The Red Brick Times

We interrupt our symposium on construction materials for the following news bulletin: "Federal Source to ABC News: We Know Who You're Calling."

P.S. If you think the article's scary check out some of the comments below it.
Posted 4:26 PM by whatley (5) comments

       Comments:

Costa Rica looks better every day.

# posted by  Terri S : May 15, 2006 6:41 PM
 
Is it just me, or is there a thick vein of red brick concrete or red-brick asphalt running through the collective public psyche. One of three things perhaps: 1) Public perception is so skewed by spin-doctoring and advert-reporting that people think we are safe and sane 2) Public brain power and reasoning capabilty has been so eroded by tolerance for laxity (symptomologically shown by tracking TV content over several decades) that knee-jerks fill most of the potato couches, or 3) The thoughtful and reasonable are so morose and hopeless that they don't care to waste their words any more. Come to think of it, all three probably apply. Archie bunker-land has moved from satire to actuality. Welcome to the fruition of our hopeful youths.

# posted by  Andy : May 15, 2006 7:14 PM
 
I can't help but think that some of those comments were posted by trolls trying to start a flame war. Either that or paid shills ala Donald Segretti of Watergate infamy.

# posted by  whatley : May 15, 2006 9:37 PM
 
Follow up: FBI Acknowledges: Journalists Phone Records are Fair Game

# posted by  whatley : May 16, 2006 5:38 AM
 
"National Security Letters"? The Sagretti meat-ball dirty tricks are legitimized by Executive Branch fiat. You want to expose your rival to the world? Label him or her a "security risk" and let slip the dogs of war. The tax agencies have been able to hog tie and impoverish anyone at any time without just cause for decades. Now the politicos are "legalizing" the same powers. It seems to me that the administration jams a bill through Congress that permits a tiny little erosion of liberty under very limited circumstances. The administration lawyers then apply this minor feature by stating "the obvious intent of Congress was to let us make things safer and more secure, so that is what we are doing" (applying the supposed intent rather than the actual written law). Then the Justice Department uses the unchallenged actions as "precedentss" to justify additional expansions of the original limited statute. Kind of like the McCarthy investigations, using fear and threats and propoganda to cut down due process. The lure of such power must be like crack cocaine to the Feds: easy to get, addictive as all get out and impossible to kick.

# posted by  Andy : May 16, 2006 8:18 AM
 
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