(Cross posted from Docudharma)

We have come to a place unimagined even by Orwell who got so much right.  

Congress can be a frustratingly opaque body, and trying to figure out causes and effects can be largely futile. Analyzing a simple proposition like "Congress has failed to adequately check executive power expansion since 2001" quickly becomes incredibly complex (rest in peace Edward Lorenz). Also, much of its work is done behind closed doors, which is probably for the best. If politicians were constantly on display before the public we would reach toxic levels of grandstanding almost immediately and government would grind to a halt (though in light of our recent experience that might be a benefit). The unknowable line between discretion and deception seems to get crossed fairly regularly, though, and those who come out ahead from working in the shadows are eager to blur it as much as possible. One of the great journalistic self-indictments of our times - right up there with "I have neither the time nor legal background to figure out who's right" - is this:

Of all the Republicans I have discussed whose morals are severly compromised, I have to say, Ted Stevens of Alaska just might top the list. I already brought him up in the context of the VECO scandal that has crippled the Alaska Republican Party. But honestly, the VECO scandal is only the tip of the iceberg of corruption for Ted Stevens. Here are some excerpts from the "Ethics Questions" section of his Congressopedia entry...possibly the longest list of "Ethics Questions" in all of Congressopedia:

Our enemies didn't adhere to the Geneva Convention. Many of my comrades were subjected to very cruel, very inhumane and degrading treatment, a few of them even unto death. But every one of us -- every single one of us -- knew and took great strength from the belief that we were different from our enemies, that we were better than them, that we, if the roles were reversed, would not disgrace ourselves by committing or countenancing such mistreatment of them. - John McCain, Republican US Senator

If, in the middle of some dark night, thugs broke into your house, stole your money, raped your daughters and wife, locked you in the basement and took over your house, property - your veritable life, and you, somehow were able to break away and escape,
what would you do? Do you believe that you would want to have these criminals
hunted down and arrested, and be held accountable to the law?

I haven't put together a video to song in awhile, than I came across "Lock Them Up"

The song in video is by 'Nam Veteran Pat Scanlon brother member of Vietnam Veterans Against The War and Veterans For Peace.

According to its web site the recently-created National Applications Office (NAO) has its roots in the Civil Applications Committee, an agency created in 1974 that "facilitated requests by civil agencies to make use of space-based imaging and remote sensing capabilities for purposes such as monitoring volcanic activity, environmental and geological changes, hurricanes, and floods." Presumably that is how it was used; if it had been directed against citizens or for political advantage we would have found out before too long. Either the results of the abuse would have led back to it or someone would have spilled the beans somehow. Humans' marvelous imperfection makes it all but impossible to sustain a long-term and far-reaching secret (which is also why I nearly automatically reject conspiracy theories). Of course, our native impulse to get as much as we can made it almost inevitable that someone would eventually try.

Every adult in America probably remembers 9/11 in the immediate sense - the first time hearing the news, seeing the images, the confusion, uncertainty and fear of that day - but it seems like our memory of the period immediately after is hazy. For a month or two we were traumatized as a nation and had trouble understanding what had happened, and what should come next. By the end of 2001 the drumbeat for war had begun and it is possible that fixing our attention on how best to attack Iraq served as a psychological crutch by giving us something to focus on. This is not a professional opinion, just an observation based on what I went through and saw others going through. (And it is emphatically not an attempt to rationalize the Iraq war.) One extremely unfortunate byproduct of that period is the USA PATRIOT Act (UPA); two recent events are the latest examples why.

 Is it of more importance to the community, that innocence be protected, than it is, that guilt should be punished.

Are “due process” and the refusal to torture essential to the America you want? In 2003 the Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon claiming that the President was bound by neither.

I read an article in Time Magazine online that has me questioning their intent. From what I'm reading in news accounts on the Internet, the facts don't agree with the article. In fact, in this author's opinion, the article, by omitting facts that would incriminate the MSM themselves, are misrepresenting this issue as they have so many before and rather than news - I believe it's propaganda, telling people that the majority of Americans don't seem to care - which by every poll that's been taken demonstrates that the people, by a vast majority, believe this country is headed in the wrong direction and are extremely dissatisfied with our government!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the additional headaches we will have to confront as a result of the Administration's attempts to radically expand executive power. There are problems in existing areas as well, and here are just a few examples.

In a recent article, Justanothercoverup committed to:

Within the next two to three weeks, Justanothercoverup will be expanding the category “# S 1959, Endgame, Martial Law, DHS, NSA, Fascism” by adding articles from all over the Internet that present varying thoughts on these subjects as well as the best way to survive a declaration of Martial Law. We also plan to offer specific materials, available from this site, which will be a compilation of facts and hypothesis from the leading authorities who have had the courage to speak-up on this issue. LINK

The administration's program of radically expanding the power of the President will require a great deal of time and effort to undo. In addition to the precedents being set by his Senate-endorsed attempt to legalize his lawbreaking, his assertion (via) that he can sign and ratify treaties by himself and his authorization of torture there are no shortage of extremely important issues to address. The unforgivably accommodating Congress that allows this will have to be changed via the ballot box but that obviously will be a complicated process with lots of primaries, general elections, challengers and incumbents involved. It will also require ongoing contact with our representatives on the big issues like the upcoming House vote on telecom amnesty. (I'm offering to teach the secret Pruning Shears handshake to anyone who does so over here.) It looks like there will also be lots of cleanup on smaller issues as well - not of the Constitution-shredding authoritarian variety, just things that will make you smack your forehead and think "thanks a lot, pal." Here are a couple.