“a recent study reports that the “Bush administration has invoked the state secrets privilege in 23 cases since 2001.”

“The last time the principle of state secrets was examined by the Supreme Court was in 1953″

Obviously those 23 cases did not merit a court challenge by anyone.

RBG

Now, the political appointees of the executive can kidnap and torture and kill at will, and the victims or their families have no recourse for justice because it might reveal a national security secret — that they were mistakenly kidnapped, beaten, tortured, and sometimes killed. The “secret” is that we’re collectively random murderers — and don’t care.

There is no “conservative” line on this. This is fascism. This is the Reich.

Chances are good that the jetpack accounts for HOW you scorch the place to a cinder.

Democratia I shall call it and all educations and abortions will be free and we will all travel on skateboards because all motorized vehicles will be illegal.

We had a meeting and when asked who wanted to be outraged about civil liberties and copyright law, I raised my hand. A guy named Robert Newbury is in charge of industrial and traffic deaths. Take it up with him.

Given how great the collective contempt for government should be, the only logical strategy is to divide the workload.

#35 – What, you think in the span of half a century it’s unlikely for any administration to have even one case where such a state secret principle must play in favor of the government?

Unlikely? There has never been, and never will be a situation that MUST play in favor of the government.

#40 – here’s a lot of crap going on for sure, BUT we’re still all much better off than if Algore or Frankenkerry had conned their way in.

That’s true… unless you factor in jobs, the economy, national security, trade, education, civil liberties… well, just about any aspect of life that the Fed can touch.

Your guy DIDN’T win. Yet, he’s still president.

Doesn’t sound legitimate to me.

(BTW — We all remember the four years of endless whining the conservatives did because Perot split the vote. )

According to John Dean:

While precise numbers — because not all cases are reported — are hard to come by, a recent study reports that the “Bush administration has invoked the state secrets privilege in 23 cases since 2001.” By way of comparison, “between 1953 and 1976, the government invoked the privilege in only four cases.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Secrets_Privilege

Now I can get me a conservative NOT neo-con bumper sticker.

The last time the government invoked the state secret doctrine (1953, United States v. Reynolds), it turned out, when the “secret” documents were released a few year ago, that the government lied. They refused the three widows of the killed airmen the opportunity ot have their day in court, because some of the information in the “secret” report would have been embarrassing and made them look like the assholes they were, but there was nothing in the report that should have been classified secret.

Same thing here. Except now everybody (except maybe the Supreme Court) knows with absolute certainty that Little King Georgie and his handlers lie through their teeth every time it suits their fancy.

So if we didn’t already look like the biggest hypocrites on the planet before the Supreme Court refused to review the case, we sure as shit do now.

Heckuva job Supremes; you’re doing your “commander” in “chief” proud!! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!