Saturday, December 31, 2005

A New Year...New Promises




Welcome to the new year....A year of hope and re-newel. For America, the Iraqi people, and hopefully the Middle East as a whole.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all a prosperous 2006. I look forward to this year. Our economy is humming along nicely and personal wealth increased and is likely to continue doing so into the near future. I believe that we have turned the corner in Iraq and the people there will begin to take ownership of their own country and their own security.

We will continue to be vigilant in this country against foreign and domestic terrorism. The airline industry will have to learn how to become competitive again and stop relying on federal subsidies to finance their irresponsible spending. Unions will again show how out of touch they are with the global economy. Perhaps this year we will have confirmation that Bin Laden has expired. I think that perhaps the development that I wish for the most is for the middle east to absolutely blossom under democracy.

I look forward to opining here and thank each and every reader whomever you may be. you can email me directly at lchead@adelphia.net

Happy New Year
Larry Head

Ads by AdGenta.com

Powered By Qumana

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Spying On Americans?

Are we really in the midst of a Civil Liberties Debacle? Or is it, as the President proposes, a necessary tool used to protect the peoples of the United States from future attacks like those of 9-11?

At the heart of the present debate is the presidents admitted authorization of the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct warrantless surveillance of individuals either connected to, or suspected of terrorist activity. First, the NSA is chartered to collect intelligence in ordered to protect the citizens of this country. Second, the President is mandated by our Constitution with the protection of the people. This does not happen in a vacuum.

The first distinction that we must make is that between detection of wrongdoing and the monitoring of American citizens. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) has jurisdiction of the authorization of warrants allowing domestic law enforcement agencies to monitor suspected terrorists activity. However before a warrant can be obtained to monitor a citizen within the territorial borders of this country, proof must be shown that said monitoring is warranted. In point of fact, my review of a CRS document titled the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act of 2004 outlines a fairly stringent standard of proof to obtain a warrant for surveillance. Accordingly, before one can monitor someone, it is fairly important to determine the reasons for the warrant. It falls on the President, by constitutional edict, to determine where threats might be coming from and begin the process to prosecute them.

Now, the mainstream media (MSM), Specifically the New York Times, would have you believe that the President, on his own authority, without properly notifying congress, began monitoring American's conversation without obtaining a FISA warrant. In the first place, conversation between Americans within the borders of this country, still require the government to obtain a warrant from FISC before monitoring begins. The administrations plan to detect terrorist threats were born out of the tragedies of September 11, 2000. Additionally, based on the enemy's known ability to adapt methodologies and communication strategies, we had to find faster ways in which to determine the necessity of surveillance.

Many, if not all of the communications being checked on were recovered from laptop's and cell phones recovered from know AL-Qaida operatives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Evidence was likely found that these individuals were conversing with potential terrorist operatives in the United States. FISC warrants were requested and approved over 10,000 times to monitor individuals once it was determined that it was indeed necessary. The oversight on a program to detect possible threats of this nature rest solely on the President, the NSA, and the Justice Department. In keeping with the separation of powers engendered in the constitution, the Senators on the Intelligence committee were notified of this program and it's secrecy requirements.

The disclosure of secret operations designed to ultimately protect our citizens from future attacks by individuals residing within our midst is at best treasonous act in time of war. The New York Times in waiting to release this information in concert with the release of a book by the bylined reporter and right before the scheduled vote on the Patriot Act is unconscionable. Its almost as if this books author and the NYT want to once again cripple our ability to detect and stop another attack on our country. Further questions beg to be asked as well. In as much as the NYT seems to be an arm of the DNC, is this the same kind of irresponsibility we can expect from those politicians whom they support? Are we to believe that we must return to that same system spawned by the likes of Jaime Gorellic pre 9-11? These my friends are the questions that must be answered at the ballot box.

Monday, December 19, 2005


Freedom Isn't Free Posted by Picasa

It comes at a cost usually measured in human lives. Human beings strive to be free. Freedom and liberty was the beacon on which our forefathers were guided to create this nation. The results are truly amazing. In the 229 years of this country's formal declaration of freedom, we have become the most prosperous and most dynamic country on the face of this planet. Our system is the envy of the world.

Some, within the borders of this great country would have you believe that our country and our form of government is the cause of the worlds problems. These are the same people who hate the fact that the American worker fights to retain his hard earned gains. In spite of every governmental attempt to strip Americans of their wages for those deemed by the elitist to be "More in NEED", Americans vote their pocket books...EVERY TIME.

This is something the elitist can't get their pointy little heads around. It is not that the average American Citizen LIKES to see a fellow countryman go hungry. On the contrary, In times of national crises the goodwill of the American populace is unparalleled. Even catastrophic events outside our national borders bring an outpouring of aid from our citizens. The Malaysian Tsunami, The Afghani earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina. Americans gave of their own hard earned funds of their own free will. Not out of guilt or altruism, but because freedom creates individuals with the ideology that in times of crises we do what needs to be done.

No my friends...Freedom isn't free, as the Iraqi people are finding out...But is't end product is the most amazing thing I know...America the land of the FREE...And we pay every day to keep that which is so hard won.

Hello all

Please check back here soon for some interesting political and other news dialogue

Campaign for Liberty

Creative Commons License