White House to argue for GPS tracking without a warrant
March 22, 2013 22:38 RT
Lawyers for the Obama administration will argue next week that US authorities are not required to obtain a search warrant before attaching a GPS device to an individual’s car in order to keep tabs on them.
The case, set to be heard on Tuesday by the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, comes over a year after a US Supreme Court decision failed to convince the Department of Justice that warrantless GPS tracking is an infringement on Americans' Constitutional rights.
“This case is the government’s primary hope that it does not need a judge’s approval to attach a GPS device to a car,” Catherine Crump, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) told Wired magazine.
In January 2012 the Supreme Court overruled an Obama administration assertion that police should be permitted to affix a GPS device to a personal vehicle without a search warrant. Questions were left, however, when the Court declined to answer whether that type of search was unreasonable and when justices could not reach a consensus on how police would need to monitor a suspect before requesting a warrant.
“We hold that the government’s installation of a GPS device on a target’s vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movement, constitutes a ‘search,’” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the five-justice majority last January.
Scalia stipulated in the opinion that a warrant was not always necessary, but failed to mention any specific examples of when this would be the case.
Now prosecutors are honing on Scalia’s exact language, arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision only specifies that the installation of a GPS constitutes a search, while the tracking that follows does not. The government argues that the Supreme Court has given police near free reign in allowing for search warrant exceptions.
Searches of students, individuals on probation and border crossings are among the proposed exceptions.
The argument resurfaced after Philadelphia brothers Harry, Michael and Mark Katzin were indicted for a string of late-night pharmacy burglaries in 2010. Suspicious of the Dodge Caravan they thought was used in the robberies, investigators monitored the vehicle with a GPS device for 48 hours and were able to trace the brothers' involvement.
Arguing in US v. Katzin, government prosecutors claimed that a law requiring them to seek a warrant would seriously impede investigations of terrorist suspects.
“Requiring a warrant and probable cause before officers may attach a GPS device to a vehicle, which is inherently mobile and may no longer be at the location observed when the warrant is obtained, would seriously impede the government’s ability to investigate drug trafficking, terrorism and other crimes,” authorities said in court.
“Law enforcement officers could not use GPS devices to gather information to establish probable cause, which is often the most productive use of such devices. Thus, the balancing of law enforcement interests with the minimally intrusive nature of GPS installation and monitoring makes clear that a showing of reasonable suspicion suffices to permit use of a ‘slap-on’ device like that used in this case.”
While the ACLU accused the government of prosecutorial overreach in the case, it praised a new bill - the so-called 'GPS Act' - that would require law enforcement to get a warrant in order to access an individual’s GPS tracking history, whether it be from a vehicle device or a cell phone provider. The bill, which would not affect emergency services but would require police to prove probable cause, was reintroduced into Congress by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mike Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
In a statement, Wyden decried the government’s blind eye to police overreach.
“GPS technology has evolved into a useful commercial and law enforcement tool - but the rules for the use of that tool have not evolved with it,” he said. “The GPS Act provides law enforcement with a clear mandate for when to obtain a warrant for the geolocation information of an American…It protects the privacy and civil liberty of any American using a GPS-enabled device.”
Rarely does a week go by without some story of some court or government agency somewhere attacking the Fourth Amendment and its proscription against unreasonable searches and seizures.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the Department of Homeland Security claims it can search anyone’s electronic devices within 100 miles of the border. So if you live within a 100-mile band surrounding the nation, the government says you have no Fourth Amendment protection.
In another story, the FBI has been secretly spying on Google users.
I could write volumes on the erosion of our Fourth Amendment rights. Let me demonstrate with one recent story.
At about 1:15 a.m. Nov. 30, 2011, Randall E. Morlock, 51, of Lima, was pulled over by Officer Mark Link of the Lima Police Department. Link made the stop because his dispatcher told him the license plates on Morlock’s pickup truck were not valid and needed to be confiscated.
Link ran the plates by the dispatcher because Morlock made a brief visit to a duplex that Link believed to be a drug house. This home was in a high-crime area of Lima where there had been past problems with prostitution, drugs, robberies, assaults and even shootings.
So far, no problem. But here is where it gets scary.
After pulling Morlock over, Link had Morlock leave his truck. While Officer Jesse Harrod held Morlock away from the pickup, Link searched the passenger side of the truck — without Morlock’s consent and without a warrant — and found a tissue containing a small quantity of crack cocaine.
