Quotes of the Morning: Beat the Press
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
-First Amendment of the United States Constitution
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.
The nation's top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely and randomly.
‘There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility,’ Gonzales said, referring to prosecutions. ‘We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected.’
[…]
‘We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order,’ Gonzales said, under a ‘probable cause’ legal standard.
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an ‘obligation to enforce the law.’”
‘It can't be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity,’ Gonzales told ABC's ‘This Week.’"
-Associated Press, May 21, 2006
“Congratulations America. It just became illegal to tell the American public about things that the government does illegally. Woodward and Bernstein will be sent to Guantanamo as soon as possible, and the government will continue to tap everyone’s phone (for your own good of course). Despite all of the denials, Trent Lott says that the domestic surveillance IS happening.”
-Skippy
“Senator Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, told reporters he was briefed on the program and said the U.S. needs ‘to use modern technological tools’ to defeat terrorists. President George W. Bush, while not confirming or denying the effort, defended his administration's spying and said the government isn't ‘trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.’
USA Today, citing anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the arrangement, reported today that the phone companies turned the records over to the NSA. The spy agency has compiled a massive database with the information, the newspaper reported.
Lott said the story ‘undermines' the program, which he called ‘legitimate and legal.’''
-Bloomberg News Service, May 11, 2006
“We could ask Fearless Leader some questions about this, but he is busy protecting the Fatherland in Arizona from the Hispanic Menace.”
-Skippy
“I think it helps to have the President out here, seeing the part of the area of the country that one time was overrun by people coming in here, that's beginning to get settled down because of a strategy that's being employed. And so I really want to thank you all for greeting me. Plus I liked riding in the dune buggy.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, May 18, 2006
“Aw shucks.. He’s so cute when he plays with his dune buggy. I can’t stay mad at him. Okay Dubya, you can defile the constitution and do away with civil rights. You had me at ‘Mission Accomplished’.”
-Skippy
-First Amendment of the United States Constitution
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.
The nation's top law enforcer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely and randomly.
‘There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility,’ Gonzales said, referring to prosecutions. ‘We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected.’
[…]
‘We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order,’ Gonzales said, under a ‘probable cause’ legal standard.
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an ‘obligation to enforce the law.’”
‘It can't be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity,’ Gonzales told ABC's ‘This Week.’"
-Associated Press, May 21, 2006
“Congratulations America. It just became illegal to tell the American public about things that the government does illegally. Woodward and Bernstein will be sent to Guantanamo as soon as possible, and the government will continue to tap everyone’s phone (for your own good of course). Despite all of the denials, Trent Lott says that the domestic surveillance IS happening.”
-Skippy
“Senator Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, told reporters he was briefed on the program and said the U.S. needs ‘to use modern technological tools’ to defeat terrorists. President George W. Bush, while not confirming or denying the effort, defended his administration's spying and said the government isn't ‘trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.’
USA Today, citing anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the arrangement, reported today that the phone companies turned the records over to the NSA. The spy agency has compiled a massive database with the information, the newspaper reported.
Lott said the story ‘undermines' the program, which he called ‘legitimate and legal.’''
-Bloomberg News Service, May 11, 2006
“We could ask Fearless Leader some questions about this, but he is busy protecting the Fatherland in Arizona from the Hispanic Menace.”
-Skippy
“I think it helps to have the President out here, seeing the part of the area of the country that one time was overrun by people coming in here, that's beginning to get settled down because of a strategy that's being employed. And so I really want to thank you all for greeting me. Plus I liked riding in the dune buggy.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, May 18, 2006
“Aw shucks.. He’s so cute when he plays with his dune buggy. I can’t stay mad at him. Okay Dubya, you can defile the constitution and do away with civil rights. You had me at ‘Mission Accomplished’.”
-Skippy
posted by Pope Impious XXIII | 4:14 AM
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