I Am Shocked, Shocked that U.S. Gov Abused Blank Check Powers

[Koga No Goshi]

You do realize that going along with it makes Congress in total, all democratics and republicans complicit in the action. In essence you argued against a point that you seemly now actually agree with.

Here's the difference. I don't think the Dems are really "for wiretapping." But I think when it came to the TelComm immunity, they felt the damage was done. Some have argued it was a big sellout to the telecommunications corporations who abused laws and now want to get out of the liability. This is true but I do not believe it was the reason so many voted for the bill. I think covering up excessive abuses of American civil liberties, and avoiding this chapter in the U.S. History books going down as being as bad as McCarthyism, is in the interests of everyone in government-- even the people who wished a lot of this stuff had never happened in the first place.

The immunity-- the damage was done. You were not going to punish the policymakers by suing Google and Verizon out of orbit with astronomical awards in lawsuits for invasion of privacy. You were just going to wreck the economy.

Mind you, I am speaking in practicality now. I'm not saying "this is what I wish they would have done and am glad they did it this way." I am merely theorizing why things came down the way they did.

Goes back to the initial errors of Congress back in 1950, when instead of declaring war against North Korea for its invasion of South Korea the President asked for and recieved approval from Congress to support the UN Resolution. And we compounded that error when congress passed the War Powers Act of 1973. Congress has slowly attempted to remove its own responsiblity away from itself and pass it on to the President for many years. Unfortunately for them they have discovered that the old adage still holds true, Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The thing is this slow erosion of responsiblity under the constitution that Congress was to have, is the fault of both parties. Its not a process that just happened over the last 8 years, but one that has been ongoing since the end of WW2. Where politicians have been controlled by the thought of getting more influence through lobbies and special interest groups, then they were in maintaining their constitutional authority.

You have no argument from me. Although I will qualify what you said very slightly on one item. When the President demands that "his" war powers act, or "his" force resolution, must be passed for the good of the country, and makes the case directly to the American people, he is, if public opinion swings correctly, in effect blackmailing Congress. Yes, Congress "should", in idealism, stand up to that kind of thing. The reality is in the atmosphere after 9/11 very few people did, public sentiment was overWHELMINGLY in favor of passing the resolution to use force. The public wanted to see someone, anyone, blow up for what happened, preferrably sooner rather than later. So while technically I do agree with you.... we can't excuse the shortsighted unthinking nature of the American public, because temporary representatives will always have to respond to some degree to public sentiment to keep their seat. That's the way our system works. And the President for taking advantage of the mood of chaos and anger to push things through to enable himself with all kinds of war powers.