NSA Weapons of Mass Destruction Rapid Response Team

* "In a major address slated for delivery Monday in Washington, the former Vice President (Gore) is expected to argue that the Bush administration has created a "Constitutional crisis" by acting without the authorization of the Congress and the courts to spy on Americans and otherwise abuse basic liberties." (link)

* " The National Security Agency advised President Bush in early 2001 that it had been eavesdropping on Americans during the course of its work monitoring suspected terrorists and foreigners believed to have ties to terrorist groups, according to a declassified document.
The NSA's vast data-mining activities began shortly after Bush was sworn in as president and the document contradicts his assertion that the 9/11 attacks prompted him to take the unprecedented step of signing a secret executive order authorizing the NSA to monitor a select number of American citizens thought to have ties to terrorist groups." (link)

* emptywheel has suspicions about the truthiness of the above 'spying before 911' story.

* Eli at LeftI notes that the group spying on the peace groups in america is "The NSA Weapons of Mass Destruction Rapid Response Team.". go figure.

* wolcott: "This episode has provided additional confirmation to my suspicious mind after our friends on the right. From now on I'm going to assume that every conservative ideologue with a thesis to grind or a multiplatform career (columnist, book author, blogger, media personality)is on the take until proven otherwise."

* driftglass: "Iraq was entirely optional, and there’s a special place in Hell for men that go to war by choice, or for ideology, or oil, or Oedipus, or for the fucking sport of it, or because their Neocon Horoscope said it would be a good day to go knock off a dictator that we no longer have any use for and install another drone government."
it's another exquisite piece by him. go read.