Sensenbrenner: Obama Administration’s NSA Assurances ‘a Bunch of Bunk’
By Lindsey Grudnicki
June 12, 2013 1:01 PM
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, who introduced the PATRIOT Act on the House floor in 2001, has declared that lawmakers’ and the executive branch’s excuses about recent revelations of NSA activity are “a bunch of bunk.”
In an interview on Laura Ingraham’s radio show Wednesday morning, the Republican congressman from Wisconsin reiterated his concerns that the administration and the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court have gone far beyond what the PATRIOT Act intended. Specifically, he said that Section 215 of the act “was originally drafted to prevent data mining” on the scale that’s occurred.
Sensenbrenner, the current chairman on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, suggested that the secret nature of the FISA court has prevented appropriate congressional oversight over the NSA’s activities.
~Gary, Barbara and Collin
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood
The Tobacco Shop of Ridgewood | 10 Chestnut Street | Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450
Phone: 201-447-2204 | Email: info@tobaccoshop.com
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 5:30PM and Thursday Night 6:30PM – 8:30PM
A new group which will meet beginning this Thursday, June 13, 7pm-8:30pm, through Thursday, August 8, 7pm-8:30pm at 4 Wilsey Square, Suite 2 Ridgewood, NJ 07450
The purpose is so participants increase awareness of their expectations from
their marriage, contributing factors to these expectation, and to increase
their trust of evaluating these expectations.
It is not a pre-divorce or divorce group. It is a group so that people can become more familiar and at ease with the factors on which their marriage is grounded.
The title is because often people feel lonely in their marriage and have little certainty as to the reason.
This group will activate inner resources so that clarity and confidence of
“why” and “what” of marital satisfaction, becomes likely.
New sign coming to Habernickel Park in Ridgewood
Wednesday June 12, 2013, 10:52 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands’ (CRPL) proposal to install a new sign by one of the village’s flagship parks is expected to receive the seal of approval at Wednesday’s council meeting.
Ridgewood council members will vote on a resolution accepting and approving CRPL’s donation of a large rock with bronze plaque bearing the name “Habernickel Park, Ridgewood.” The rock and sign will be placed at the entryway to the Irene Habernickel Family Park on Hillcrest Road.
Funding for the new land marker will come entirely through donations and fundraisers conducted in recent months by CRPL members. The organization formed last fall with the mission of raising money to beautify and preserve Ridgewood parks and open space.
“We started this in October with the opening of Habernickel Park, and we wanted to put in an entrance sign,” said MaryBeth Lane, CRPL president.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/recreation/211197271_New_sign_coming_to_Habernickel_Park_in_Ridgewood.html#sthash.TRigmeOf.dpuf
Don’t Come Crying to Us, NSA; You Guys Are the Ones Who Hired This Goofball.
June 11, 2013
Jim Geraghty
To read more, visit www.nationalreview.com
Everybody’s going to have an opinion on Edward Snowden, today the world’s most famous leaker.
In the coming days, you’re going to see a lot of people talking past each other, conflating two issues: One, did he do the right thing by disclosing all these details of the vast NSA system to gather data on Americans? And two, should he be prosecuted for it?
Of course, you can do the right thing and still break the law.
John Yoo argues that the government has to pursue prosecution of Snowden, considering what they’ve done in response to much lesser leaks:
The NSA leak case will reveal if the Obama administration really means what it said about its foolish and unconstitutional pursuit of the AP and Fox News in other leak cases. Recall that the Obama Justice Department claimed that Fox News reporter James Rosen was a co-conspirator in the alleged leak of classified intelligence. If the Justice Department truly believed what it told the courts when seeking a wiretap on Rosen, then it should indict the reporters and editors for the Washington Post and the Guardian newspapers who published information on PRISM. They clearly “conspired” with Snowden to publish classified information, information that was much more harmful to the national security than in the Rosen case (on North Korea’s predictable response to sanctions). Personally, I think that the Post is protected by the First Amendment, but Holder’s Justice Department clearly doesn’t think so.
So either the Justice Department will indict not just Snowden, but also the Post and Guardian reporters, or it will have been shown to have been untruthful to the courts in the Rosen case (which I think has become clear) . . .
Yoo also points out that Snowden’s claim to noble motives is muddied quite a bit by his decision to run to Hong Kong. (By the way, the last guy to run to Hong Kong, certain that he was beyond the reach of American law enforcement and extradition treaties, was Mr. Lau, the money-keeper for the Gotham City mob. And we all remember how that turned out.) When Snowden declares, “Hong Kong has a reputation for freedom in spite of the People’s Republic of China. It has a strong tradition of free speech,” we have to wonder if A) he’s already working for the Chinese or B) he’s an imbecile.
