NSA hearing clips

Alot of blogs have some of the major clips up, I watched sporadically, and these, I think, catch my main concerns on the matter.. (transcript at the WaPo)

SPECTER:Under your interpretation of this, can you go in and do mail searches? Can you go into e-mails? Can you open mail? Can you do black-bag jobs? .....

LEAHY: Did it authorize the opening of first-class mail of U.S. citizens? That you can answer yes or no.....

SCHUMER: You said, Mr. Attorney General, that the AUMF allowed the president -- that's one of the legal justifications, the Constitution, to go ahead with this program.

Now, under your legal theory, could the government, without ever going to a judge or getting a warrant, search an American's home or office?....

FEINSTEIN: Can the president suspend, in secret or otherwise, the application of Section 503 of the National Security Act, which states that no covert action may be conducted which is intended to influence United States political processes, public opinion, policies or media? In other words, can he engage in otherwise illegal propaganda?

GONZALES REFUSED TO COMMENT ON ALL OF THESE - CLASSIFIED.

These are all different versions of the question that the administration is desperately trying to avoid answering. How many times did Gonzales use the words "limited," "narrow," or "focused" to try to minimize the program and, in turn, to try to minimize the argument that the administration is making?

Alberto Gonzales was not making a "limited" or "narrow" argument today. Largely, he was sitting before the Senate arguing that the under the current interpretation of the law, the president's power is largely uncheckable by the legislature.

(Oh, and my state's shame, John Cornyn did it again. At this point, I don't care if we elect another Republican, we just need to get this guy out of there. Every time the Bush administration needs a puppet talking in the Senate, there is Cornyn. Torture, Cornyn says anything you want, Mr. President. And, let's not forget his previous statements on this issue. "None of your civil liberties matter much after you’re dead." He's the last speaker on this page, and look how willingly he walks Gonzales through every one of the administration's defenses.

I'm hoping the Abramoff scandal sweeps up Cornyn from his time as Texas AG when he was hip deep in Reed and Abramoff's efforts to block Texas casinos.

C'mon Texas, you know your state. We can do so much better than this guy.)