Bush Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S.

In its continuing effort to turn the USA into a police state like something out of Nazi Germany or Communist China, the Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon. Why not rename the Supreme Court the court of Star Chamber while he’s at it. I seriously doubt there will be any delay in implementation despite the assurances of Michael Chertoff. The Chimperator is a delusional, megalomaniacal ass and one can only hope that the Congressional Democrats will challenge him and stop such unconscionable efforts. I fully suspect that even blogs like this one are under regular surveillance as part of the Chimperator’s never ending witch hunt against those who oppose his policies. Policies which have left the nation less safe because of the undermining of the nation’s standing internationally and because they have made the number of would be anti-US terrorists multiply. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

The Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon, rebuffing challenges by House Democrats over the idea's legal authority. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department will activate his department's new domestic satellite surveillance office in stages, starting as soon as possible with traditional scientific and homeland security activities -- such as tracking hurricane damage, monitoring climate change and creating terrain maps. Sophisticated overhead sensor data will be used for law enforcement once privacy and civil rights concerns are resolved, he said. The department has previously said the program will not intercept communications.

Democrats say Chertoff has not spelled out what federal laws govern the NAO, whose funding and size are classified. Congress barred Homeland Security from funding the office until its investigators could review the office's operating procedures and safeguards. The department submitted answers on Thursday, but some lawmakers promptly said the response was inadequate.

"I have had a firsthand experience with the trust-me theory of law from this administration," said [Congresswoman] Harman, citing the 2005 disclosure of the National Security Agency's domestic spying program, which included warrantless eavesdropping on calls and e-mails between people in the United States and overseas. "I won't make the same mistake. . . . I want to see the legal underpinnings for the whole program."