental concerns: Israel. I was temporarily willing to set that aside! I could handle his mocking of Mother Teresa just because it was so over the top and curmudgeony. I could stomach his equally over the top desire to have Henry Kissinger brought before the Hague as a war criminal. And now, to this list, we can add one more parting of the ways.

So, all the brilliant boys whose views have influenced me -- step forward. Go Niall Ferguson, Robert Kaplan and George Friedman! Not so fast, Christopher!

I'm sure he'll be crushed by this news.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

But don't forget you no longer agree with Friedman since his Plame opinion.

"We cannot allow a mine shaft gap"

Oh, boy, Happy New Year to Nuart, huh?! What is this? A leftie attack sandwich??? Hey at least I don't have to defend myself against having wolf-whistled Michael Moore throughout 2004. Tee hee.

And being able to point out the shortcomings of my heroes only shows my independent spirit!

{Phew...good thing I've never mentioned Robert Kaplan before}

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

"We cannot allow a mine shaft gap"

 I'm going to remember that one, could come in useful!  In fact, will definitely come in useful!!