Mike and Me and the PeeDee

It's been an interesting day politically. My "...Not Forgotten" post was based on the online petition that I'd signed this morning. I didn't even think about the checkbox for sending a copy of my comments to my local paper.

So I was pretty surprised when the Plain Dealer called and asked if I was okay with them printing my "letter". It took a sec, then clicked what she was talkin' 'bout. Of course is cool! lol!

Now, if I can only remember to buy it tomorrow. Ehhh...

Then Mike DeWine, or 'least his staff, responded with a nicely involved rebuttal and ... well, here ya go. With my response (not yet sent [boring story]) at the end.

Got some Velvet Underground and Wallflowers to read an' relax to, now.

L8r all.

On 5/15/06, Correspondence_Reply@dewine.senate.gov wrote:

May 15, 2006

Dear Michael:

Thank you for contacting me.

As you know, following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to begin monitoring international phone calls in which one party is in the United States and one party is a member, or suspected member, of a terrorist organization. In a time of national emergency, I expect the President to take such actions to protect our Nation, even if those actions are not specifically authorized by statute. Public and congressional awareness of the program now has caused a great deal of debate and has sparked a series of hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee and briefings in the Senate Intelligence
Committee. I am a member of both committees and have participated fully in these hearings and briefings.

There are legal and constitutional questions about whether the President must, after a period of time, come to Congress for statutory authorization of the NSA program. Certainly the country and the President would be stronger with such authorization. I believe that statutory authorization and Congressional oversight for this program would avoid a divisive debate
in Congress and throughout our Nation. Accordingly, I have written legislation which would authorize the surveillance of terrorist communication, but also would help ensure substantial Congressional oversight and judicial review.

Under my legislation -- the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 (S.2455) -- the President would need to reauthorize the electronic surveillance program every 45 days. Also, after no more than 45 days in each individual wiretapping case, he must decide whether to terminate the
surveillance, refer it to the FISA Court for a warrant, or direct the Attorney General to justify its continuation to new Congressional subcommittees. The new subcommittees, which would be within the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, are dedicated exclusively to providing
oversight of the NSA program. To enable further vigorous oversight, the subcommittees would be equipped with a professional staff responsible for monitoring the program and reviewing the individual surveillance cases.

Also, my bill would require the President to go to the FISA court for a warrant as soon as he has sufficient evidence to do so and put procedures in place to ensure that the rights and liberties of Americans are protected. Finally, to help guarantee that the Terrorist Surveillance Program exists only as long as is necessary to protect our national security, the authorization for the program will expire in five years unless reauthorized by Congress.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me anytime with additional questions or concerns.

Very respectfully yours,
MIKE DeWINE
United States Senator

RMD/bf

Disclaimer: The email account that this message originated from does not
accept inbound messages, therefore please send all electronic
correspondence through our webform located at: http://dewine.senate.gov.

Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 15:25:50 -0400
Subject: Re: Correspondence from Senator Dewine

I thank you sincerely for your response Senator.

I've been aware and supportive of your legislation and believe it, or something similar, is very much needed. I don't trust the activities of our President. He has based decisions which have cost far too many lives on faulty information, then acted as if it were not bogus, even whilst giving such lipservice. All of this Administrations inaccurate reasoning has accumulated to the point where it has become a visible and living example of many of the principles of Fascism. That is, a relationship of Government and Industry which ignores, discards, and even lies to discredit the rights of those individuals and groups who do not conform to that alliance's ideological goals and methods.

It doesn't matter if he destroys the Homeland of United States' Democracy just because he thinks he's doing a "good thing". He is wrong, dangerous, and must be held accountable. Osama bin Laden's vile and unconscienable means to achieving his goals are no more so than those of my President. I am ashamed of him and often utterly disgusted by the people who support his horrifying and murderous beliefs about my country's place in the modern world our species has created.

You have no reason to trust him Mike. None of us outside of the Weapons and Oil Industries do. (And I do support Oil Industry profits as long as they follow healthy environmental regulations. I just don't like how they go about them at the pump sometimes.)

The more I have learned about you over the last few years, Sen DeWine, the more I have gotten politically comfortable, as a participant in our Democratic process, with your integrity. I honestly think that a lot of your colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, have a frightening lack of that character element. You've helped me to consciously renew my respect for a more Conservative perspective than I shall ever own. I still have serious social differences, of course, but the biggest one's are with any legislative action where you support the suppression of knowledge or accountability.

You've certainly not done that often, but your support of that nice Sam Alito does amount to endorsing Executive Privelidge over Constitutional integrity.

Such a thing should be anathema to a believer in Liberty, Democracy and Individual rights and obligations.

Once again, I'm honored by a considered, and considerate, response from your office.

God luck and happiness going forward, Senator, regardless of how you fair in the November elections.

Sincerely
Michael Bains
sillyhumans.blogspot.com
University Heights, OH

Quick Update:

Okay. Just filled out the form on his website. Now to chill then

Come on Cavs!!!