During an April 4 hearing in Allen County Common Pleas Court, Link testified that he searched the truck because Morlock made a “furtive movement” as Link pulled him over.
A “furtive movement”? Nearly everyone makes “furtive movements” when stopped by police, usually grabbing their papers and whatnot. Is that all it takes to lose the protections of the Fourth Amendment?
The trial court thought so as did the 3rd Ohio District Court of Appeals in a Feb. 25 opinion written by Judge John Willamowski.
To be fair, the cocaine eventually would have been found because the pickup was going to be impounded and the police can search an impounded vehicle for “inventory purposes.”
Still, we have constitutional rules in place for a reason. There was no valid reason for Link to search Morlock’s truck at the scene. Morlock was separated from the truck and therefore posed no threat to the officers or others. Nor could Link claim he was searching for evidence of the crime for which he stopped Morlock. The invalid plates were on the outside of the vehicle.
The Court of Appeals rested its theory on the tenuous proposition that it was “conceivable” the officers might have let Morlock re-enter the truck to retrieve personal items before impounding the truck.
In other words, if a cop claims a “furtive movement,” real, imagined or flat-out invented, and the court can think of some possible scenario in which the driver will re-enter the vehicle at some time in the future, then the Fourth Amendment can be violated.
Ultimately, Morlock reached a plea deal with prosecutors and served 46 days in jail. He should not have served a day after Link’s search.
I use the above case as a mere example of what is happening in courts across the nation.
This is what happens when the people don’t pay attention to the erosion of rights.
The U.S. Supreme Court said it best in a 2009 case: “A rule that gives police the power to conduct such a search whenever an individual is caught committing a traffic offense, when there is no basis for believing evidence of the offense might be found in the vehicle, creates a serious and recurring threat to the privacy of countless individuals. Indeed, the character of that threat implicates the central concern underlying the Fourth Amendment — the concern about giving police officers unbridled discretion to rummage at will among a person’s private effects.”
http://www.lucente.org.
ReplyDeleteInteresting argument.....
ReplyDeleteCan people put GPS on cop cars, and why not?
bob
If you people don't think it is important to elect constitutionalists, republicans, libertarians, all that type of folks, to government you are out of your minds. The Supreme Court finally rules. Vote right and protect your rights. Avoid civil war, etc. Simple. Control the government. Or it is going to control you.
DeleteYet, we need law and order. A fine line.
With our vastly increased population, and the coming of technology unimagined, our Constitution is gasping.
Help!
bob
DeleteCan taxpayers put GPS on cop cars, and why not?
Damn good question, bob.
The taxpayers actually own the cars.
They paid for 'em.
bob
Fuel them too, and pay the drivers.
Deletebob
A GPS on bar mates cars might provide some levity.
Delete:)
A serious question, some new cars, I have read, have stuff on them that you the buyer don't know about, troubling.
All a plot by the divorce lawyers, maybe.
bob
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteI will delete drivel and comments meant to harass or worse yet, bore.
DeleteDoes that include name calling on a daily basis?
DeleteI would appreciate that.
boobie
You mean like when you call Rat, “crapper” or when he calls you, “boobie”? Which do you appreciate more?
DeleteThe Department of Homeland Security office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties concluded that police searching and seizing electronic devices within 100 miles of the US border without reasonable suspicion or a warrant does not violate the 4th Amendment. Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 people had electronics searched near the border, thanks to the DHS rule that was enacted by the Bush Administration, and has been continued under the Obama Administration.
ReplyDeleteThe ACLU has requested the DHS report using the Freedom of Information Act and are conducting a lawsuit on behalf of Pascal Abidor. At an Amtrak inspection point, Pascal Abidor showed his U.S. passport to a federal agent. He was ordered to move to the cafe car, where they removed his laptop from his luggage and “ordered Mr. Abidor to enter his password,” according to the lawsuit.
Agents asked him about pictures they found on his laptop, which included Hamas and Hezbollah rallies. He explained that he was earning a doctoral degree at a Canadian university on the topic of the modern history of Shiites in Lebanon.
He was handcuffed and then jailed for three hours while the authorities looked through his computer while numerous agents questioned him, according to the suit, which is pending in New York federal court.
Europe's financial leaders are predicting a long night of debate as they try to hammer out a deal to save Cyprus from a financial crisis that threatens to infect the rest of the continent.
