It'd Be a Mess

Court nixes suit against spy program - 6 Jul 2007 at 11:20am - CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal appeals court Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue. The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated a 2006 order by a lower court in Detroit, which had found the post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity to be unconstitutional, violating rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers.

So, in the eyes of the court, as long as it's not known precisely who has been subject to the illegal wiretapping, it may as well be legal?

US general warns against Iraq withdrawal - 6 Jul 2007 at 11:55am - WASHINGTON -- As pressure builds for a change in Iraq policy, a top U.S. commander there warned Friday that drawing down troops too soon would leave the country "a mess." "You'd find the enemy regaining ground, re-establishing sanctuary, building more" roadside bombs, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told a Pentagon news conference. "The violence would escalate. It'd be a mess."

But he doesn't seem to address how much more of a mess it would be than if U.S. troops were to remain at current levels; nor whether the benefit of keeping troops there (whatever he thinks it is) is worth the cost.

Thought for the day:
"Television is the first truly democratic culture -- the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want." -Clive Barnes