Pirate's Cove

And they used something the Dems tend to like to either not read, not understand, or rewrite

Authority to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance comes from the Constitution and is vital to stopping foreign terrorist attacks and spies, says a Republican staff assessment of the revised Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

“There is nothing new or aggressive about relying on Article II authority in the context of foreign intelligence surveillance,” stated the assessment produced by the office of Sen. Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

I’m not quite sure what Article II has to do with it. Will try to get more information on what they are referring to as it comes out. Certainly, Amendment 4 would apply, since we are listening to foreigners, not American citizens.

The 13-page assessment counters Democrats and other critics of the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) who argued during a Senate filibuster of the legislation last month that electronic spying is illegal, began before the September 11 attacks, and that the program spied improperly on domestic telephone and electronic communications.

“There is no evidence to substantiate claims about warrantless spying on Americans prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks,” the report stated. “Nor is there any evidence to substantiate the claim that the TSP covered domestic calls between friends, neighbors and loved ones. As the president has stated, the TSP involved the collection of international calls involving members of al Qaeda.”

There never is any evidence. Liberal feelings do not count. As far as domestic spying goes, yes, it did happen. Unfortunately for Democrats, it was happening under the previous president. Echelon. Clinton used it to spy on Americans without a warrent. I do not remember Democrats complaining about that.

But the report stated that “warrantless surveillance for foreign intelligence collection has been an integral part of our nation’s foreign intelligence gathering. During World War II, our warrantless surveillance of the German and Japanese militaries and the breaking of their codes preserved our democracy.”

Democrats do not want to continue that, because it would be mean if we listened to the phone calls and email of foreign terrorists without letting them know we are doing it.

I just will never understand why Democrats want to protect the rights of non-US citizens over the safety of their fellow Americans. Boggles the mind.

Trackposted to Mark My Words, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, DragonLady’s World, Leaning Straight Up, Cao’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, Faultline USA, third world county, Nuke Gingrich, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, and Stageleft, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.