ReplyDeleteAccording to some reports, Cyprus' president has threatened to resign rather than sign a deal which would dismantle the country's biggest bank.
Today marks the deadline set by the European Central Bank for a deal to be done, else it will cut off the supply of cash that is keeping Cyprus' two biggest banks afloat.
If the deadline passes and the threat is carried out, Cyprus may be forced out of the euro altogether and left to fend for itself – which would severely damage confidence across the EU and set a worrying precedent for the currency.
Cyprus has been told it must find 5.8 billion euros in order to qualify for a 10 billion euro loan from the so-called ‘troika' of the EU, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund.
But Cyprus has struggled to raise the money, after an initial deal to tax bank customers was vetoed by its own parliament.
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/business/cyprus-contagion-long-night-ahead-as-leaders-seek-deal-20130325-2gojp.html#ixzz2OUno0y6j
The EU and IMF are offering Cyprus a 10 billion euro bailout package as long as the government can come up with 7 billion euros itself, largely through the restructuring of its banks, a process that will mean imposing a big levy on deposits over 100,000 euros. There are rumors that Troika suggested a haircut of 50-60% on bank accounts in Cyprus! Cyprus needs to get out of the euro tonight and chart it's own course, It will recover within a couple of years and the recovery will be easier than staying in.
DeleteCyprus may be a lot of things in the future but its days as an offshore banking center are over
ReplyDeleteCyprus is a perfect illustration of the way the region struggles with collective action
In the past eight months before Cyprus erupted people have frequently reminded me, often with a smirk, of a forecast I made in late November 2011. On these pages, I declared that eurozone leaders had 10 days to save the euro. I made an ultimately similar, though less dramatic, prediction in 2006 when I wrote that Romano Prodi’s administration offered Italy’s last chance to achieve a sustainable position in the eurozone.
Mr Prodi’s administration did not deliver. The 10 days in 2011 passed without action. It is 2013, the euro is still there, Italy is still in it – and I am still making forecasts. Undeterred, I will double down today. A eurozone that compromises countries as diverse as Germany and Cyprus is not sustainable, even if the EU and Cyprus manage to find a last-minute compromise. An operational banking union that comprises supervision, resolution and deposit insurance would have been a minimally sufficient condition to make a divergent monetary system work against the odds. It would have solved the problems of the Cypriot banks for sure. But the eurozone does not have such a banking union. It will not have such a banking union in five years. Germany rejects it flat out on the grounds that it is too expensive for the German taxpayer.
Ironically, Cyprus would also reject it as it would kill the country’s business model as an offshore centre for foreign deposits. Whatever banking union will ultimately emerge in the long run will be irrelevant to this crisis.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c481838-92e3-11e2-b3be-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2OUoZ9Bpx
By demanding that Cyprus eradicates the Popular Bank and transfers the liabilities of euro 9 million to the Bank of Cyprus, Germany is condemning Cyprus largest bank to bankruptcy. Why should the Cypriots stay in the Euro under these circumstances ?! If they step out of the Euro then they are free to negotiate a bail out with whoever they please, i.e. with Russia.
ReplyDeleteExplained
ReplyDeleteThis could get real ugly - from the Guardian
ReplyDeleteFears are growing of Russian reprisals against European businesses as EU authorities desperately seek a deal to save the Cypriot economy by imposing a 25% levy on bank deposits of more than €100,000.
As the island scrambled to put together a rescue programme, its finance minister, Michalis Sarris, said "significant progress" had been made on the latest levy plan in talks with officials from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The government in Nicosia faces a deadline of Monday to reach an agreement or the European Central Bank says it will cut off emergency cash to the island, spelling the likely financial collapse of its banking system and a potential exit from the European single currency.
However, with Russian investors having an estimated €30bn (£26bn) deposited in banks on the island, the growing optimism about a deal was accompanied by fears of retaliation from Moscow. Alexander Nekrassov, a former Kremlin adviser, said: "If it is the case that there will be a 25% levy on deposits greater than €100,000 then some Russians will suffer very badly.
"Then, of course, Moscow will be looking for ways to punish the EU. There are a number of large German companies operating in Russia. You could possibly look at freezing assets or taxing assets. The Kremlin is adopting a wait and see policy."
Nekrassov rejected suggestions that Russia might hit back by cutting off gas supplies, a tactic the country used in 2009 after the collapse of talks with Ukraine to end a row over unpaid bills and energy pricing.
