Al Gore

[Mazer]

Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction.

I'd like to see the psychological research to support this claim. I think what Mr. Gore is actually describing here is phobia, not fear, and if I'm not mistaken he isn't qualified to diagnose this kind of mental disorder in other people. And even if he was a psychiatrist I'd question his motives since it is his political adversaries he is accusing of phobic behavior.

It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they.

So he's saying that those who came before us were also fearful. Did their fear drive out reason, did it suppress the politics of discourse? No, fear didn't misguide them and neither has it musguided us. It is partisanship, not fear, that opens the door to the politics of destruction, and invoking the stories of dead heroes for one's own political gain is a classic exapmle of partisanship. In a way it's a good thing our heroes are dead, because if they were alive to hear the way Gore is abusing their legacy then they really would be insulted.

[tambourine-man]

Repent sinners... Only Geena Davis can save you now!!!!

[theknife]

Originally Posted by Mazer

I'd like to see the psychological research to support this claim. I think what Mr. Gore is actually describing here is phobia, not fear, and if I'm not mistaken he isn't qualified to diagnose this kind of mental disorder in other people. And even if he was a psychiatrist I'd question his motives since it is his political adversaries he is accusing of phobic behavior.


So he's saying that those who came before us were also fearful. Did their fear drive out reason, did it suppress the politics of discourse? No, fear didn't misguide them and neither has it musguided us. It is partisanship, not fear, that opens the door to the politics of destruction, and invoking the stories of dead heroes for one's own political gain is a classic exapmle of partisanship. In a way it's a good thing our heroes are dead, because if they were alive to hear the way Gore is abusing their legacy then they really would be insulted.

nah, it's a little more basic than that: he's just wondering why modern "conservatives" are such pussies that they would gladly trade civil liberties and the rule of law for a benevolent dictatorship, all in the name of a permanent, unwinnable war on "terror".

[Sinner]

Warrantless Searches of Americans? That’s Shocking!

Except when it happens every day.

Andrew C. McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

link - http://www.nationalreview.com/mccart...0512201735.asp

or

The Truong court [United States v. Truong Dinh Hung, 4th Cir. 1980], as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. *** We take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional power.

When Al Gore was VP -- Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr told “60 Minutes” that President Bill Clinton’s Echelon program intercepted “literally millions of communications involving United States citizens.” An NSA source says this included then-U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond.

Clinton also authorized the NSA to wiretap and search the home of CIA spy Aldrich Ames. He soon broadened the NSA’s authority to include “classified electronic surveillance techniques, such as infrared sensors to observe people inside their homes.”

On February 9, 1995, Clinton signed Executive Order 12949, stating, “the Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches, without a court order, to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year.

Ronald Reagan had recognized the right to spy on foreign intelligence agents without a warrant, although he did not wage a hot war against Marxism (at least, not for more than a few days in Grenada). Even rock-ribbed Cold Warrior Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12139 on May 23, 1979, declaring that “the Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order.”

The definition of “foreign intelligence” should make clear: this includes American contacts communicating with the other side. The FISA Act does not grant “an association which is a foreign power” the legal privileges of an American citizen. Thus, even if an American joins the Afghan-Pakistan-Iraq-based terrorist group called al-Qaeda – like Steve Earle epic hero, “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh – he is now fair game as a member of “an association which is a foreign power.”


Would you like me to continue?

[theknife]

Originally Posted by Sinner

Warrantless Searches of Americans? That’s Shocking!

Except when it happens every day.

Would you like me to continue?

well, you did leave out a key point: the Clinton administration complied with the FISA - they went back, after the warrant-less searches, and tried to get the warrants. Bush didn't. that's the difference.

edit: the Bush apologists like to claim the issue is warrantless searches - it's not. they also like to cite the Clinton administration as a precedent - it's not. the issue is compliance with the law - is the Prez above the law?

[Mazer]

No, the president is not above the law, period.

Now, if you still have issues with what he did then it's up to you to prove that he actually broke the law.

[albed]

The dems would have taken the matter to the courts if they thought they had a case. Instead they just use the cooperative media to spread their lies and half-truths as usual.

[tambourine-man]

"Those who believe in absurdity, commit atrocity" - Voltaire