The ACLU is defending the Treason Times (aka NY Times) for revealing the secret govt program looking into international finances that might be connected to terrorist groups…funding these terrorist thugs in their quest to destroy America. The NY Times is a disgrace on this nation and the ACLU backing them up with their Bush-hatred is no surprise.
This is what the ever-clueless head of the ACLU said about so-called privacy rights and so-called abuse of power:
ACLU Says Government Spying on Bank Records is Further Abuse of Power (6/23/2006)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
NEW YORK — The ACLU today condemned the U.S. government for gaining access to vast troves of international financial data with no judicial or Congressional oversight nor definition of how the information is being used.
The program, revealed this morning the New York Times, outlines how the government received the cooperation of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, more commonly referred to as Swift, to monitor financial transactions. Swift is a Brussels-based consortium that serves as a clearinghouse for transactions worldwide. It was reported this morning that tens of thousands of records gathered by Swift have been turned over to the CIA, the FBI and the Treasury Department at the request of the U.S. government.
The following statement can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU:
“The revelation of the CIA’s financial spying program is another example of the Bush administration’s abuse of power. The invasion of our personal financial information, without notification or judicial review, is contrary to the fundamental American value of privacy and must be stopped now. It seems the administration feels entitled to flip through all of our checkbooks. How many other secret spying programs has the Bush administration enacted without Congress, the courts or the public knowing? We need a full accounting of what information has been demanded by the U.S. government, how they have used it, with whom it was shared, and how they intend to repair this grave breach of trust. This program is a glaring example of how this government thinks nothing of widespread abuse of power.
“The government contends that the program is legal since Swift is ultimately a messaging service and not a bank, exempting it from U.S. banking laws. However, Swift is established and owned by banks to assist directly in banking activities. Swift is subject to both U.S. and European law, and it is wrong for the U.S. to demand information without following the established channels.
“Once again, this administration has performed an end-run around the legislature, allowing for no Congressional approval or oversight, and violating the freedoms Americans falsely believed they could take for granted. Congress should call them to account.”
This is, of course, nonsense. As others have pointed out- the government can access your financial records. If it couldn’t, we could all just stop paying taxes and the sort. The IRS can access our records and demand an audit if they so choose. There’s no invasion of privacy, and it’s clear from what we know via the Treason Times that no one is flipping thru out checkbooks as Romero claims.
The NY Times and the ACLU are putting our nation in harm’s way. They are dangerous organizations that need to be fought and defeated. Both the Times and the ACLU have an obvious hatred of George Bush that fuels their dangerous campaigns. When the next attack takes place, let’s hope these two groups have the sense to keep their big mouths shut once and for all.
The ACLU demands the release of “torture” photos from Iraqi prisons to fuel hatred of America…these pics, as many have pointed out (I’m reminded of O’Reilly’s comments on this issue)- these pics serve no purpose, and the demands for their release was just another way the ACLU could show how radical and fringe they have become…how much of an enemy of the USA they have become.
The Times decides to reveal secret govt programs to protect Americans and track down terrorists- these seditious fools put us all in danger, and they do it with a smile, knowing full well what danger they have caused, but not caring a bit about the result.
I will say it again- nations fall from enemies within…our two biggest enemies in this current war are obvious- the Times and the ACLU.
-Hot Air has Tony Snow’s reaction to the Times story.
