While the media was focused on the story of Goldstein's, er... Zarqawi's latest death, there was another story that got very little play.  This was from the most important "central front" of this global war -- the home front.  I'm talking about a recent case where secret evidence was used to charge people with  crimes the jury didn't think they committed, yet they were still convicted and sentenced to terms the judge felt were unjustified.

As someone on Dkos so eloquently put it:

"Going after people based upon 'what they are thinking'
should set off alarm bells in any thinking person's head."

You read that right.  The department of pre-crime is handing out warrants to the thought police, and they're forcing courts to hand out life sentences.

Ongoing mayhem in Iraq, ENRON buddies waiting to learn how many years they'll spend in jail, VP Cheney's former Leaker in Chief awaiting trial, gas prices soaring, hurricane season starting, and what does President Bush decide to speak out about?

The diary below was originally posted in my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal on April 23rd.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) otherwise known, as brain fingerprinting will revolutionize how governments worldwide administer security and criminal justice. The potential repercussions for privacy rights are devastating. In years to come governments as well as corporations will possess the tools to examine an individual's brain waves and attempt to determine if they're lying.

In effect, FMRIs are neural imaging of one's brain waves. The technology allows researchers to map the brain's neurons as they process thoughts, sensations, memories, and motor commands. Since debuting a decade ago, brain fingerprinting has facilitated transparency with the cognitive operations behind behavior such as feeling stimulated by music or recognizing a familiar face in a crowd.

I've been biting my tongue about the Bush Regime's secret NSA wiretapping / eavesdropping scandal. I wanted to let the ramifications sink in... to soak in to the cockles of my grey matter and see what stewed to the top. Usually an act as blatant as this doesn't take this much time to stew. However, once I grasped the enormity of this story... I had to wait for the anger to subside before I could process the emotions in to words.

Our own Cortexan and current Daily Kos front pager, Georgia10, did an excellent job summing up the legal arguments against Bush's warrantless spying in this article.  

The law does not permit warrantless surveillance searches without probable cause.   The Supreme Court has held that police frisks and other more limited forms of searches could be held to a "reasonable suspicion" standard. But as to the pervasive, highly intrusive search that occurs when the government wiretaps or intercepts the communications of its citizens, a probable cause standard is constitutionally required.

 For anyone having to go up against the forces of right wing talking points and just general media misinformation, it's a must read.

But there's significance to Bush's action that goes beyond the president's ability to conduct searches, or the limits of wartime power.  It's just as import to look at how the Bush administration has conducted themselves in this affair as the specifics of what they've done.  

After the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, Mohammed Irshaid and many other people in this country were arrested and thrown into prison cells for no other reason than they were of Arab descent.

Irshaid is a middle-aged man with a wife and three young children.

After the attacks, bumper stickers appeared on many vehicles with the phrase "We stand united."

And for the briefest moment of time after the attacks, the entire world stood as one.

The darkness of fascism is closing in on Americans.  They must seek out the light of truth -- and they must go to the light -- to stop the madness.

Folks at the White House stay pretty busy these days just trying to untangle the lies George Bush keeps telling every time he opens his mouth. For example, back in April 2004, Bush explained to a cheering audience and an unchallenging press corps in Buffalo about "eavesdropping" on Americans -- "When you think 'Patriot Act,' constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because," he said earnestly while leaning over the podium, his hand on his heart "--because we value the Constitution."

I have always had strong political opinions. Throughout my life I have written letters and editorials, posted on blogs, passed out materials and worked on elections. In November of 2000 I went into shock. I didn't come out of it until Dean woke me up to `take back our country'. We all know what happened next.

Perhaps we have gotten the government that we deserve. There is no doubt that "Freedom isn't free." However it's not just some anonymous member of the military that needs to pay the price. It is you. And me. No exceptions and no exemptions.

Bush has not only confirmed his use of domestic spying without a warrant, but vowed that he will continue, despite deep concerns from legal scholars, senators, and anyone who has a lick of sense.

For those on the far right, the real danger is those traitors at the New York Times and the leakers who actually revealed what our glorious leader was up to, or something like that.  Bush is leading the chorus.  

"My personal opinion is it was a shameful act, for someone to disclose this very important program in time of war," the president said. "The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy."

Is it?  Is it helping "the enemy," Mr. President?  Because, you know, the enemy already knew that the NSA could monitor overseas calls.  Heck, that's part of the agency's charter.  So what, exactly, is it that the reports have revealed?

Why, Mr. President, did you break the law?

Yesterday Senator Dianne Feinstein released a Congressional Research Service report answering the question:

Limitations on Congressional Access to Certain National Intelligence

By virtue of his constitutional role as commander-and-in-chief and head of the executive branch, the President has access to all national intelligence collected, analyzed and produced by the Intelligence Community. The President's position also affords him the authority - which, at certain times, has been aggressively asserted - to restrict the flow of intelligence information to Congress and its two intelligence committees, which are charged with providing legislative oversight of the Intelligence Community. As a result, the President, and a small number of presidentially-designated Cabinet-level officials, including the Vice President - in contrast to Members of Congress - have access to a far greater overall volume of intelligence and to more sensitive intelligence information, including information regarding intelligence sources and methods.

Apparently including intel on his own citizens.  I feel ever so much better now.  After all, the Constitution is "just a piece of paper."  

Ok, this is a commentary by Doug Thompson @ Capitol Hill Blue, via LeftCoaster.  Be nice if he sourced the rant, but worth reading for the comedy value alone:

GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the [Patriot] act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

"I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way."

"Mr. President," one aide in the meeting said. "There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution."

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

". . .  and he stamped his foot so hard into the ground that his whole leg went in. He then was so angry that he pulled so hard to get his leg out and he split himself in two then disappeared!"  [Rumpelstiltskin]

Life imitates art.

I've been seeing discussion of Texas' alleged anti-gay-marriage amendment, and a couple people have already pointed out that it has a slight wording problem. But if you sit down and think about it, there's more than one problem here.