Olbermann: DoJ sticking next president with police state

[babsbunny]

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/MSNBC_Bush_creating_embryonic_police_state_0819.html

MSNBC: Bush creating 'embryonic police state'
Nick Langewis and David Edwards
Published: Tuesday August 19, 2008


"Now that the Democrats were nice enough to fold up on FISA," MSNBC's Keith Olbermann said, "the issue is all contained now. Right? Not exactly."

The Justice Department has proposed changes to police intelligence-gathering rules that would ease the transfer of information about citizens to federal intelligence agencies, who would then keep the information for at least 10 years. The changes, the first since 1993, were introduced for public comment on July 31.

Under the proposed changes, law enforcement agencies would be allowed to target groups and individuals on the basis of suspicion of participation in terrorist acts or providing material support to terrorists. Former FBI agent and American Civil Liberties Union policy counsel Michael German, however, told the Washington Post that the proposed changes could lead to abuse of constitutional rights by law enforcement agencies, citing cases where police have eavesdropped on political dissenters and infiltrated their ranks.

"It turns police officers into spies on behalf of the federal government," German said. "If police officers no longer see themselves as engaged in protecting their communities from criminals and instead as domestic intelligence agents working on behalf of the CIA, they will be encouraged to collect more information."

The real intent of the changes, Olbermann opined, is to implement them before President Bush leaves office "so the next president can't do a damn thing about unraveling this disaster, which is, appropriately enough, an embryonic police state."

[AndyTiedye]

1. K/R. Only Needs 1 More for the "Greatest" Page

[Fumesucker]

2. "Embryonic" police state?

Someone is an optimist.

The US already has the highest incarceration rate in the world, fully 25% of the prisoners in the world are in America.

[Supersedeas]

3. M-m-m-m-m uckasey....Orwell would be so proud Mucky

[ColbertWatcher]

4. More kicking. n/t

[Lugnut]

5. K&R n/t

[pleah]

6. K&R As far as I am concerned, we are well past

"an embryonic police state".

[SpookyCat]

7. We are not a police state ,not yet.

I have been to a police state, we are not there. We are teetering on the fence, we can see it from where we are, yes, but we are not there yet.

Collective deep breath, keep our heads, and keep fighting. It ain't over by a long shot.

[Fumesucker]

10. Wherever you went that was a "police state"..

They had a smaller percentage of their population in prison than the US does.

It doesn't matter where you went.

[SpookyCat]

12. Egypt? Hmmmm..

I don't know about numbers in prison, but I do know that in the US, if a cop beats on you in the street and steals what you are selling, you have recourse. There the street vendor in question simply took it, straighted his shirt, and left after the Cairo cop left. No recourse if he doesn't want to be disappeared. Saw this in broad daylight, in a tourist area, outside a mall.

Had a Cairo Airport cop steal for me and Comrad Snarky in the airport, simply reach over and take the phone card out that we were using, and use it himself. A Cairo cop watched him do it. The Cairo cop smiled big, shrugged his shoulders, and the two shared a good laugh. No recourse.

Everywhere you go, everywhere, there are cops with guns slung over their shoulders watching you. I don't mean the subtle, oh I think we're being watched, I mean several cops on every corner.

Stopped on the street to pet a cat, and a cop who was following us, stopped and circled me until we moved on. And we were tourists, I can't imagine what it is like for people who live there. Like the people with the delivery truck that the cop just hopped on, stole stuff and hopped off. No recourse, none at all.

That is a police state and a fairly moderate one at that.

The United States is not.

We have issues? You bet. The lock people away for petty offences, esp the bullshit war on drugs, is nonsense. But we are not a police state.

[dkofos]

8. Let's hope Obama knows what to do with his Gop given powers.

bUSH TO THE HAGUE

[malaise]

9. K & R

for truth telling Olbermann

[magellan]

11. I don't see why the next president can't do a damn thing about it

The GOP are also leaving a unitary executive behind. The president can now do whatever he or she likes.