Online at: http://politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/6489/1/315

Bush Fear Card Ignored by Congress, Blasted by MSNBC's Olbermann

By Allen L. Roland

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2008 Цаonline

Jan. Ц Feb. 2008

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2-16-08, 9:10 am

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In perhaps the most blatant example of George W Bush's hypocrisy and misplaced priorities, Bush chooses to protect the phone companies for their illegal actions by playing the fear card Ц which Congress ignores and Keith Olbermann rightfully blasts.

Lying has become a way of life for George W Bush and like the little boy who called wolf too often Ц the American public, the U.S. Congress and finally the media are calling his fear based bluffs and letting Bush hang Ц twisting in his own hypocrisy.

In late 2005, President Bush acknowledged that his administration had authorized a secret warrantless domestic surveillance program Ц a program which operated in violation of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment restriction against "unreasonable searches" without a warrant.

As the Center for American progress reported (Feb. 14),

In early Aug. 2007, Congress unwisely passed a temporary expansion of FISA, called the Protect America Act (PAA), which provided virtually unchecked power to the administration to spy on American communications without warrants. Tomorrow, the unnecessary and dangerous powers given to the administration by Congress six months ago are set to expire.

The biggest sticking point in negotiations between Congress and the President over surveillance is whether to grant retroactive amnesty to telecommunications companies that broke the law and cooperated with the administration's illegal requests. Bush has declared he will veto any bill that does not include retroactive immunity.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) pointed out that "the president has said that American lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not change FISA. But he has also said that he will veto any FISA bill that does not grant retroactive immunity. ... So if we take the president at his word, he's willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies."

Feb. 15, Congress allowed the extension to expire Ц ignoring Bush's bluff as well as phone company immunity.

Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, leaped on Bush's blatant hypocrisy calling Bush not only a liar but a Fascist Ц "You said that the lives of countless Americans depend on you getting your way. This is CRAP. And you sling it with an audacity and speed unrivaled by even the greatest political felons of our history."

Watch Olbermann's electrifying nine minute video Ц click here.

From Allen L. Roland.