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March 25, 2007

An argument about wiretapping

I've mentioned Honest Argument before, one of the group of websites that has sprung up recently to host online argumentation and which includes visual representation of those arguments - here is a better idea of what can be acheived:


NSA warrantless wiretapping is illegal Constitutional Commander-in-Chief authority CRS analysis does not support this AG and acting AG refused to endorse Supreme Court rejected this interpretation in Hamdan Authority granted under AUMF war resolution Daschle categorically refutes this Supreme Court rejected this interpretation in military tribunal case FISA grants the authority FISA requires warrants Presidential precedents Only prior to FISA act Clinton authorized warrantless searches under FISA Clinton authorized physical searches, not wiretapping While illegal, it can be rationalized Trust the President Argues for unlimited powers Potential for abuse DoD and FBI already spying NSA sought wiretapping before 9/11 Supporters would argue differently if it were a Democrat Could have prevented 9/11 attacks FISA already allowed monitoring of the highjackers Bureaucratic problems were the issue Flaws in FISA legislation Legislation can be modified Administration rejected amendment Sensitivity of technology prevented amending Technology revelation not required Has prevented new attacks This has been refuted by law enforcement officials It actually distracted law enforcement Rationalizing is irrelevant to the legality of the issue Congressional Democrats signed off on it Rockefeller denies this This is a partisan witch hunt Many Republicans concerned or disagree with policy Democrats don't want the government to spy on terrorists Democrats are only opposed to warrantless wiretapping

Posted at 01:34 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 06, 2007

Free Mind Mapping Software - Hurry

Giveaway of the day are giving away ConceptDraw MindMap Personal (retail $119) for the next 18 hours. I haven't used the software, but the reviews are positive.

Giveaway of the Day - ConceptDraw MINDMAP Personal

ConceptDraw MINDMAP ProfessionalConceptDraw MINDMAP 4 is a mind-mapping and team brainstorming tool with extended drawing capabilities.

Use it to efficiently organize your ideas and tasks with the help of Mind Mapping technique. ConceptDraw MINDMAP 4 supports extra file formats, multi-page documents. It offers a rich collection of pre-drawn shapes. ConceptDraw MINDMAP 4 has extended capabilities for creating web sites and PowerPoint presentations.

Posted at 09:48 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)