"Gas is no longer a weapon," Nekrassov said. "When Russia did that before, it realised that the foreign energy lobby reacted and efforts to find alternative sources were increased. If Russia kept threatening, it knows that nobody would be buying its gas in 20 years' time."
Mike Ingram, an analyst at City broker BGC Partners, said: "In Russia, historically, if they want an asset they just grab it. If they want cash out of a [EU] business [in Russia] they just create a tax bill or raid offices and make your life unpleasant. They could also make life difficult diplomatically on issues such as Syria. They might also rattle a few sabres over deployment of the missile defence system."
In a week of high-stakes brinkmanship, the EU, ECB and IMF – the so-called "troika" behind the rescue of five southern European countries – had refused to budge on its insistence that Cyprus raise €5.8bn of its own revenues to qualify for the bailout aid.
The latest levy plan reflected Nicosia’s fast-dwindling options.
{…}
ReplyDeleteLast week Cypriot MPs overwhelmingly rejected a similar levy proposal – even after it was adjusted to remove any charge on savings below €20,000 – triggering a week of tumult as Nicosia tried and failed to win financial support from Russia instead.
The tax on savings is unprecedented in Europe's handling of a debt crisis that has spread from Greece to Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The crisis has reignited uncertainty about the future of the eurozone just as many EU leaders began to believe the worst was over for the single currency.
On Saturday, uncertainty shrouding the island turned from unease on the streets, where people have rushed en masse to withdraw money from cash machines, to scenes of panic-buying.
The inept handling of the crisis by politicians has exacerbated a dark mood with many Cypriots fearing that they stand to lose life savings following the government's decision to also raise funds by restructuring Laiki, the island's second biggest bank.
Marios Panayides, 65, a protester outside the Cypriot parliament said: "Our so-called friends and partners sold us out. They have completely abandoned us on the edge of an abyss."
Retailers, facing cash-on-delivery demands from suppliers, warned stocks were running low. "At the moment, supplies will last another two or three days," said Adamos Hadijadamou, head of Cyprus's Association of Supermarkets. "We'll have a problem if this is not resolved by next week."
Cypriots fear the damage the levy would do to the country's offshore banking industry. Much of the Cypriot banks’ capital was wiped out by the collapse of investments in Greece, the epicentre of the euro zone debt crisis.
The problem isn't the GPS. Cops have been following suspects forever. The problem is a man spending 46 days in jail for possession of a small amount of crack.
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason on God's Green Earth for Marijuana, or Cocaine to be illegal.
How can it possibly be your business if I decide to smoke a little pot, or crack?
You are probably winning the marijuana debate. Though it is going to be bad on college test scores.
DeleteWith crack, or heroin, or bath salts, and many others, any reasonable person, if there are any left, would conclude society has a right to keep lethal poisons illegal, for our own good, yours and mine, and your kids and grand kids, and mine.
See: Whitney Houston
And these others -
http://topyaps.com/top-10-singers-who-died-of-drug-overdose/
Just for starters, just for stars...
Since I have known of persons who have died because of use of illegal substances, I must disagree, and say society has a right to use reason, and ban, and impose penalties for the use, transfer, sale, etc etc of certain substances.
Society has a right 'to protect itself'. Or we have no society.
And the question wasn't cops following you, or staking you out, the question was GPS devices on your private cars.
bob
"The problem is a man spending 46 days in jail for possession of a small amount of crack."
DeleteNo, that is not the problem. The problem is why was not the sentence far greater for a man in possession of a substance that could easily kill your grandchildren.
bob
Kindly leave my kids, and grandkids out of this. If they're dumb enough to get strung out on crack a few days in jail won't make any difference.
DeleteI truly hope they are not. Rufus, a girl next door, right next door, to where my daughter grew up, her father died, we used to go fishing, she got on drugs, finally there was an article about her in the local paper, about making a comeback, and going to college, and she was dead about three months later. Her brother is gone, drifted off to California, the mother I know well, a member of our church, she is wondering, what the hell happened to all my life? And she is just working a job. The father was high up local Fed farm agency.
DeleteShe was beautiful, and now dead, that beautiful young child.
bob
This is called 'Liberty"
Deletebob
Cyprus Deal Reached
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Russians are going to like it.
What did the illegality of crack do for Whitney?
ReplyDeleteCollege test scores?
