Posted on 05/12/2006 5:18:08 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
May 12, 2006
One thing is certain: the people within the government leaking the existence of secret anti-terror programs to the press are trying to hurt the president politically. Chris Matthews believes they have been more successful in achieving that goal with the recent leak of the phone data collection program than they were with the terrorist surveillance program leak.
On this morning's Today show, Matt Lauer asked Matthews: "Will there be a huge political fallout? Americans are evenly split on the domestic program [i.e., the terrorist surveillance progam]. Do you see this as the same situation?"
Matthews:
"No. Nobody can imagine being on the telephone with an Al Qaeda agent but they can imagine privacy matters. The government isn't attempting to get a few numbers. They want all phone calls made, when they were made, how long they were. Lots of information on personal relationships. I imagine people thinking 'I make certain phone calls I don't want anyone to know about.' Now the government knows about them. To answer your first question this hurts the president far more because it gets into peoples' private lives in the way the other one didn't."
Maybe I'm just suffering from a surfeit of clean conscience, but my gut tells me Matthews is wrong. The key fact here is that, as far as we know, no phone calls were listened to or recorded pursuant to this program. Yes, I understand there would be people concerned that the government is aware that they were repeatedly calling, e.g., escort services, mistresses, employment agencies or even pizza parlors. But unless and until there is any indication that the government has been using or disclosing any such information other than for anti-terror purposes, I don't believe many Americans will be outraged. To the contrary, don't we want our anti-terror team to be looking for suspicious calling patterns? And how could there be specific warrants sought when we are sifting millions of calls looking not for individuals but for patterns?
As more facts emerge about what the program is and isn't, the political impact of this latest revelation will become clearer. But for the time being, Matthews' prediction of serious political consequences for President Bush strikes me as a bit of wishful thinking on his part.
Finkelstein, recently a guest on the Lars Larson show, lives in the liberal haven of Ithaca, NY, where he hosts the award-winning public-access TV show 'Right Angle'. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net
Today Show/NewsBusters ping.
Today Show/NewsBusters ping.
Dollars to doughnuts Matthews can't justify some of his phone calls.
The average person will believe whatever the msm repeats over and over.
Once again, the dim party over reaches. This is not so outrageous as they want us to believe and they wind up looking like they are against measures to protect us.
Sheesh...don't they watch "Numbers"?
:o)
Let's get back to activism and make sure that our Congresscritters who will be sitting on the trial (LOL) of General Hayden know the following:
Democrats were okay with Eschelon and Carnivore which captured every phone call, every e-mail, every baby monitor (!), every ATM transaction and more, and that program is okay, pre war on terror, but this program isn't okay.
Eschelon and Carnivore information:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1543118/posts?page=1#1
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1542838/posts
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1543318/posts
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21387
Oops - Clinton's NSA spying program accidentally (ahem) captured a Republican's phone calls.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1553101/posts?page=1
And just for kicks, the Commies insisted on FISA:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21453
Flashback: Gore planned to bug America:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1559386/posts
NYT called domestic surveillance a necessity when Clinton was president:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1556815/posts
This is the December 2005 NYT article which says what today's USA Today article says regarding NSA collecting phone numbers.
Clearly, Democrats (and some RINOs) have manufactured their outrage over this already reported on program. LOL
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/politics/24spy.html?ei=5090&en=016edb46b79bde83&ex=1293080400&pagewanted=print
How can you tap records. It's my understanding that the got RECORDS from the phone companies.
The DNC is worried that their daily talking point fax to Osama will be intercepted.
Absolutely, and with so few real men left in the US, the sniveling Nancy boys whine about phone calls when suicidal Muslims are trying to blow up our kids in malls and buses.
God help us.
You speak the truth.
Yep
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
“Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state, for every form of power politics and any dictatorship-run state has its roots in the street.”
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” Bush lied. People Died. Domestic Spying. Bush Lied. People Died. Domestic Spying. Repeat after me … Lather rinse repeat.
Quotes from Joeseph Goebbels
Where have we had suicide bombers in the US?
For Pete's sake!
Safeway collects more data about me with those annoying "Club Cards".
Anybody mention to Mathews and Specter how much info the IRS has on each of us?
Actually, the NSA is outsourcing the 'data mining' to India where 240 million Indians are listening to every phone call made in the US every day and taking notes.
There are plenty of us "real men" out here pulling the wagon called America along her roadway. There may not be as many as we need in government, but we exist, and we are keeping the American Dream alive!
LLS
theskyisfalling, theskyisfalling, theskyisfalling!!!!
We're at war with Islam and liberals are worried, above all, that the government is counting how many phone calls they make to Papa John's.
Let's all say it together: you cannot entrust the defense of the country to the Democratic Party.
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