Quote:The Obama justice department succeeded in convincing the five right-wing Supreme Court justices to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 2008 law, the FISA Amendments Act, which vastly expanded the government's authority to eavesdrop on Americans without warrants. In the case of Clapper v. Amnesty International, Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion, released today, which adopted the argument of the Obama DOJ, while the Court's four less conservative justices (Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan) all dissented. This means that the lawsuit is dismissed without any ruling on whether the US government's new eavesdropping powers violate core constitutional rights. The background of this case is vital to understanding why this is so significant.

One of the most successful government scams of the last decade has been to prevent any legal challenges to its secret surveillance programs. Both the Bush and Obama DOJ's have relied on one tactic in particular to insulate its eavesdropping behavior from judicial review: by draping what it does in total secrecy, it prevents anyone from knowing with certainty who the targets of its surveillance are. The DOJ then exploits this secrecy to block any constitutional or other legal challenges to its surveillance actions on the ground that since nobody can prove with certainty that they have been subjected to this eavesdropping by the government, nobody has "standing" to sue in court and obtain a ruling on the constitutionality of this eavesdropping.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/...j-argument

Somewhere George Orwell offers up a rueful chuckle.

This is some democracy we have here, let me tell you.

The 4th Amendment takes another kick in the teeth.

THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

If this were W, you'd be screaming bloody murder.

It's okay, Robs. You don't have to admit it for it to be true.

(02-27-2013 10:35 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

If this were W, you'd be screaming bloody murder.

It's okay, Robs. You don't have to admit it for it to be true.

If it were W, you wouldn't be. What is your point?

(02-27-2013 11:09 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:35 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

If this were W, you'd be screaming bloody murder.

It's okay, Robs. You don't have to admit it for it to be true.

If it were W, you wouldn't be. What is your point?

I assure you I was, not that I expect you to believe it.

(02-27-2013 11:13 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:09 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:35 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

If this were W, you'd be screaming bloody murder.

It's okay, Robs. You don't have to admit it for it to be true.

If it were W, you wouldn't be. What is your point?

I assure you I was, not that I expect you to believe it.

You lie!

(02-27-2013 12:40 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:13 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:09 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:35 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

If this were W, you'd be screaming bloody murder.

It's okay, Robs. You don't have to admit it for it to be true.

If it were W, you wouldn't be. What is your point?

I assure you I was, not that I expect you to believe it.

You lie!

Told you so.

(02-27-2013 12:41 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 12:40 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:13 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:09 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:35 AM)Smaug Wrote:  If this were W, you'd be screaming bloody murder.

It's okay, Robs. You don't have to admit it for it to be true.

If it were W, you wouldn't be. What is your point?

I assure you I was, not that I expect you to believe it.

You lie!

Told you so.

I don't believe it because I don't believe you.

(02-27-2013 12:43 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 12:41 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 12:40 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:13 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 11:09 AM)RobertN Wrote:  If it were W, you wouldn't be. What is your point?

I assure you I was, not that I expect you to believe it.

You lie!

Told you so.

I don't believe it because I don't believe you.

Yes, I got that. That's why I said I "told you so."

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

(02-27-2013 01:06 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

Where did I say I did? I just don't know enough of the details of the case to know why they ruled the way they did.

(02-27-2013 01:13 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:06 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

Where did I say I did? I just don't know enough of the details of the case to know why they ruled the way they did.

Thanks for admitting that you didn't read the linked article. If you had, you would have seen the link to Alito's opinion in the first paragraph.

(02-27-2013 01:06 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

Well played.

OK - Sing along with me.....

Freedom Isn't Free,
Freedom Isn't Free
You Gotta Pay the Price,
You Gotta Sacrifice,
For Your Liberty

Ya guys are just super great. Truly a nation of givers.
JFK really got to you, didn't he?
Ask not what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country.
And some in this country took him literally,
Real Givers, Big Givers,
Finally just gave the country away!

(02-27-2013 01:27 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:13 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:06 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

Where did I say I did? I just don't know enough of the details of the case to know why they ruled the way they did.

Thanks for admitting that you didn't read the linked article. If you had, you would have seen the link to Alito's opinion in the first paragraph.

So I should trust a rightwing paper from ENGLAND to be accurate in what they write? No thanks. Maybe I will read it from the SC site if I get the time.

(02-27-2013 01:13 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:06 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

Where did I say I did? I just don't know enough of the details of the case to know

This should be your answer to every single thread on this board from now until you end your life prematurely from a lack of friends or people who care about you in any form or fashion a few weeks from now.

It would save us all the time of reading your dumb posts and actually make you much more honest and respectable.

(02-28-2013 01:36 AM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:27 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:13 PM)RobertN Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 01:06 PM)BlazerFan11 Wrote:  

(02-27-2013 10:33 AM)RobertN Wrote:   THis is hilarious! You guys just don't know what to do with yourselves do you?

So you side with the conservative members of the Supreme Court?

Where did I say I did? I just don't know enough of the details of the case to know why they ruled the way they did.

Thanks for admitting that you didn't read the linked article. If you had, you would have seen the link to Alito's opinion in the first paragraph.

So I should trust a rightwing paper from ENGLAND to be accurate in what they write? No thanks. Maybe I will read it from the SC site if I get the time.

The Guardian is right wing?

The link WAS to the official SC opinion, you idiot.