Your Civics lesson for today
Kung Fu Monkey is fast becoming one of my heroes. At his blog, you can find FISA explained in words of one syllable, since – apparently – some people had trouble understanding exactly what the situation was. (Oh, and just so you know – proper names and the word “warrant” are not counted against the one-syllable count)
Q: Hmmm, but what if the court wants too much proof, and the NSA does not get its wire tap? We could die from bad-dark-man plots and bombs!!
A: It is not hard to get a “yes” from the FISA court. It is, in fact, no sweat, child’s play, slight, smooth, a snap. It is the town bike of courts. It is the Paris Hilton of courts. Pet the dog, buy the third drink, and you are in. Through the end of the year 2004, the FISA court said “yes” to 18, 761 warrants. They said “no” to five. 5<<<<<<< 18761.
Q: Hmmm. It is cinch to heed the law then, and still keep us safe. YAAYYY!
A: But the Bush Administration did not have to heed the law. With no warrants, it spied on some phone lines. It spied on a LOT of phone lines.
It just gets better from there. Go. Read. Understand. And he’s already gotten a jump start on the conservative wonkery comments, so feel free to jump right in in the middle.