This is an interesting one. DeFazio wanted to see the directive that details how things will go, should another attack happen here.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/07/23/democratic-member-of-house-homeland-sec urity-committee-denied-access-to-portions-of-presidential-directive/

Given the concentration of power, extreme aversion to oversight, lies, etc... this is a valid concern. Evidently, homeland security is really only for the Bush loyal...

Oh, right, we need to tell the bad guys, in detail how we will respond to another terrorist attack. That would really help their planning.

DeFazio is one of the " bad guys."?

Nwokie, at least read the link before responding!

"As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure bubbleroom in the Capitol and examine classified material."

He's on the committee and has proper clearance. If someone in his position can't have access while in the process of doing his job, then who who should?

Who said anything about giving secrets to the bad guys?

Here is a newspaper editorial on the subject.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/07/23/ed.edit.defazio.phn.0723.p1.php?sec tion=opinion

No, he has access to some classified material, not all classified material.

DeFazio was attempting to put his constituents at ease, or understand the problem, if there was one.

That is what he is there for.

The implication here is that Democrats are bad guys, not to be trusted, outside the scope of potential action, etc... this despite the law of the land clearly stating otherwise.

To be fair, the Bush Administration's fetish for secrecy probably extends not just to Democratic law makers but to Republicans, too. Cheney and Bush don't trust the Congress at all. But as I understand it, what DeFazio asked for was plans for what would happen if CONGRESS was wiped out in an attack? Surely representatives of that branch of government ought to be made aware of plans for what the Executive branch has in mind for Congress after an attack.

Andrew

Most states allow the gov to appoint US senators, in the event of a vacancy. So the senate could be repopulated literally overnight. Some states allow the gov to appoint temporary representatives, so the same case applies to them.

Yeah, I don't think DeFazio was looking for your little junior high civics lesson - he was asking specifically about plans for a post-attack Congress that the Executive Branch has developed. These plans apparently exist but DeFazio was not allowed to view them.

Andrew

Nwokie>>No, he has access to some classified material, not all classified material.

Let's try this one more time. DeFazio is on the Homeland Security Committee, and he was denied access to documents relating directly to Homeland Security. Nice try on the "all classified material."

I come across as harsh because it is clear to me that the our Prez and VP, and the 30 percent true believers who still support them have become the very dictatorial commies that they previously fought the cold war against.

So all it takes for a member of al queda to get classified information, is to write a congressman?

And you think DeFazio was planning to share classified information with the constituent who asked because..?

Maybe it never occurred to you that the constituent wanted to make sure DEFAZIO was aware of the classified plans and OK with them?

Andrew

To have access to classified info, it takes 2 things, the clearance and the need to know.

And in this case the classifier has decided there is a very small number of people with the need to know. All congress has to do, is vote a law governing what hapens in any scenerio, and if hte president signs it or they override his veto, they will control the situation.

Or congress could pass a law, giving members of congress unlimites access to classified info, they havent done that.

Right, and I'm sure even if Congress could override an assured Bush Veto, he would ignore it anyway. He'd probably find some way to issue a signing statement saying how he intended to disregard it. Bush knows he can thumb his nose at this Congress and they aren't going to do much about it; it's quite easy for the Republicans to block nearly anything in the Senate anyway.

Andrew

Andrew said>>>>I'm sure even if Congress could override an assured Bush Veto, he would ignore it anyway.

BINGO! This is one of the MANY reasons why I will not back this administration! Dem or Repub! If Slick Willy was in office doing this shit I'd be on here kicking his ass too!

I think anyone with any sense would be kicking his ass on this crap.

(which just boggles the mind)

I guarantee you that if DUHby was a Dem Herb and Co. would be all over him like stink on shit.

Nwokie, do you think ANY other representative has access to the information in question?

I know you won't answer it because it makes you look silly for suggesting what you are suggesting. But the question is enough in your case. The answer is already there.

I tire of reading misspelled rants without any supporting documentation. Congressional members and committees have been a party to many secrets over the years without a single major breach of our nation's security.

No, not everything they see, hear, or discuss is available to constituents. We do not have a transparent system of government. Still, the least we should expect, is that those who serve the public interest are allowed access to information they have been told to find.

It is spooky to think that perhaps the biggest reason he cannot be allowed to see the "magical safety plan of our benevolent hosts" is that it simply does not exist. Did they have one before 9/11? No. All information was ignored. Do they now have a bona fide plan for any major catastrophe in America, terrorist or not? Did they replace every canary in the coal mine with parrotts?

Perhaps, they simply plan on pointing the foam finger at another group of Americans. Then, they can sit back and chuckle over cocktails with the Saudis who sponsored the whole damn thing in the first place.

Heck, I hear Halliburton has a nice spread in Dubai. Maybe they can have lunch in the "World's Tallest Building" and discuss a post-9/11 policy with our enemies. In the meantime, our earnest neighbor and servant from down the valley has been told to go fuck himself.

This administration has back engineered every policy, every decision, and every fact -- after the fact. Plans for the future take work, but lies after the fact are easy. Like a big burnt bag of microwave popcorn.

Was Peter hunting Snipe? It makes me very uneasy to think about it in that light.

I can't wait till President Hillary has access to the classified documents and posts them on the internet to show what Bush and Cheney were hiding from us.