Congress Demands Phone Records Answers

[steven]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers demanded answers from the Bush administration Thursday about a spy agency secretly collecting records of millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls to build a database of all calls within the country. Facing mounting congressional criticism, President Bush sought to assure Americans that their civil liberties were "fiercely protected."

AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. telephone companies began turning over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the NSA program shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, said USA Today, citing anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said NSA was using the data to analyze calling patterns in order to detect and track suspected terrorist activity, according to information provided to him by the White House. "Telephone customers' names, addresses and other personal information have not be handed over to NSA as part of this program," he said.

Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications and internet panel, had a different view: "The NSA stands for Now Spying on Americans."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/fronts/...E&SECTION=HOME

[DR_GONZO]

Will my post be mined and or monitored?

bust buss burst buyouts buts bugler bugled burglar buckler bud buoyed bund buddy buck bucko bush cheer cheek cheep chemo chemical chemically cheat chest chert cheney

[fireman]

During the 1990's under President Clinton, the National Security Agency monitored millions of private phone calls placed by U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries under a super secret program code-named Echelon.

In 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. That law is an act "to make clear a telecommunications carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for law enforcement purposes, and for other purposes." The act made clear that a court order isn't the only lawful way of obtaining call information, saying, "A telecommunications carrier shall ensure that any interception of communications or access to call-identifying information effected within its switching premises can be activated only in accordance with a court order or other lawful authorization." The law was approved by voice votes in 1994 by a Democrat-majority House and a Democrat-majority Senate.

In 1996, President Clinton signed the Economic Espionage Act, which authorized intelligence gathering on foreign businesses. President Clinton ordered the National Security Agency to use its super-secret Echelon surveillance program to monitor the personal telephone calls and private email of employees who worked for foreign companies in a bid to boost U.S. trade, according to former Clinton CIA Director James Woolsey.

The laughable aspect of this is that Congressmen pretend that they didn't know this was going on. They not only knew all about this, they voted for it.

[WestSideJohn]

Some of us judge the action, not the political party of the person who authorized it. An action is either right or it's wrong, and the same applies equally to Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Greens, Conservatives, Liberals or whoever. And this action is wrong, regardless of whether Bush, Clinton, Nixon, Reagan, Carter, or Britney Spears did it. Take your "b-b-b-but Clinton" nonsense somewhere else.

[DR_GONZO]

Originally Posted by fireman
During the 1990's under President Clinton

If I was posting back in the 1990's, I would have been all over KKKlinton.

Originally Posted by WestSideJohn
Some of us judge the action, not the political party of the person who authorized it. An action is either right or it's wrong, and the same applies equally to Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Greens, Conservatives, Liberals or whoever.

Couldn't have said it better.

The folks in this country can be pushed around so much by whichever party. Both parties will become an endangered species unless they start representing the U.S. citizen.

[Stevenco]

**** Congress.

[fireman]

Some of us judge the action, not the political party of the person who authorized it. An action is either right or it's wrong, and the same applies equally to Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Greens, Conservatives, Liberals or whoever. And this action is wrong, regardless of whether Bush, Clinton, Nixon, Reagan, Carter, or Britney Spears did it. Take your "b-b-b-but Clinton" nonsense somewhere else.

You may judge the action, but that is not the way it plays out in public opinion. The most vocal critics of Bush never hold themselves responsible, placing all the blame on the President.

The purpose of my post was to place these actions in the proper context.

[WestSideJohn]

The most vocal critics of Bush never hold themselves responsible, placing all the blame on the President.

People from all across the political spectrum are weighing in - vocally, and loudly - against this, from Conservatives like Newt Gingrich and George Will to Liberals like Arianna Huffington and Russ Feingold. This simply isn't the "Bush Bashing" you're determined to sell it as.

[atotaltotalfan2001]

People from all across the political spectrum are weighing in - vocally, and loudly - against this, from Conservatives like Newt Gingrich and George Will to Liberals like Arianna Huffington and Russ Feingold. This simply isn't the "Bush Bashing" you're determined to sell it as.

The whole thing is incredibly creepy to me, and reeks of a desperate way to wage the so-called "war on terrorism" because we don't actually have people close enough to know what is really going on.

