Putting my money where my pen is - part II

So....

Here's the letter the good Senator DeWine wrote me:

March 23, 2006

Dear C -:

Thank you for contacting me.

As you know, following the attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to begin monitoring international phone calls in which one party is in the United States and one party is a member, or suspected member, of a terrorist organization.

In a time of national emergency, I expect the President to take such actions to protect our Nation, even if those actions are not specifically authorized by statute. Public and congressional awareness of the program now has caused a great deal of debate and has sparked a series of hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee and briefings in the Senate Intelligence Committee. I am a member of both committees and have participated fully in these hearings and briefings.

There are legal and constitutional questions about whether the President must, after a period of time, come to Congress for statutory authorization of the NSA program. Certainly the country and the President would be stronger with such authorization. I believe that statutory authorization and Congressional oversight for this program would avoid a divisive debate in Congress and throughout our Nation. Accordingly, I have written legislation which would authorize the surveillance of terrorist communication, but also would help ensure substantial Congressional oversight and judicial review.

Under my legislation -- the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 (S.2455)
--
the President would need to reauthorize the electronic surveillance program every 45 days. Also, after no more than 45 days in each individual wiretapping case, he must decide whether to terminate the surveillance, refer it to the FISA Court for a warrant, or direct the Attorney General to justify its continuation to new Congressional subcommittees. The new subcommittees, which would be within the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, are dedicated exclusively to providing oversight of the NSA program. To enable further vigorous oversight,
the subcommittees would be equipped with a professional staff responsible for monitoring the program and reviewing the individual surveillance cases. Also, my bill would require the President to go to the FISA court for a warrant as soon as he has sufficient evidence to do so and put procedures in place to ensure that the rights and liberties of Americans are protected. Finally, to help guarantee that the Terrorist Surveillance Program exists only as long as is necessary to protect our national security, the authorization for the program will expire in five years
unless reauthorized by Congress.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me anytime with additional questions or concerns.

Very respectfully yours,
MIKE DeWINE
United States Senator

RMD/bf


And here's what I shot back:

Senator DeWine,

With all due respect sir, do you really think you answered ANY of my questions by sending me an account of more lame legislation that you intend to create which will basically be ignored by a president so far out of control that it's become like watching a puppet show with his hand up all of your rear ends? And I suppose I could blast you for your thinking that anything you introduce at this point would even be worth the paper it’s written on – or be able to stop the lunatic currently masquerading as president form doing whatever he damn well pleases. But I suppose you are entitled to your delusion if that is what helps you sleep at night and look at yourself in the mirror.

You're kidding right? You didn't answer any of my questions with anything more than the rhetoric that I've come to expect from politicians, which is why I would never vote for you to begin with, or to keep you in the office you currently hold by the grace of those dumb enough to fall for what you seem to be selling - I suppose I am not interested in a bill of goods that mortgages our rights or our constitution. And believe me when I tell you I am more convinced than ever to make sure that the existing representatives currently housed in our senatorial and congressional offices are booted to the curb where you all belong. It's insane. You did not offer answers to any of the questions in my letter - to say I am surprised by this would be a lie but then perhaps that's how the government of this country best functions, by lying to it's citizenry.

Thanks for nothing - no need to reply - I doubt you yourself, personally even read what I took the time to write.