Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: December 17, 2005

Bush Radio Address Today; Feingold’s Response and Related Commentary

  • Radio Address by the President to the Nation, December 17, 2005: “This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as I am president of the United States…”
  • Bloomberg: Bush Defends U.S. Wiretaps, Urges Patriot Act Renewal
  • In following my previous posting, News of Classified Domestic Surveillance Operation Sparks Outrage, today Senator Russ Feingold Responds to the President’s Radio Address: “The President’s shocking admission that he authorized the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens, without going to a court and in violation of the Constitution and laws passed by Congress, further demonstrates the urgent need for these protections. The President believes that he has the power to override the laws that Congress has passed. This is not how our democratic system of government works. The President does not get to pick and choose which laws he wants to follow. He is a president, not a king.”
  • Washington Post, President Acknowledges Approving Secretive Eavesdropping
  • : “Hundreds and perhaps thousands of people have been subjected to the surveillance, according to government officials.”

    White House Issues Guidelines and Requirements in Support of the Information Sharing Environment

    From the White House, December 16, 2005: “Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies. Guidelines and Requirements in Support of the Information Sharing Environment: Ensuring the appropriate access to, and the sharing, integration, and use of, information by Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies with counterterrorism responsibilities, and, as appropriate, private sector entities,… Continue Reading