Reply #24: Facts cannot penetrate the pre-emptively disappointed. Iraq is ending, warrantless wiretaps banned [View All]

[HamdenRice]

I realize this is pointless because facts no longer matter to those pre-emptively disappointed with the Democrats, but what the heck:

The Iraq War is ending as swiftly as possible and irretrievably:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6941125&mesg_id=6942311

"US undertaking largest withdrawal of troops and materiel since Vietnam"

Leaving Iraq Is a Feat That Requires an Army

By MARC SANTORA
Published: October 8, 2009

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — There is no more visible sign that America is putting the Iraq war behind it than the colossal operation to get its stuff out: 20,000 soldiers, nearly a sixth of the force here, assigned to a logistical effort aimed at dismantling some 300 bases and shipping out 1.5 million pieces of equipment, from tanks to coffee makers.

<end quote>

It's still early in the morning, but there are already several erroneous posts about warrantless wire tapping. The Obama administration SHUT DOWN warrantless wiretapping, and somehow Amy Goodman spun that into Obama continuing it, and that is now an article of religious faith -- as explained earlier today:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7078000&mesg_id=7078063

"The Obama administration ended warrantless wiretapping of US citizens. US law has always allowed warrantless wiretaps of foreign calls, and has always allowed wiretapping of US citizens with a warrant, including since the 70s, a warrant from the FISA court.

<snip>

I find it remarkable that a news story early in the Obama administration about ENDING warrantless wiretapping has now been spun into an irrefutable urban myth that warrantless wiretapping of citizens in continuing. What actually happened was that the Holder DOJ discovered that Bush holdovers in the NSA were continuing to wiretap US citizens without warrants and IMMEDIATELY SHUT THEM DOWN. Holder apparently said something like, this was really bad, maybe worse than stuff they did during the Bush administration.

Democracy Now then reported this story falsely as something like "Obama administration continuing warrantless wiretapping worse than Bush." So Holder's swift action and investigation to SHUT DOWN warrantless wiretapping was spun into "Obama continues warrantless wiretapping."

That thought is now lodged irretrievably in the concrete skulls of Obama haters, defeatists, PUMAs, Trots and assorted whiners.

Go back to the original news stories. Obama shut down warrantless wiretapping.

I realize it's pointless to demonstrate this even with extensive links -- I've done it several times -- because basically it is now an article of religious faith among the permanently disappointed."