Technology can't replace the person who is up close and personal. We don't have that, it seems, and won't for a while, I guess.

In the meantime, we're building these huge databases, without checks and balances, kind of blindly hoping they will have some use some day -- ignoring the fact that they are ripe for abuse.

You may think you have nothing to hide from our government, but is that really true? Do you really want the government to know when a family member calls, and in the midst of a yada yada conversation, starts to complain about the government? That makes you guilty by association.

Hey -- maybe you have a sibling who is into anti-government protests. Guilt by association. Maybe you have a child who dares to question the activities of all these secret agencies? Suddenly, are you BAD parents?

Are you a save-the-whales person? (I am). Do you have views in anyway shape or form that don't conform to the current administration (or following administrations)? Adios.

This is how police states start. I think we don't realize that because our forefathers were wise enough to craft a constitution they thought would protect us, and has all these decades.

Guess they were wrong. I can't think of a sadder fate, in my opinion -- which I'm sure is on someone's list because we have friends from Russia, China, Mexico, Afghanistan and elsewhere CALLING and visiting all the time.

We're all grilling/smoking in the backyard even as we speak.

Does that make me a potential terrorist enabler?

Hello? The NSA? Are you there?????

[mikewrona]

People from all across the political spectrum are weighing in - vocally, and loudly - against this, from Conservatives like Newt Gingrich and George Will to Liberals like Arianna Huffington and Russ Feingold. This simply isn't the "Bush Bashing" you're determined to sell it as.

And in the end I'm not happy with Verizon for turning over the numbers and am now looking at a different provider for my home phone (most likely cable), cell phone, and dsl service (most likely cable).

[atotaltotalfan2001]

And in the end I'm not happy with Verizon for turning over the numbers and am now looking at a different provider for my home phone (most likely cable), cell phone, and dsl service (most likely cable).

Me too!

[biker]

I think it's terrific that the gov is using technology to try and sort the wheat from the chaff, identifying high risk calling patterns from the billions of calls made daily.

This country endured a huge amount of spying, censorship and snooping during WWII to make sure spies weren't at work here. Average Americans knew about it and supported it.

This average American supports this tactic.

Some whackos contend that people have more to fear from George Bush than the terrorists who are trying to kill us (and succeed from time to time).

Professional Democrats don't much care about Bush or terrorists. They are merely props to be used in attainment of the true objective: winning the next election.

[atotaltotalfan2001]

I think it's terrific that the gov is using technology to try and sort the wheat from the chaff, identifying high risk calling patterns from the billions of calls made daily.

This country endured a huge amount of spying, censorship and snooping during WWII to make sure spies weren't at work here. Average Americans knew about it and supported it.

This average American supports this tactic.

Some whackos contend that people have more to fear from George Bush than the terrorists who are trying to kill us (and succeed from time to time).

Professional Democrats don't much care about Bush or terrorists. They are merely props to be used in attainment of the true objective: winning the next election.

So predictable.

Yeah, I love the idea of Bush and Rove et al culling my phone calls. When I talk to my 76-year-old Mom tomorrow, I know we'll rant about how much we hate Bush and all his meaningless spy initiaitives.

And I don't care.

I plan to also talk a lot about:

The female gyno things that send my husband running.....

My son's beautiful hair....

The thunder last night.....

My 17-year-old little girl's purchases at the mall...

The appearance of an incredibly hunky graduate student of my husband's --who is recently divorced -- at a party at our home last night. He's Russian, gorgeous, and intelligent. Yikes! How is he STILL available. Guess he's still recovering from a broken heart....

Sigh.

Holy Cow. To be single again......who could imagine such a catch.

[biker]

Now I know they're not actually listening in on the phone calls.

If they listened in on your phone calls, the entire NSA would be running for the puke bucket!

[mikewrona]

The appearance of an incredibly hunky graduate student of my husband's --who is recently divorced -- at a party at our home last night. He's Russian, gorgeous, and intelligent. Yikes! How is he STILL available. Guess he's still recovering from a broken heart....

Sigh.

Holy Cow. To be single again......who could imagine such a catch.

Ok, time for you to go out for some fresh air.