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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>From today’s (January 5, 2006) Spokesman review –<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Spying on Americans can't be justified <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>President Bush could be either stupid or just uninformed,
Molly Ivins says.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Molly Ivins <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Creators Syndicate<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>January 5, 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>AUSTIN</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Texas</st1:State></span></font></st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> – My theory is that they
don't tell him anything; that's why the president keeps sounding like he
doesn't know what he's talking about. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>There he was at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Brooke</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Army</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Medical</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> over the weekend,
once again getting it wrong: "I can say that if somebody from al-Qaida's
calling you, we'd like to know why. In the meantime, this program is conscious
of people's civil liberties, as am I. This is a limited program. ... I repeat:
limited. And it's limited to calls from outside the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region> to calls within the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>So then the White House had to go back and explain that,
well, no, actually, the National Security Agency's domestic spying program is
not limited to calls from outside the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, or to calls from
people known or even suspected of being with al-Qaida. Turns out thousands of
Americans and resident foreigners have been or are being monitored and recorded
by the NSA. It's more like information-mining, which is what, you may recall,
the administration said it would not do. But now Bush has to investigate The
New York Times because Bush has been breaking the law, you see?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I really don't think he'd sound like an idiot if they kept
him informed. He would, however, still sound like a kid trying to get out of
trouble by tattling: "My personal opinion is it was a shameful act for
someone to disclose this very important program (the NSA surveillance program)
in a time of war. The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the
enemy." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>There he goes again. He is being deceitful and insincere.
Bush and <st1:place w:st="on">Co.</st1:place> have broken the law, and
furthermore, it was completely unnecessary to do so. The Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act is not a hindrance to tracking down al-Qaida. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>So Bush breaks a law he didn't remotely need to and then
denounces anyone who discusses this as helping the enemy. Come on. It's so
stupid. The choice is not between a police state and another al-Qaida attack.
(Speaking of disingenuous, if you wanted to make this country safer from
terrorist attack, you'd do a lot better to trade in the NSA spy program for
some sensible precautions at chemical plants, or making the Department of
Homeland Security into something resembling an effective agency.) <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I love the way we always start secret spy programs with great
vows that the information shall be guarded and the innocent protected –
and it turns out one of the first to make use to the NSA program for his own
purposes was that parfait, gentile soul of discretion John Bolton, the Godzilla
diplomat. Came out during his confirmation hearings: Bolton – no one's
idea of a judicious, reticent man – called on the NSA 10 times to
identify sources he wanted the names of, presumably in connection with NSA's
shamelessly undercover spying on the United Nations just before the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> war
started. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Now, look at how this stuff spreads. We're talking only
about the NSA, a top-security spy agency– surely it can hang onto
information without having it leak , right? Wrong. Also in the business of
spying on American citizens are the Pentagon, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and dozens of private
contractors. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Do you remember a parlor game that was popular a few years
ago called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"? The game was to name any
actor and then see who could connect him to the actor Kevin Bacon in the least
number of moves. For example, Elvis Presley: Presley once appeared in a film
with Ed Asner, Ed Asner later appeared in a film with Kevin Bacon, therefore
Presley has a Bacon score of two. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>How long do you think it would take to connect you to Osama
bin Laden? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Another reason to be deeply worried about a huge domestic
spying operation is that it will inevitably be manned by nincompoops. Just
take, for example, this lovely 2003 memo from an FBI agent railing at what he
perceived as the dreadful restraints by John Ashcroft's Justice Department:
"While radical militant librarians kicks us around, true terrorists
benefit from (Justice Department's) failure to let use the tools given to us."
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Yep, time after time, it's those radical militant librarians
impeding those pitiful, helpless agents at the FBI. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Speaking of helpless FBI agents, in a recent column I
misattributed the FBI's fine program of spying on vegans and People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals to the NSA. I'm sure both agencies would
appreciate a correction. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>P.S. – You can always suggest to the radical militant
librarians that instead of saying, "Shhhh!' they yell, "Shut up!"<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Take care, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Tom Hansen<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Moscow</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Idaho</st1:State></span></font></st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, a drink in the other, body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO. What a ride!'"</span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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