Maybe if we weren't wasting Billions on the whole "war on drugs" idiocy, we'd have more for Education, and Healthcare.
Rufus, in her case, it failed. She was rich enough to get it anyway, somehow. And died because of it. And you want to make the kinds of drugs that killed her available to anyone.
DeleteGo into the funeral business then.
College test scores?
Yes, the use of marijuana is related to lower test scores on intelligence tests.
That such a loss does occur, however, is consistent with what we know from animal studies.
The message inherent in these and in multiple supporting studies is clear. Regular marijuana use in adolescence is part of a cluster of behaviors that can produce enduring detrimental effects and alter the trajectory of a young person’s life—thwarting his or her potential. Beyond potentially lowering IQ, teen marijuana use is linked to school dropout, other drug use, mental health problems, etc. Given the current number of regular marijuana users (about 1 in 15 high school seniors) and the possibility of this number increasing with marijuana legalization, we cannot afford to divert our focus from the central point: Regular marijuana use stands to jeopardize a young person’s chances of success—in school and in life.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page/messages-director/2013/03/marijuanas-lasting-effects-brain
And many other studies.
I have seen it all around me, watching my kids grow up, and trying to protect them.
The dope smokers 'drop out'.
Haven't you?
bob
I doubt there's much "causation." Correlation is a clue, but not a conviction.
DeleteMy guess would be that excessive drug use, and "dropping out" are both symptoms of another causal factor.
In any case, crack is dirt cheap. Making it illegal hasn't accomplished much - other than to make the situation worse, and waste billions of dollars.
Delete
Delete"My guess would be that excessive drug use, and "dropping out" are both symptoms of another causal factor."
This is a rational answer. You are guessing.
What is the causal factor?
Any studies?
bob
My conclusion is, you put this shit in your body, you are in trouble.
Deletebob
I would say, "poverty," and "lack of parental support."
DeleteWe're a thousand miles apart on this one; let's drop it. Grandkid just woke up; I think I'll go play now. :)
"My guess would be that excessive drug use, and "dropping out" are both symptoms of another causal factor."
DeleteThis is a rational answer?
You are guessing.
What is the causal factor?
Any studies?
My delete button don't work.
bob
Your grand kid has some extended family support.
DeleteI am glad of that.
bob
One last item: Rand Paul
ReplyDelete“I don't want to promote that but I also don't want to put people in jail who make a mistake," Paul explained. "There are a lot of young people who do this and then later on in their twenties they grow up and get married and they quit doing things like this. I don't want to put them in jail and ruin their lives."
That led Paul to mention some bigger figures who have been linked to marijuana in the past -- Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
"Look, the last two presidents could conceivably have been put in jail for their drug use, and I really think, you know, look what would have happened, it would have ruined their lives," Paul added. "They got lucky, but a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky. They don't have good attorneys, and they go to jail for these things and I think it's a big mistake."
For his own safety, and my good will.
ReplyDeletebob
What arrogance. Would you tell me what to eat, and who to sleep with, also?
ReplyDeleteWhat other parts of my life would you govern? My hobbies? My job? My income?
If you can tell me how I take my pleasure, or kill my pain, what else of mine can you control?
That is not reasonable Rufus. It is not arrogance. It is simple human concern for the other. Including the taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to stick a needle in your arm, and kill yourself, and be a burden on your family and the other taxpayers who fund our society, as a brother human being, I object.
I would hope we have some laws to deter you.
Consider it an expression of Christian love, if you like.
Consider it Mao, if you wish, who used many millions of bullets to clean up the drug problem in China. And help make them a world power, off of the opium trade.
bob
"If you can tell me how I take my pleasure, or kill my pain, what else of mine can you control?"
ReplyDeleteObamaCare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask Barky
You voted for him.
bob
You are a moron, Rufus, but I love you.
ReplyDeletebob
This is very interesting:
ReplyDeleteThe Eurogroup has approved a deal on a 10 billion-euro bailout for Cyprus, struck early Monday in Brussels. Cyprus avoids exiting the eurozone, but will have its second largest bank closed with heavy losses expected for big depositors.
“The size of financial assistance will amount to 10 billion euro,” Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem has announced at a press conference in Brussels after the eurozone finance ministers swiftly endorsed the plan.
“With this agreement we’ve put an end to the uncertainty that has affected Cyprus and the euro area over the last few days,” he added.
