Lies Sex and Videotape

Well, okay, without bill clinton in office, maybe not sex, but lies and videotape are still here.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.

Wait a minute.

Bush when asked about renewal of the patriot act said ""Key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year," Bush said. "The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. Our law enforcement needs this vital legislation to protect our citizens--you need to renew the Patriot Act."

Protect us by spying on us without the need for a warrant?

Many portions of the Patriot Act have no expiration date. One part makes it much easier for police to learn the identities of a target's e-mail correspondents and Web pages visited; another permits police to learn information about an Internet subscriber, such as credit card or bank account numbers and temporarily assigned network addresses, without seeking a judge's approval first. The section that permits "sneak and peek" warrants, which authorize surreptitious searches of homes and businesses, also does not expire.

Where is that "This is only temporary" bit that bush used to get the patriot act passed in the first place?

When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.

Now we see why he didn't feel the need to obey the requirements and disclose how it is being used. And on yet another website bush says . . .

"Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."

Hmmm, let's scroll back up to today's news again . . .

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.

So . . . Nothing has changed? It still requires a warrant?

because "we care about the constitution"?

Today's news doesn't seem to agree with that.
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More things that just piss me off