Mine either.....

ZRX1200 wrote:

The previously undisclosed decision to permit some eavesdropping inside the country without court approval was a major shift in American intelligence-gathering practices, particularly for the National Security Agency, whose mission is to spy on communications abroad. As a result, some officials familiar with the continuing operation have questioned whether the surveillance has stretched, if not crossed, constitutional limits on legal searches.

"This is really a sea change," said a former senior official who specializes in national security law. "It's almost a mainstay of this country that the N.S.A. only does foreign searches."

Nearly a dozen current and former officials, who were granted anonymity because of the classified nature of the program, discussed it with reporters for The New York Times because of their concerns about the operation's legality and oversight.

According to those officials and others, reservations about aspects of the program have also been expressed by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a judge presiding over a secret court that oversees intelligence matters. Some of the questions about the agency's new powers led the administration to temporarily suspend the operation last year and impose more restrictions, the officials said.

The Bush administration views the operation as necessary so that the agency can move quickly to monitor communications that may disclose threats to the United States, the officials said. Defenders of the program say it has been a critical tool in helping disrupt terrorist plots and prevent attacks inside the United States.

At an April hearing on the Patriot Act renewal, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, asked Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the F.B.I., "Can the National Security Agency, the great electronic snooper, spy on the American people?"

"Generally," Mr. Mueller said, "I would say generally, they are not allowed to spy or to gather information on American citizens."

At the end of a press conference this afternoon about something nobody cared about, President Obama took a question from the press and, in doing so, provided his first remarks on twin NSA programs that collect metadata on domestic phone calls and examine the content of online communications by foreigners, respectively. The programs are not exactly new — both began under President Bush. Indeed, on May 11, 2006, Bush appeared in the White House's Diplomatic Reception Room to offer his own defense of the NSA's phone-snooping efforts. Seven years apart, history appears to be repeating itself.

Bush: "After September the 11th, I vowed to the American people that our government would do everything within the law to protect them against another terrorist attack."

Obama: "When I came into this office, I made two commitments that are more important than any that I make: number one, to keep the American people safe and, number two, to uphold the Constitution."

Bush: "The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities."

Obama: "That includes what I consider to be a constitutional right to privacy."

Bush: "The intelligence activities I authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat."

Obama: "When it comes to telephone calls, every member of Congress has been briefed on this program. With respect to all these programs the relevant intelligence committees are fully briefed."

Bush: "The government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval."

Obama: "Nobody is listening to your telephone calls ... If the intelligence community actually wants to listen to a phone call, they've got to go back to a federal judge."

Bush: "So far we've been very successful in preventing another attack on our soil."

Obama: "They make a difference in our capacity to anticipate and prevent possible terrorist activity."

Bush: "As a general matter, every time sensitive intelligence is leaked, it hurts our ability to defeat this enemy."

Obama: "I don't welcome leaks, because there's a reason why these programs are classified."

Those are all Heroic Acts or Heroism.

However the true meaning of a HERO is one of immortal being.

Hero's are The men and women who have died on the battlefield for the life you and I are so freely able to live.

Taps86 wrote:

The term is used too often.
But I strongly disagree with your finite rule.

tailgater wrote:

Were lining soldiers up in Jordan RIGHT NOW pal.

Hope you're ready for 5,000 "refugees" here at home as Kerry is poised to do.

ZRX1200 wrote:

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-76237586/

ZRX1200 wrote:

Secret program approved by all three brances of government. leaked. much as I'm against the program this man is no Patriot.

teedubbya wrote: