The Constitution Lives Another Day

I would expect you have heard, a federal judge has declared the NSA WARRANTLESS wiretap program unconstitutional. Well DUH!
4th amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

From Find Law:.....Unanimously, the Court held that at least in cases of domestic subversive investigations, compliance with the warrant provisions of the Fourth Amendment was required. 152 Whether or not a search was reasonable, wrote Justice Powell for the Court, was a question which derived much of its answer from the warrant clause; except in a few narrowly circumscribed classes of situations, only those searches conducted pursuant to warrants were reasonable. The Government's duty to preserve the national security did not override the gurarantee that before government could invade the privacy of its citizens it must present to a neutral magistrate evidence sufficient to support issuance of a warrant authorizing that invasion of privacy. 153 This protection was even more needed in ''national security cases'' than in cases of ''ordinary'' crime, the Justice continued, inasmuch as the tendency of government so often is to regard opponents of its policies as a threat and hence to tread in areas protected by the First Amendment as well as by the Fourth. 154 Rejected also was the argument that courts could not appreciate the intricacies of investigations in the area of national security nor preserve the secrecy which is required.

This is a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. I don't even know how it made it this far. Now, if the ruling holds(it is aready stayed on appeal) they have to get warrants and follow the law and constitution. You know, real America. Apparently the ruling notes the program has been going on for over 5 years. This of course would be BEFORE 9/11. It didn't stop it. They have been breaking the law early and often. Has the terrorist threat been diminished since then? I don't think so. It was a problem then and a tragedy of global proportions now.
Of course the radical right is chiming in with there usual wingnuttery. I tuned in to Fox just to see what they would have to say about it late this afternoon. Very little. I guess they hadn't gotten their talking points from the White House yet. There was 2 or 3 minutes on Hannity and Colmes with the expected reaction. I had to laugh out loud at the phony patriotism Sean and Michael Reagan were trying to pass off to their unsuspecting viewers. Here's a few comments from the wingnut gallery at Red State.

Judge Rules Defending US Citizens Unconstitutional.......And who says democracy can't be a suicide pact?
Yep. if we don't violate the constitution we can't defend our country and we will all DIE! The Constitution is a pre 9/11 document!

"Anna Taylor has made her decision; now let her enforce it."
Don't like the law, don't follow it.

The Justice Department should reply to this ruling by announcing that they are really busy monitoring the race and sex of all government employees to comply with "diversity"requirements. This task will render the DOJ unable to comply with this ruling for several....years.
Huh? This would be a..ummm... non sequitur, not an argument against the ruling.

she was/is a Carter appointee. Also, the fact it's in E. Michigan, where Dearbornistan is located, should be telling.
And we all know what an evil liberal Carter is huh? Dearbornistan..why I bet she is a terrorist herself! Don't forget she is BLACK!

this judge was appointed by Carter in 1979.
Of course if she wasn't a Reagan or Bush appointee she holds no standing. I don't even know why she shows up at work everyday.

Anna Diggs Taylor - appointed May 1979 by President Jimmy CarterConfirmed by Democratically-controlled Senate in October 1979
One of Carter's last actions to destroy this country before he was booted from office. Ugh.
What a great talking point! She was appointed by Carter, And a democratically controlled senate too. She and Carter are in cahoots in a conscious effort destroy this country!

too bad she is so old else she'd be a candidate to be Queen Hillary's first Supreme Court nominee.....
See they are fighting Queen Hillary but can't find a problem having King George. They will certainly be sorry if this law is overturned and the potential for them to be spyed on for their political views comes to reality...Opps I forgot, they can't think past yesterday.

...one giant leap for terrorists.
Yep, those terrorist are gonna be soooo happy that they weren't able to make us give up our way of life and our Constitution based on liberty and freedom. Oh wait, they hate our freedoms, apparently the Red Staters do to.

we can address it when either an appellate court or SCOTUS overturns this exercise in activism........I would like to see a lot more or the originalist types on the bench
You get a ruling that strictly adhears to the 4th amendment and she is STILL an activist judge. Anyone getting the feeling that these people "have no core".


Hey, all. Last time I checked our government was a system of checks and balances. The judiciary is finally doing its job, unlike the Republican led congress. Nixon tried to get away with spying on American citizens without a warrant. It was illegal then and is illegal now.
Don't let the boogey man scare you into giving up your rights.
HEY, how'd that guy get in there!

"Judge Rules Defending US Citizens Unconstitutional"So getting a warrant before engaging in these activities will not protect the American people? All the judge said was that a warrant was required, I believe. The activities themselves are not wrong; just a warrant is required. This is bad how?
Hey! There's another one!

You know, last night I was thinking to myself that I'm in danger of going overboard in trying to poke at the liars who come onto this forum and misrepresent themselves with the goal of impeding the Republican agenda of this site.
I thought that with my hair trigger and with my style of writing not always coming across very well in a social setting like this, that maybe I should just stop.
But posters like this make it very hard to agree today with what I thought last night.
See, you'll never win. You are talking about the Constitution and they are talking about the Republican agenda.