Democrats Defy Bush On Spy Program By Taking 12-day Recess

Democrats defy Bush on spy program and immunity By Taking 12-day Recess)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) for complete article
The Democratic-led House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush on Friday and recessed without replacing an expiring spy law with one that would shield telephone companies from lawsuits.
With the temporary law set to expire on Saturday, Bush accused Democrats of undermining U.S. security. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer denied it and accused Bush of election-year fear-mongering.
Hoyer said he and fellow Democrats were reaching out to Republicans, and hoped to soon agree on a bill to replace the expiring law passed by Congress in August that expanded the power of U.S. authorities track suspected terrorists without a court order.

“We will not, however, be stampeded,” Hoyer said.

Bush met with congressional Republican leaders at the White House on Friday morning and took aim at House Democrats.
“When they come back from that 12-day recess, the House leaders must understand that the decision they made to block good legislation has made it harder for us to protect you, the American people,” Bush said.

“We expect now to get a good bill to my desk — which is the Senate bill — to my desk as soon as possible,” Bush said before he departed on a six-day trip to Africa that he had considered delaying to try to resolve the stalemate over the eavesdropping bill.

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to replace the “Protect America Act.” But House Democratic leaders refused to bring it up for a vote, and Bush and his fellow Republicans along with some Democrats rejected a brief extension of the law.

And this………………..
When the Clock Strikes Midnight, We Will Be Significantly Less Safe
The Democrats’ FISA talking points are nonsense.
National Review
Andrew McCarthy good article, click to read entire article

“According to top Democrats, the expiration of the Protect America Act (PAA) when the clock strikes midnight is no big deal. Our ability to monitor foreign threats to national security, they assure us, will be completely unaffected.
This is about as dumb a talking point as one can imagine. And it is just as demonstrably false.
Think for a moment about Tuesday’s crucial Senate bill overhauling our intelligence law that Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow the House to consider before recessing Friday .”

“Right now, we are permitted to collect foreign-to-foreign communications absent probable cause that the target is an agent of a foreign power. As of 12:00 A.M., we will no longer be permitted to do that. It is absurd to suggest that this huge drop-off in collection will have no impact on our security.”

“There are ever larger numbers of potentially hostile operatives who are galvanized by jihadist ideology without necessarily being connected to a known terrorist organization. Casting a broad surveillance net to collect intelligence overseas is how we detect and thwart any threat they may pose. It’s how we protect Americans in the homeland and on the battlefield.
As of midnight, that net is gone.”

Wild Thing’s comment…….
Well midnight last night has come and gone and the House Democrats are enjoying their 12 day vacation.
The House Democrats severely crippled the United State’ ability to gather intelligence from our foreign enemies as they let the 1978 Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act run out at midnight. The possible ramifications of this remarkable abdication of responsibility could well be literally, explosive. Without a reauthorization, wiretapping, listening in on the enemy overseas will now require obtaining a warrant each time such surveillance is undertaken, bogging investigations down in a thick and ugly mire of legal complication.
Pelosi wants an American city nuked in order to damage the Republicans. She is that evil. I am not saying that will happen, but it does leave the door open and ties the hands of those wanting to do their jobs.