Why am I not surprised? I had speculated in a previous post that the nefarious Bush-Cheney adiministration is not above spying on its own citizens under the cover of national security. Now, just in time for the confirmation hearing of Gen. Michael Hayden — Bush's choice to take over leadership of the CIA, USA Today is reporting that the NSA had collected the phone records of millions of Americans in an effort to build a database of ALL phone calls made in the USA. AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp complied with the request and turned over phone records of their customers. Only one big phone company, Qwest refused. Mind you, these were not phone calls made BY or TO suspected terrorists outside the US, but phone calls made within the country by millions of Americans. The administration insists that everything it did was within the law. Whose law? That of the erstwhile Soviet Union? And by the way, Michael Hayden is the former Director of the NSA and the architect of the phone surveillance program. When the NSA eavesdropping story first broke, Bush had assured Americans that the procedure was legal and strictly targeted Al Qaida operatives. Well, it appears that we are all suspected terrorists in the eyes of this undignified, suspicious and scofflaw administration.
"Congressional Republicans and Democrats demanded answers from the Bush administration Thursday about a report that the government secretly collected records of ordinary Americans' phone calls to build a database of every call made within the country.
"It is our government, it's not one party's government. It's America's government. Those entrusted with great power have a duty to answer to Americans what they are doing," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. telephone companies began turning over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the National Security Agency program shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said USA Today, citing anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement.
On Capitol Hill, several lawmakers expressed incredulity about the program, with some Republicans questioning the rationale and legal underpinning and several Democrats railing about the lack of congressional oversight.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News Channel: "The idea of collecting millions or thousands of phone numbers, how does that fit into following the enemy?"
Please read the whole story so you can find out how Bush has been keeping you safe - from yourself!
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