Boston Globe (yesterday): Panel OK’s 2 rival wiretapping bills. Ok, I’m very unhappy of this trend of the senate to roll over for the Administration’s power-mad citizen surveillance schemes. “What, the covert warrantless wiretaps were illegal? Well, let’s just make ’em legal!!”
But here’s the rare thing, at least where Virginia senator John Warner is concerned: I have a small amount of new respect for a few of those senators, namely the senators from the Senate Armed Services Committee (McCain, John Warner, Lindsey Graham) who announced their continued opposition to proposals from the White House that limit an defendant’s access to evidence if it is classified. I can think of no system more ripe for abuse than one in which the Executive Branch collects evidence without notifying the judicial branch through a warrant application; classifies the evidence; then uses it to convict someone with no opportunities for challenge.
Overall the picture out of judiciary as painted by this article looks like total disarray and a complete lack of inclination for the senate to fall in line behind Bush’s police state measures. Thank goodness, democracy is messy.