This may be a story with no heroes. A government system designed to protect the citizens starts collecting all kinds of information on people who have done nothing wrong; it gets exposed, in violation of oaths and laws, by a young man who doesn’t recognize the full ramifications of his actions. The same government that will insist he’s the villain will glide right past the question of how they came to trust a guy like him with our most sensitive secrets. Who within our national-security apparatus made the epic mistake of looking him over — completing his background check and/or psychological evaluation — and concluding, “Yup, looks like a nice kid?”
Watching the interview with Snowden, the first thing that is quite clear is that his mild-mannered demeanor inadequately masks a huge ego — one of the big motivations of spies. (Counterintelligence instructors have long offered the mnemonic MICE, for money, ideology, compromise, ego; others throw in nationalism and sex)
Snowden feels he has an understanding of what’s going on well beyond most of his colleagues:
When you’re in positions of privileged access like a systems administrator for the sort of intelligence community agencies, you’re exposed to a lot more information on a broader scale then the average employee and because of that you see things that may be disturbing but over the course of a normal person’s career you’d only see one or two of these instances. When you see everything you see them on a more frequent basis and you recognize that some of these things are actually abuses.
What’s more, he feels that no one listens to his concerns or takes them seriously:
And when you talk to people about them in a place like this where this is the normal state of business people tend not to take them very seriously and move on from them. But over time that awareness of wrongdoing sort of builds up and you feel compelled to talk about. And the more you talk about the more you’re ignored. The more you’re told its not a problem until eventually you realize that these things need to be determined by the public and not by somebody who was simply hired by the government.”
My God, he must have been an insufferable co-worker.
“Look, you guys just don’t understand, okay? You just can’t grasp the moral complexities of what I’m being asked to do here! Nobody here really gets what’s going on, or can see the big picture when you ask me to do something like that!”
“Ed, I just asked if you could put a new bottle on the water cooler when you get a chance.”
Of course, all of this is presided over by a guy who thought that civil liberties were a useful cudgel against a Republican president back when he was outside the Oval Office. John Sexton turns the wayback machine to 2005, when then-senator Obama, from the floor of the Senate, sternly declared that the PATRIOT Act “didn’t just provide law enforcement the powers it needed to keep us safe, but powers it didn’t need to invade our privacy without cause or suspicion” and added:
If someone wants to know why their own government has decided to go on a fishing expedition through every personal record or private document — through library books they’ve read and phone calls they’ve made — this legislation gives people no rights to appeal the need for such a search in a court of law. No judge will hear their plea, no jury will hear their case. This is just plain wrong.
Ace of Spades: “James Rosen could not be reached for comment, but secret government surveillance into all of his phone calls and emails indicates he’s pretty pissed.”
Found this graphic on the site of Jeff Boss, one of the token Democrats running for governor in New Jersey this year:
Glenn Reynolds, in USA Today yesterday:
As for abuse, well, is it plausible to believe that a government that would abuse the powers of the IRS to attack political enemies, go after journalists who publish unflattering material or scapegoat a filmmaker in the hopes of providing political cover to an election-season claim that al-Qaeda was finished would have any qualms about misusing the massive power of government-run snooping and Big Data? What we’ve seen here is a pattern of abuse. There’s little reason to think that pattern will change, absent a change of administration — and, quite possibly, not even then. Sooner or later, power granted tends to become power abused. Then there’s the risk that information gathered might leak, of course, as recent events demonstrate.
Most Americans generally think that politicians are untrustworthy. So why trust them with so much power? The evidence to date strongly suggests that they aren’t worthy of it.
ACLU sues over NSA phone records program
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Last updated: Tuesday June 11, 2013, 6:02 PM
BY ELLEN NAKASHIMA AND SCOTT WILSON
THE WASHINGTON POST NEW SERVICE
The Record
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. government’s surveillance program that collects from U.S. phone companies the call records of tens of millions of Americans.
It is the first substantive lawsuit following reports in The Washington Post and the Guardian last week detailing two sweeping surveillance programs run by the National Security Agency under laws authorized by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The ACLU suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges the legality of the spy agency’s collection of customer “metadata,” including the phone numbers dialed and the length of calls. The lawsuit is asking the court to force the government to end the program and purge any records it has collected.
