Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before congress today that Washington, Lincoln, Wilson, and Roosevelt authorized electronic surveilance!

Video at:

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/gonzales-Washing.mov

Has this been Videoshopped or is this guy really that stupid? I checked snopes.com and found nothing.

Back then it only took an extra cup and string.

he actually just said that they authorized surveillance, electronic was never mentioned. he also mentioned more presidents names including washington.
nice spin though..

This was on the national news last night (2/6), and he said several other presidents had authorized surveilance on american citizens, not "electronic" surveilance.
But hell didnt Roosevelt go one step further and just move them all out of their homes and place them in camps during WWII?

From the transcript of the hearings as published in the Washington Post:

GONZALES: I gave in my opening statement, Senator, examples where President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance of the enemy on a far broader scale -- far broader -- without any kind of probable cause standard, all communications in and out of the country.

Maybe you should watch the entire questioning, vice just hanging your hat on one statement (Funny how the WP only posted that one sentence). If you did that you would have seen and understood what was being said/ment.

Once again, He said nothing about electronic. But if it make you feel better.... Go with it

gvbest,

The Washington Post printed the entire transcipt of the hearing. The reply of Gonzales which I copied and pasted was in answer to a softball (and misleading) question by Sen Grassley about Presidents acting in their capacity as Commander in Chief.

Part of the strategy of the Bush Administration in gaining extra-Constitutional powers is to claim that such powers are inherent in the position of Commander in Chief.

The pertinent section of the Constitution reads:

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States..."

There is nothing in the Constitution that makes him Commander in Chief of our nation. The Constitution is clear that the powers of the President acting as CIC are solely as a military commander. Commander in Chief is a military command position.

Aren't you presently serving our county in the active duty military, GVbest? If that's right, President Bush is your Commander in Chief. Although he may desire it to be the case, he is not Commander in Chief of any civilian and is not Commander in Chief of the United States of America.

According to the Constition of our great nation the powers of the President acting as CIC are narrow and limited. The CIC is at the top of the military command structure. Nothing less. Nothing more.

The position of the President as CIC establishes civilian control of the military. In no way does it expand the President's powers in his capacity as chief executive.

That being the case, Bush's claim that his electronic surveillance of civilians without a warrant is justified by his position as Commander in Chief is the logical equivalent of saying that the military can conduct electronic surveillance of civilians without a warrant.

King George just wants to do what he wants to do and nobody question his authority. The administration is on a slippery slope and they need to held accountable for what they are doing, not comparing what they are doing to what may or may not have been done in the past. This adminstration is the most secretive administration in our nations history bar none. The idea that we should all just trust king George is just stupid. Just about anything that is said by the adminstration turns out to be a lie or half truth.

"In other words, what they are doing is illegal and Gonzales knows it."

That's exactly why gonzales never had to swear in.

The excerpts below are from an article (link below) by Paul Craig Roberts. Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review.

Roberts claims that the Bush Administration has engaged in illegal spying on American citizens and is using the info to silence critics and the media through blackmail.

The excerpts:

"We have reached a point where the Bush administration is determined to totally eclipse the people. Bewitched by neoconservatives and lustful for power, the Bush administration and the Republican Party are aligning themselves firmly against the American people. Their first victims, of course, were the true conservatives. Having eliminated internal opposition, the Bush administration is now using blackmail obtained through illegal spying on American citizens to silence the media and the opposition party.

Before flinching at my assertion of blackmail, ask yourself why President Bush refuses to obey the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The purpose of the FISA court is to ensure that administrations do not spy for partisan political reasons. The warrant requirement is to ensure that a panel of independent federal judges hears a legitimate reason for the spying, thus protecting a president from the temptation to abuse the powers of government. The only reason for the Bush administration to evade the court is that the Bush administration had no legitimate reasons for its spying. This should be obvious even to a naif."

"The years of illegal spying have given the Bush administration power over the media and the opposition. Journalists and Democratic politicians don't want to have their adulterous affairs broadcast over television or to see their favorite online porn sites revealed in headlines in the local press with their names attached. Only people willing to risk such disclosures can stand up for the country."

The whole article is worth reading. Roberts discusses lots of issues that have been raised on this board, including that the no fly list is being used to harass critics of the administration.

The link:

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts02062006.html