U.S. Justice department threatens to sue Maine over Verizon investigation

U.S. threatens suit if Maine probes Verizon ties to NSA
By KEVIN WACK, Portland Press Herald Writer
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.


The Bush administration is threatening to sue if Maine regulators decide to investigate whether Verizon Communications illegally turned over customer information to the National Security Agency.

Verizon customers in Maine have asked the state's Public Utilities Commission to investigate whether the telecom giant violated privacy laws by cooperating with a domestic surveillance program. The PUC is expected to decide Monday whether to open such a probe.

In a July 28 letter to the PUC, the U.S. Department of Justice cites national security as a key reason for its opposition to a state investigation. The seven-page letter suggests a lawsuit is likely if Maine regulators decide to investigate.

"We sincerely hope that, in light of governing law and the national security concerns implicated by the requests for information, you will decline to open an investigation and close these proceedings, thereby avoiding litigation over the matter," the letter reads.

Read the rest of the story, oh, do.

Words cannot begin to express how sickenfugginTIRED I am of the Terror Card and those who play it and play it and play it in service of nothing but their desire to control, limit and contain the citizens of this country.

And while I'm on a roll

Minimum wage bill stalls in Senate
Republican bill, denounced as 'ploy' by Democrats, would also cut estate taxes.
August 4 2006: 6:27 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Republicans Thursday night failed to advance a bill coupling a 40-percent increase in the minimum wage with a cut in estate taxes, which Democratic leaders had denounced as an election-year ploy.

A move by GOP leaders to cut off debate and move to a final vote on the bill failed to get the 60 votes it needed under Senate rules. The vote, which fell mostly along party lines, was 56 to 42.

The rest of the story's here and here. Go read them.

And remember when you start hearing underinformed people angrily blaming "the Democrats" for killing the minimum wage bill (which is evil in the first place, but that's another rant), that this particular so-called "Minimum Wage Bill" also carried a Republican deal-breaker provision making a HUGE cut in the estate taxes of the wealthy, and that, to Mr. Frist, this is all just a game -- see "in service of nothing but their desire to control, limit and contain the citizens of this country." in my last post.

Going to go get coffee, now.

What did you learn at work today, Rolanni?

I learned about the ecology of salt marshes and that there are two kinds of phragmites -- one which is native to Maine and lives in peaceful harmony with the salt hay, cord grass and other marsh vegetation; and one which is an invader from the Middle East and is extremely bad juju.

I learned about floodgates and their relationship to high tide. 

I learned (thanks to kinzel's research librarian genuis) what a floodgate looks like and how the particular sort of floodgate needed in the story can go terribly, terribly wrong.

I learned that some people can't even do a simple job without screwing it up bad and wasting the lives of innocents.

OK, I knew that one already.