Analysis: Democrats help to fuel a Christie ‘tidal wave’
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Last updated: Tuesday June 11, 2013, 10:59 PM
BY MELISSA HAYES
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record
Governor Christie’s campaign appears to be working hard to create a sense of inevitability around his reelection by aggressively seeking endorsements from influential Democrats as he looks beyond November and positions himself for a possible presidential bid in 2016.
On Tuesday, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo became the latest New Jersey Democrat to cross party lines and publicly declare his support for Christie’s reelection bid. Christie has been endorsed by 26 Demo¬cratic officials as he seeks to overwhelm his opponent, state Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, in November.
On one level, the endorsements are intended to demonstrate that Christie, a Republican, is capable of rising above the partisan fray in a state where registered Demo¬crats outnumber Republicans by around 700,000. But political scientists say they also are being carefully stage-managed to send a message beyond New Jersey that the governor’s race essentially has already been won.
“When you’ve created an illusion of inevitability, you’re bound to attract people from both sides of the aisle,” said Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University. “Everybody wants to go to a victory party.”
Access to lifesaving device a concern for some towns
Tuesday June 11, 2013, 10:50 PM
BY DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
A kid on a recreation field is hit by a ball and his heart stops. A jogger suddenly drops from an apparent heart attack.
As critical moments tick away before police arrive, onlookers try to help. And increasingly on North Jersey’s playing fields, they can assume there’s an automated defibrillator somewhere nearby to use.
But where is it? Is it under lock and key?
And who’s allowed to use it?
Answering those questions is a concern facing almost every community, as defibrillators are rapidly being acquired for public places, including athletic fields. The problem: The lifesaving devices cost anywhere from $850 to $3,000, and if they’re openly accessible, they could be stolen or vandalized. Using them could also put a life-and-death crisis, literally, in the public’s hands.
And yet, if they’re not available, a life could be lost
Reader says Councilwomen Hauck own words suggest she is not impartial
Ms Hauck’s words as a witness for Valley before the council, Sept 19, 2011. Her whole testimony can be seen in the transcripts starting on page 127. The following are just a few of the statements that struck me.
“I just wanted to speak on behalf of Valley. I believe that the changes proposed for Valley are a good idea…Also, I trust Audrey Meyers, Megan Fraser, all the doctors and volunteers that I work with and all the spokespersons for the hospital, when they tell me…and I believe them. I trust Valley because Valley has never given me reasons not to trust them…They have also partnered with me in many personal ways…The hospital would never cause harm to come to any of the school children who they so carefully have protected through all the expansions in the past.”
Does this sound like someone that could be impartial?
I think not!
Readers says Higher Taxes will be needed support the services needed to support this expansion
Valley, really does look like it will happen. They will just keep going until they get what they want. Is this expansion really good for anyone in Ridgewood?
A limited few, so why are we so ready to let them change the zoning and double in size? This process should have already ceased and been defeated in this town? What a waste of time. What a burden this would be if allowed to actually happen. Dust is the least of our worries. Traffic ,Traffic, and higher taxes to support the services needed to support this expansion is most concerning.
No one talks about Valley’s viable option in Paramus. There is plenty of room there and it’s not in a neighborhood next to a school. Unneeded irreversible damage will occur if the PB and Council allow this. Valley, may have enough “slippery” votes now to make this happen? Very Sad
Readers call for outside counsel to investigate conflict of interest’s between Gwen Hauck and Valley
I don’t think Matt Rogers should be the one to weigh in on this. I think we need to consult outside counsel so that it’s all above board. If she really took money from Megan Fraser, Vice President and officer of Valley Hospital only days before an election that would give her voting power to their fate, she should recuse herself.
Why else would Megan Fraser have given her the donation? And I believe it is different than Walsh and Riche in that the ad CRR and PGC put in the paper just told people to vote for them – it didn’t pad their campaign coffer. I went online to see the documents that Hauck submitted. She clearly did not post all of her financials correctly.
That will be the next snafu for her, not reporting all her campaign monies correctly. I’m sure people are already notifying the authorities and we’ll see her slapped with a fine. Otherwise we will all call Ridgewood News for $400 full page color ads! Did she really expect us to believe that?
Lonegan looks to pull off the unthinkable
June 12,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Team Lonegan looks to pull off what many have suggested is a long shot at best , After all how could ulta-blue New Jersey ever elect a Conservative Republican but this years special election gives a huge advantage to those who already have an organization in place , Lonegan long a political outsider and a thorn in the side of New jersey’s more establishment Republicans is now being embraced by much of the mainstream.
