Pres. Obama proposes new survailence study (I told you so!)
August 9, 2013 1 Comment
First of all, let me say that I told you so. Back to the 1980s, I warned about the creeping demolition of the Fourth Amendment. The reaction was typically something between indifference and scorn. NSA spying on regular American citizens? I told you so!
The President (and I voted for him, something I do not regret) says there will be new standards, safeguards, studies, protections, and restrictions on domestic surveillance on law abiding citizens. The odor of steaming excrement fresh from the dark nether regions of choice bovines fills the room.
We already have a standard. It is the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. President Obama, who is supposed to be some sort of law professor, took an oath to uphold the Constitution. “Preserve, protect and defend.” Remember? Here is the text of the Fourth Amendment.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No secret courts! No exceptions for national security! No warrantless wiretaps. Surveillance was a favorite tool of intimidation by George III and the red coats. Searching papers and reading mail served to investigate the innermost desires and beliefs of the intellectual troublemakers who founded this nation. The tyranny we have accepted at the hands of domestic snoops may be worse than the supposed threat of international extremists.
American freedom is in the intensive care unit and may soon be headed for the embalming room. I told you so. I warned you. No blood on my hands.
Lynch at Large 
My friend from long ago, Thomas Foley, Former House Speaker, Dies at 84 – NYTimes.com
October 18, 2013 Leave a comment
There were many Sunday mornings that Congressman Foley was a guest on my program on the old KSPO. The remarkable thing is that, afterward, he would settle down in the break room and we would just talk. It might last hours. I learned so much about government and politics from Tom Foley and he was always considerate. He was very aware of division in the Democratic Party and reminded me that, if we lived in Europe, there would be no Democratic Party. Instead, there would be five different parties that might sometimes work together.
Lesser people tried to dream up some sort of accusations about a supposed lack of devotion to the Second Amendment. That is always a beautiful political stunt because there is just about nothing a regular person can do to satisfy a frothing gun nut. Lee Atwater launched the most despicable of attacks, although Atwater had the good grace to apologize for all his wrongdoing before entering eternity’s iron gates.
Folen was nothing like the current crop of headhunters. He was unfailingly polite and understood that not everybody was born with the silver spoon snugly tucked between the lips. I got to spend so much one-on-one time with Tom Foley and every minute was a gift. He has been sorely missed for a long time.
Here is a link for the New York Times story.
Thomas Foley, Former House Speaker, Dies at 84 – NYTimes.com.
Filed under Commentary, National politics