Attorney General Upholds Domestic Spying

In a COINTELPRO-like operation, the Bush administration has enacted a warrantless wiretapping policy on domestic phone calls and E-mails, and Alberto Gonzales supports it 100 percent.

According to Yahoo! News, Attorney General Gonzales testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, claiming the actions were "necessary," "lawful," and respectful of "the civil liberties we all cherish."

Opposers, such as Senator Arlen Spector (R-PA), maintain that while national security is a concern of utmost importance, policies therein must still be carried out in a mannar that upholds the law. Spector brought the specifics of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to the table, pointing out that the legislation allows the government to wiretap only for a period of 72 hours before obtaining a court-issued warrant.

However, Gonzales and the rest of the Bush clan seem determined to shoot first and ask questions later. A report from CBS shows Gonzales responding with more claims of necessity.

"We are continually looking at ways that we can work with the FISA court in being more efficient and more effective," he said.

That's right, wiretapping citizens is too important to put off until efficiency and efficacy are established.

But it's not over.

Gonzales went on to say that obtaining the warrants according to procedure would be too time-consuming of an activity to bother with.

Following legal precedent interferes with "national security"? President Bush and Gonzales would say so. Perhaps they are too concerned over upholding a "war on terror" and not enough over upholding (outdated?) concepts like law and the Constitution.

The real question is - how much can you alter a country's protocol and still allege to be defending it?