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Privacy and Civil Liberties Board still has not met

What do the White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and the Vice President's Terrorism Task Force have in common?

Neither believes in holding meetings. Ever.

Though the media never talked or wrote about it much, Dick Cheney's Terrorism Task Force, formed in May of 2001, never held a meeting. Such is also the case with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, formed at the recommendation of the over-praised September 11 Commission in December of 2004. There has been conflict over the board's budget, its powers, and its membership. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved two of Bush's nominees to the board, but it is estimated that it could take months before the board is actually ready to work.

Carol E. Dinkins, an attorney and former member of the Reagan Justice Department, is chairwoman of the board. She was the treasurer of George W. Bush's 1994 campaign for governor of Texas, and co-chair of Lawyers for Bush-Cheney, an organization which recruited attorneys to handle legal conflicts after the 2004 election. She is also a member of the law firm where Attorney General Alberto Gonzales once worked.

Only one board member, vice chairman Alan Charles Raul, appears to have any experience in the field of civil liberties.

Posted by Diane E. Dees on 02/20/06 at 10:56 AM | E-mail | Print

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Comments

Can anyone be surprised with these revelations. It's clear that this Administration cares very little about American's civil liberties. If the Bushies were around the time the Constution was written they would have opposed the Bill of Rights, other than the Second Amendment. Remember Papa Bush talk about "card caring members of the ACLU"?

Posted by: Lou Delgado on 02/20/06 at 2:38 PM

"Privacy" and "Civil Rights"? What "quaint" words. What do they mean anyway?

Actually, I am surprised that the "White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board" hasn't met. The part I'm surprised about is the part designated as "White House Privacy". For not meeting, they're doing a great job in keeping everything that goes on in that place "private".

I am also surprised that "Dick Cheney's Terrorism Task Force" hasn't met. After all, he does such a great job of scaring the country about terrorism that one would think there was an army of speech- writers and other such minions working on it 24/7.

Well, I guess that just goes to show how talented he is.

My real opinion is [redacted, redacted, arrested, rendered, tortured, denied due process, covered with dirt at an undisclosed location].

Posted by: AmeriPundit on 02/20/06 at 4:04 PM

I would think that they would be meeting on regular basis to discuss how to further erode our privacy and civil liberties. The name in no way implies that it is an oversight board to ensure that Americans retain their privacy and civil liberties. It would be par for the course for the administration. As far only one person being on the board that has any civil liberties experience, what do you expect from an administration that gave us "Brownie" and vet to head up the post dealing with women's health.

Posted by: Nathaniel Morley on 02/25/06 at 3:23 PM

This is only one of many frightening things that are eroding our civil loiberties.
We've been following this and other civil liberties issues on our Web site, The Junior G-Man Award.

Posted by: Junior G-Man Award on 05/01/06 at 5:57 AM