Fear of Clowns

I haven't been commenting on even my favorite right-wing pundits' outrageousness lately as I'm seeing them more as fiction-based commentary, but this lie is so egregious, I can't resist. Mark Levin wrote yesterday,

Some brief background: The Foreign Intelligence Security Act permits the government to monitor foreign communications, even if they are with U.S. citizens - 50 USC 1801, et seq. A FISA warrant is only needed if the subject communications are wholly contained in the United States and involve a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.

No. If either end of the eavesdropping involves a US person, a court order is always required. FISA stipulates that, (emphasis added)

Not withstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that [...] there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party.

I still can't decide if Levin is really stupid and believes in the bottom of his heart what he claims is true and just happens to always be stupid in favor of the Bush administration, or if he just doesn't care if what he says is true. But I know I have fun so easily debunking a right-wing law expert's claims.

I mean, one can argue our surveillance laws are too lax, but claiming a US citizen can be legally eavesdropped upon without judicial approval is just wrong. Simply wrong.

PS. Also yesterday, from Rush Limbaugh,

And [liberals] get on this manic, this radical madcap egalitarian kick which suggests that everybody must be totally equal, which is an utter denial of, of, uh, human nature.

(View "I'm a Nazi" by Rush Limbaugh.)

// posted by Erik @ 12/16/2005 11:21:00 PM
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