OBL Connected Guest was at SOTU

From Jeremy Scahill at Guerrilla News. As Cindy Sheehan was being tossed out, Turki al-Faisal was just getting comfortable. Who is he? he personally managed Riyadh’s relations with Osama bin Laden and Mullah Muhammad Omar of the Taliban. Anyone else who had dealings with even a fraction of the notorious characters the prince has worked with over the years would never make it past a U.S. immigration counter, let alone to the most exclusive offices in Washington.” Al-Faisal was also named in the $1 trillion lawsuit filed by hundreds of 9/11 victims’ families, who accused him of funding bin Laden’s network. Curiously, his tenure as head of Saudi intelligence came to an abrupt and unexpected end 10 days before the 9/11 attacks. Hope the administration is tapping their friends' phones along with all the others.

President Roasted at King's Funeral

In an uncharacteristic PR error George Bush allowed himself to appear at an event that wasn't scripted by his handlers. Rev. Joseph Lowery remarks included a powerful condemnation of the administration's Iraq misadventure and it's concomitant distortions of the truth delivered in Coretta Scott King's name. More surprising was the sharpness of President Carter's remarks. The man has become the country's conscious; small wonder whenever he speaks up about the current occupant of the White House he throws the right into a rage. Crooks and Liars has the video highlights from Countdown.

Republican Calls for NSA Inquiry

Republican Congresswoman Heather A. Wilson of New Mexico, chair of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, has risked the wrath of Rove by calling for an inquiry into the patently illegal NSA spy program. A brave woman. Will any of her obsequious colleagues tear up their orders from the White House and get moving on their oversight responsibilities? Doubtful, but it's a start.

Helen's Hell on McClellan

Once again Helen Thomas shames the rest of the White House press corps by refusing to follow her peers and roll over for Scott McClellan's non-answers. From today's White House presser (note: the official briefing video is conspicuously absent as of this writing) : Q Does the President think he should obey the law? He put his hand on the Bible twice to uphold the Constitution. Wiretapping is not legal under the circumstances without a warrant. MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I guess you didn't pay attention to the Attorney General's hearing earlier today, because he walked through very clearly the rationale behind this program. And, Helen, I think you have to ask are we a nation at war -- Q There is no rationale to disobey the law. MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he's not -- are we a nation at war? Q That's not the question. MR. McCLELLAN: No, that is the issue here. Q No, the question is, the point is there are means for him to go to war, get a warrant to spy on people. MR. McCLELLAN: Enemy surveillance is critical to waging and winning war. It's one of the traditional tools of war. Q Nobody says he doesn't have running room to -- MR. McCLELLAN: And the Attorney General outlined very clearly today how previous administrations have used the same authority and cited the same -- Q That doesn't make it legal. MR. McCLELLAN: -- and cited the very same authority. Q If they broke the law, that's too bad. You know what happened to Nixon when he broke the law. MR. McCLELLAN: And we're going to continue doing everything we can within our power to protect the American people. This is a very different circumstance, and you know that. Q No, I don't.

Senators Mull Constitutional Amendment

From Raw Story, they are considering an amendment to delineate the president's powers in a time of war. For democrats it's a huge mistake—it concedes the administration's argument that its illegal spy activity is sanctioned by the constitution. The Fourth Amendment gives all the protections needed while still leaving ample room for national security considerations. All that's required is that the president respect it.