Posted on 01/18/2006 8:10:29 AM PST by Perlstein
Leading Conservatives Call for Extensive Hearings on NSA Surveillance; Checks on Invasive Federal Powers Essential
1/17/2006 6:36:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Laura Brinker, 202-715-1540, for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, laura.brinker@dittus.com
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances (PRCB) today called upon Congress to hold open, substantive oversight hearings examining the President's authorization of the National Security Agency (NSA) to violate domestic surveillance requirements outlined in the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, chairman of PRCB, was joined by fellow conservatives Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR); David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union; Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, in urging lawmakers to use NSA hearings to establish a solid foundation for restoring much needed constitutional checks and balances to intelligence law.
"When the Patriot Act was passed shortly after 9-11, the federal government was granted expanded access to Americans' private information," said Barr. "However, federal law still clearly states that intelligence agents must have a court order to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans on these shores. Yet the federal government overstepped the protections of the Constitution and the plain language of FISA to eavesdrop on Americans' private communication without any judicial checks and without proof that they are involved in terrorism."
The following can be attributed to PRCB members:
"I believe that our executive branch cannot continue to operate without the checks of the other branches. However, I stand behind the President in encouraging Congress to operate cautiously during the hearings so that sensitive government intelligence is not given to our enemies." -- Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO, Free Congress Foundation
"Public hearings on this issue are essential to addressing the serious concerns raised by alarming revelations of NSA electronic eavesdropping." -- Grover Norquist, president, Americans for Tax Reform
"The need to reform surveillance laws and practices adopted since 9/11 is more apparent now than ever. No one would deny the government the power it needs to protect us all, but when that power poses a threat to the basic rights that make our nation unique, its exercise must be carefully monitored by Congress and the courts. This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of safeguarding the fundamental freedoms of all Americans so that future administrations do not interpret our laws in ways that pose constitutional concerns." -- David Keene, chairman, American Conservative Union
"If the law is not reformed, ordinary Americans' personal information could be swept into all-encompassing federal databases encroaching upon every aspect of their private lives. This is of particular concern to gun owners, whose rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment are currently being infringed upon under the Patriot Act's controversial record search provisions." -- Alan Gottlieb, founder, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances is an organization dedicated to protecting Americans' fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment and ensuring that all provisions of the Patriot Act are in line with the Constitution. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.checksbalances.org.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
Please do not change titles.
Those are leading conservatives? Hell, we are in trouble then.
Yes, some of your best buddies might be under surveillance for their conversations with Al Quaeda....right, Grover?
Right now the public is overwhelmingly on Bush's side. But if this cr@p keeps up, the MSM will turn the public around in a couple of months.
The MSM will destroy this country yet. They already cost us heavily in Vietnam, which eventually killed 2 million people in SEA. They're dangerous.
The Current Administration seems to be extending the work of Gary Hart and Andrew Young (Patriot Act) with the tactics of Ramsey Clark. Funny how Hart, Young, and Clark provide the philosophical underpinnings of supposedly conservative officials.
Soooooooooooo, what's your take on all this?
And just where these heroes when Echelon first went on
line under Clinton?
What's new now, other than being publicity hounds?
Actually this a press release, by has been "true conservative", being led by ACLU employee bob barr.
Actually, everyone should realize that this is a press release. In other words, the people and group named in this article wrote it and released it.
Once the citizens begin to collaborate with a foreign group like Al Qeda they go from being members of, to enemies of, our Civic Society. Time for the hysterics to pull their heads out of their butts and wake up to the fact that we are AT WAR. Unlike these pretend "Conservatives" WE understand the President is a CO EQUAL branch of Govt NOT a Congressional Clerk. Too bad so many people are so rabidly ignorant of HOW our system works. Maybe these "Patriots" should spend their money on some basic CIVICS classes instead of wasting it on THIS rabid stupidity.
I can understand some of Barr's positions and maybe even defend them from a conservative perspective, but to join and side with the ACLU in any way is a disgrace. I don't see how a conservative could be comfortable working with an organization so devoted to overturning traditional values through judicial fiat.
Bob Barr trying to move left to regain power.
For answers to questions about Grover Norquist, read the book Infiltration. Grover is married to a rather radical middle eastern woman who works for the State Department.
Grover also started up a new company a few years ago; I've forgotten the name but it's something like Islamic Studies.
He constantly caters to Muslims and as a result, a lot of conservatives have stopped attending his Wednesday morning meetings or having anything to do with him.
I don't know where they were, but I bitched (uselessly, as usual) about Echelon. I don't think Ms President Rodham will find the precedents unhelpful.
LEADING CONSERVATIVES ???????
Most of this bunch have been UNELECTED...they couldn't lead horse to water.
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