The new deal agreed between Cyprus and the Troika of international lenders - the EU, the ECB and the IMF - will set up a "good bank" and a "bad bank" and will mean that the country’s second largest bank Laiki will effectively be shut down.
Deposits below 100,000 euros will be shifted from Laiki to the Bank of Cyprus to create a “good bank.” Deposits larger than 100,000 euros will be frozen and used to resolve debts. It remains unclear how large the write-down on those funds will be.
The decision comes hours before the Monday deadline set by the European Central Bank, following heated talks between President Nicos Anastasiades and the Troika.
Earlier on Sunday the central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.
Warren Pollock - market analyst and financial adviser says the financial turmoil in Cyprus is part of a broader crisis.
“In reality this is a global problem which has not been addressed since 2007-2008 and previous to that with the issuance of huge amounts of debt and leverage into the system both in Europe and in the United States,” he told RT.
“And when that debt goes bad, the only recourse which exists is to tap remaining collateral in the system which is the savings.”
Pollock believes that sooner or later this “sort of stealing” of savings may result in popular unrest. “We can definitely see smaller countries being the test to see whether savings could be stolen on a wider scale.”
Campbell Soup is good for you!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.campbellsoup.com/
And your grandson too!
bob
I might be wrong, but I believe this is a Euro problem, not a "global" problem. We don't have to "steal" money, we just print it. Cyprus, Greece, etal can't do that.
ReplyDeleteIf you were a Greek, or Spaniard, or Italian, would you leave your money in a European Bank? This looks to me like a horribly stupid, and potentially fatal, self-infliced wound.
DeleteAnd, over such a relatively small amount of money - curiouser, and curiouser
If I'm reading this right, the Russians are going to be well, and truly pissed. This is the kind of thing that's started wars.
Deletethe Russians are going to be well, and truly pissed
DeleteWhy??
Why should the Russians be well and truly pissed about what happens on a small island??
You said it yourself -
I might be wrong, but I believe this is a Euro problem, not a "global" problem.
Smoking doobies?
People in Mississippi, or our American south as a whole, may have more investments in Cyprus than Russians.
bob
DeleteIf I'm reading this right
A Poem By Rufus
You ain't reading it right
You are high as a kite
With all your might
Without fore
Or
Hind sight
Rufus
bob
.
ReplyDeleteJohn Kerry says he is metagrabolized.
Kerry said Iraq's tacit approval of Iranian overflights left the American people wondering how an ally would undermine U.S. efforts, particularly after the enormous sacrifices made by the U.S. in liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein's tyrannical rule.
"There are members of Congress and people in America who increasingly are watching what Iraq is doing and wondering how it is that a partner in the efforts for democracy and a partner for whom Americans feel they have tried so hard to be helpful, how that country can be, in fact, doing something that makes it more difficult to achieve our common goals, the goal expressed by the prime minister with respect to Syria and President Assad," he said...
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130325/NATION/303250334#ixzz2OWfRfwQ3
.
.
DeleteMakes you want to cry.
.
What the F do you expect?
DeleteHe voted for the war before he voted against it, or against it before he voted for it, or something.
And you want sanity?
Pour on some more Heinz sauce.
Then you will think clearly.
You make me want to cry.
bob
.
ReplyDeleteWMD's in Syria.
“It looks clear that Assad would have used them at least two or three times in the past, had the administration not warned them explicitly,” said a former U.S. official who participated in high-level discussions about Syria. “Most people think it is a matter of time before they actually do.”
You say you need an excuse to invade Syria?
So far there is no evidence who used chems in Syria or for that matter whether they had been used at all.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/backing-up-obamas-warnings-to-syria-creates-tough-challenges-on-two-fronts/2013/03/24/95cd5570-9314-11e2-a31e-14700e2724e4_story.html
.
For Rufus
ReplyDeleteShuffleboard? Oh, Maybe Let’s Get High Instead
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/fashion/more-older-americans-use-marijuana.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&pagewanted=all&
bob
:)
What this country needs of course is a whole series of Mary Jane
ReplyDeleteRest Homes, where you can smoke your guts out, leave family behind, attune to community spirit, if you can remember what the word community means, and be buried in a common grave.
I would cite some poems mentioning common graves in Europe, but I am on thin ice with the master of the house.
bob
I am curling to sleep now, with the Russians pissed, their bank accounts missed, in Cyprus, and the mistress of my new house, not distressed, by the goings on in Cyprus.
ReplyDeletebobo