Probable Cause

"A lie repeated often enough becomes truth." This quote is most often attributed to Lenin (the Marxist, not the Beatle). It applies easily to the times we live in today. I imagine that Osama bin Laden felt the need to release an audio tape just to remind us all what all this fuss is about. Remember when Iraq attacked us back on September 11, 2001? No? Well then you must recall how, after an exhaustive search, a secret cache of weapons of mass destruction were found iBaghdadad? Really? Remember how we were greeted as liberators?
Remember how we are protected from illegal search anseizurere by the Constitution of the United States? That would be the Fourth Amendment, right between prohibiting the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers without the consent of the owners and forbidding trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits repeated trials for the same offense after an acquittal. Here's some founding father's wisdom: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
In a move that smacks just a little Orwellian, George "Pinhead" Bush has begun referring to his domestic spying campaign as a "terrorist surveillance program." At last! We have some way to monitor all that terrorist activity - or do we? A review of Justice Department reports to Congress shows that the 26-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court modified more wiretap requests from the Bush administration than the four previous presidential administrations combined. The court's repeated intervention in Bush administration wiretap requests may explain why the president decided to bypass the court nearly four years ago to begin secret National Security Agency spying on hundreds and possibly thousands of Americans and foreigners inside the United States, according to James Bamford, an authority on the security agency that intercepts telephone calls, e-mails, faxes and Internet communications.
Which brings us full circle, back to Osama bin Laden. G.P.H. Bush has to be the happiest camper of all for the most recent tape of threats. A renewed campaign of terrorist rhetoric ensures at least the righteous indignation of our Pinhead in Chief. So be careful out there - watch what you say, because at least for the time being, we don't know who might be listening.