The following officials have officially endorsed Steve Lonegan for U.S. Senate:
Hon. Mike Doherty
NJ Senator
Hon. Edward J. Smith
Warren County Freeholder
Hon. Michael Patrick Carroll
NJ Assemblyman – 25th District
Mr. Robert B. Yudin
Bergen County Chairman
Mr. Thomas T. Booth, Jr.
Camden County Chairman
Hon. Thomas J. Mastrangelo
Morris County Freeholder
Hon. John Krickus
Morris County Freeholder
Hon. Hank Lyon
Morris County Freeholder
Mr. Michael Donohue
Cape May County Chairman
Hon. Robert G. Walton
Hunterdon County Freeholder
Mr. Patrick Cassio
Rahway Republican Municipal Chairman
Hon. Louis Fligor
Atlantic Highlands Councilman
Hon. William Budesheim
Riverdale Mayor
Hon. John DiMaio
NJ Assemblyman – 23rd District
Mr. Phil Morin
Union County Republican Chairman
Mr. Henry Kuhl
Hunterdon County Republican Chairman
Hon. Dave Scapicchio
Morris County Freeholder
Hon. Doug Cabana
Morris County Freehold
Steve has always had a strong active following because of his activities with Tea Party groups and his work with AFP .
According to a political science professor quoted in nj.com yesterday, the conservative movement in New Jersey amounts to nothing more than “a small cadre of passionate supporters.” , but Team Lonegan collected over 7000 signatures from more than 21 counties across New Jersey for his nominating petition for the special election ballot.
Lonegan said that Republicans from Tea Party activists to regular party people have united behind his candidacy and that New Jersey will see the greatest grass-roots political campaign in history.
“People are fed up with the radical agenda of Barack Obama and his rubber-stamp supporters and enablers like Cory Booker and the other Democrats filing petitions today,” Lonegan said. “The support we received this weekend is just the first sign. There will be many others over the next four months. I will win this election on October 16th.”
Catalytic converter thefts on the rise
Posted: Jun 11, 2013 11:40 AM EST Updated: Jun 11, 2013 11:40 AM EST
By LUKE FUNK, Senior Web Producer –
Police in one New Jersey city are warning about a rise in catalytic converter thefts in vehicles at train stations, schools and other areas.
In the past week, there were two daylight thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles, one which was parked at the Linden train station and one which was parked at a private company on the 1900 block of Lower Road.
Linden police say this was in addition to 16 converters, taken from trucks parked at the Linden U-Haul, 1440 E. Edgar Rd. and two, which were taken from vehicles in the parking lots of McManus Middle School and Linden High School.
The thieves are targeting larger vehicles, especially SUVs like the Jeep Cherokee. Police say that’s because the converters are larger and contain more platinum, which is currently valued on the open market at approximately $1,500 per ounce. They are also easier to crawl under to get to the converters.
The crooks are using small battery-powered saws and can cut the converter off in a matter of minutes.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
823 PM EDT TUE JUN 11 2013
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN
CONNECTICUT…NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHEAST NEW YORK.
.DAY ONE…TONIGHT.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
THE LIKELIHOOD IS INCREASING FOR AN UNUSUALLY STRONG LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE REGION THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRIDAY. THIS WILL
BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR A WIDESPREAD 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN…WITH
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.
THE LOCATION OF HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS UNCLEAR AT THIS TIME. BUT DUE
TO SATURATED GROUNDS FROM RECENT HEAVY RAINS…IF THE HIGHER END
OF THE RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE REALIZED…WIDESPREAD URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT RISES ON OUR MAIN STEM RIVERS COULD BE EXPECTED. THE AREAS AT HIGHEST RISK FOR FLOODING WOULD BE ACROSS NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY…THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY…AND URBAN CENTERS.
Ridgewood councilwoman Gwenn Hauck says she’d vote on Valley Hospital expansion
Tuesday June 11, 2013, 9:40 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck says she would not recuse herself if the council were to vote on The Valley Hospital’s expansion plans, despite her previous connections to the facility.
Hauck, who was elected last summer, said during a meeting that she would participate in a council vote on the expansion if Ridgewood’s Planning Board approves the plan. Hauck previously served as The Valley Hospital Auxiliary’s vice president, a volunteer position charged with raising money for the hospital.
Valley’s proposed expansion of its floor space by 77 percent and addition of a parking garage are before the Planning Board. If approved there, the plans would go before the council.
Lorraine Reynolds, representing Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, a group opposing the expansion, asked Hauck if she would recuse herself from the council vote, implying he has a conflict of interest.
“I’m no different than anyone else,” Hauck said, adding she could remain objective in a council vote on the hospital project.
“I think you’re lying to yourself,” Reynolds responded.
