It seems simple.  The FISA court was setup to allow the President to do what he felt was required and after the fact justify it to the FISA court to have the action rubber stamped.  Based on the simplicity of this model there would appear to be only one reason to NOT follow these rules.

Your searches are so broad and baseless that you could never get any court to approve them.  Worse yet it could be that your searches are so broad and baseless other than to serve your own personal agenda vs. anything to do with the good of the American public that no court would listen without having you arrested.

Let’s also not forget that there are specific penalties established for breaking the rules around the FISA court.  Let’s not forget that these rules were setup last time it was believed the Government was getting out of control.  (This paled in comparison to what the current Administration is proving capable of)  Let’s also not forget that this President has admitted to ignoring the rules and doing what he wanted regardless of the law.  I can only translate that to mean that the President feels that he is above the law.  Certainly that disregard for the law wouldn’t work for the average Joe.

Now however the Bush cronies in Congress are trying to up the game once again.

Washinton Post Article

Bill Would Allow Warrantless Spying
GOP Plan Would Bring Surveillance Under Review of Congress, FISA Court

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 17, 2006; A05

The Bush administration could continue its policy of spying on targeted Americans without obtaining warrants, but only if it justifies the action to a small group of lawmakers, under legislation introduced yesterday by key Republican senators.

The four senators hope to settle the debate over National Security Agency eavesdropping on international communications involving Americans when one of the parties is suspected of terrorist ties. President Bush prompted a months-long uproar when he said that constitutional powers absolve him of the need to seek warrants in such cases, even though the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires warrants for domestic wiretaps.

The program, begun in 2001, was first publicized late last year.

The bill would allow the NSA to eavesdrop, without a warrant, for up to 45 days per case, at which point the Justice Department would have three options. It could drop the surveillance, seek a warrant from FISA's court, or convince a handful of House and Senate members that although there is insufficient evidence for a warrant, continued surveillance "is necessary to protect the United States," according to a summary the four sponsors provided yesterday. They are Mike DeWine (Ohio), Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Olympia J. Snowe (Maine).

All but Graham are members of the sharply divided intelligence committee, whose Democratic members have unsuccessfully sought an investigation into the NSA program. Hagel and Snowe threatened last month to join the Democrats' request unless the administration and Congress agreed on a way to bring the wiretap program under the review of FISA's court and Congress.

It is far from clear whether the bill can win passage. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) -- whose panel plays a major role in the surveillance matter -- pointed his thumb down yesterday when asked about the measure. He said he particularly objects to letting the government "do whatever the hell it wants" for 45 days without seeking judicial or congressional approval.

The Senate intelligence committee's chairman, Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who has defended the administration's actions, said seven members of a newly appointed subcommittee should be given time "to complete their review of the program before moving ahead with legislation." He added: "I am concerned that some of the procedural requirements included in the bill may limit the program's effectiveness."

Committee Vice Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) said through a spokeswoman that it is "too soon to consider legislation until the oversight subcommittee can answer critical questions about the program."

DeWine told reporters that White House officials "agree with the general concept" of the bill. Most Americans think "this type of surveillance should continue," he said, but Congress must impose oversight.

Details of the program, and Justice Department requests for exemptions from FISA warrants, would go only to the seven-member Senate subcommittee and a similar House intelligence subcommittee yet to be named. Both subcommittees would include Democrats and Republicans.

The bill introduced yesterday calls for fines of up to $1 million and prison terms of up to 15 years for those who disclose "classified information related to the Terrorist Surveillance Program," the administration's name for the NSA operation. The penalties would not apply to journalists.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

If you aren’t scared yet, you should be.  You should be terrified.  Why are so many leaks springing all over the place?  Simple, the President is committing High Crimes and Treason.  He is trashing the Constitution or perhaps using copies of it to clean up after his “constitutionals” in the morning.  But either way he’s making clear his complete disregard for the law of the land.  The leaks are popping up everywhere proving that there are at least some people in Government because they believe in the ideals it was founded on.

What better way to protect yourself as a President run amok than to have new legislation introduced that makes your crimes OK?  You’ve already gotten the miserable soul-less sell outs in Congress to approve the Patriot Act. 

May God Have Mercy on Your Souls if you had them…  I certainly wouldn’t.  Frankly I think we can include in this list anyone that votes for a single member of Congress that voted for the Patriot Act.  You have all failed to perform your duty to protect the Constitution and are unfit to fill your Offices.-

So you’ve gotten the Patriot Act passed which makes any crime at your whimsical discretion an act of Terrorism, you’ve got people passing documents out of Washington left and right trying to stir up some alarm from the American public…  So now you just need some more Constitutional Shredding Legislation Proposed.

Perhaps those members of Congress that have proposed this legislation have failed to read the Constitution.  It is very clear about execution of writ and warrant for search and seizure.

People need to wake-up.  You need to get concerned. 

The Patriot Act? Warrantless Spying? Mercenaries as deputies?

If you haven’t yet you better go read Hitler’s rise to power.  I scoffed at first too, but the parallels are becoming more striking every day.