America spying on terrorists without court approval

[Backbeach Jake]

Originally Posted by stripersnipr

Can you really win a war on terrorism by following rules the enemy scoffs at?

My .02 : Those rules are what makes America America. Those rules are why they hate us. Change them, throw out or suspend our Constitutional Rights, and we aren't us any more. We are something or someone else, and the bad guys win. Our written guarantees are gone and they're still here. Making us change slowly, but surely makes us go away. We win the war on terrorism by standing our ground and making THEM change to a free society. How? by persuasion and Example. The more freedom we lose, the closer we come to them. They figured it out.

[stripersnipr]

After fully reading the details of this issue it appears that standard probable cause rules apply to these eavesdropping situations. I would compare it to being pulled over by police and your car reeks of pot. Probable cause at that point exists and you will be "legally" searched. If you are known to converse or communicate with individuals or groups with terrorist ties probable cause will exist and wiretaps may be implemented. I'm not sure if this is infringing on our civil rights anymore than already existing standards of search and seizure.

[Backbeach Jake]

I read it the same way. The difference is that the Legislative Branch and the Administrative Branch left the Judicial Branch out. It's legal IF you go to the Court and tell them. Otherwise it's not legal. This is how we protect ourselves from, well, ourselves. out of sight out of mind? Yes, of course, that's the master plan.