One thing I don't understand is how Obama gets away with what he does when it is in direct contradiction to how he said he would govern. I am not surprised by his inability or unwillingness to govern as he said he would, just the fact that people seem to ignore it. I knew early on that Obama's rhetoric was empty. If I had voted for him and bought into the "change" and "hope" stuff I would be embarrassed.
Quote:
WASHINGTON — Although the FBI has acknowledged it improperly obtained thousands of Americans' phone records for years, the Obama administration continues to assert that the bureau can obtain them without any formal legal process or court oversight.
The FBI revealed this stance in a newly released report, troubling critics who had hoped the bureau had been chastened enough by its own abuses to drop such a position.
In further support of the legal authority, however, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel backed the FBI in a written opinion this month.
The opinion by the OLC — the section that wrote the memos that justified enhanced interrogation techniques during the last administration — appears to be yet another sign that the Obama administration can be as assertive as George W. Bush's in claiming sweeping, controversial anti-terrorism powers.
The Justice Department's watchdog, the inspector general, said the OLC opinion has "significant policy implications that need to be considered by the FBI, the Department, and the Congress."
"The FBI says that this kind of activity is in the past," said Michael German, a former FBI agent who is now the American Civil Liberties Union's policy counsel. "But if they're saying that they have a continuing legal authority, that means it's not in the past."
The Justice Department refused to release to McClatchy Newspapers the OLC opinion, despite the Obama administration's vow to be more open than its predecessors.
Read more: Obama administration defends FBI access to phone records - The Denver Post
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"Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions on vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion."
"If you live among wolves you have to act like one."
"A lady screams at the mouse but smiles at the wolf. A gentleman is a wolf who sends flowers."
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