Remember, 9/11 changed everything:

Nacchio’s account, which places the NSA proposal at a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, suggests that the Bush administration was seeking to enlist telecommunications firms in programs without court oversight before the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The Sept. 11 attacks have been cited by the government as the main impetus for its warrantless surveillance efforts.

Liars.

Update: Someone over Atrios’s place points out that assuming other telecom companies went along with this program when Qwest turned it down, this program failed to prevent 9/11. There is a lot of conjecture here (program implemented by other telecoms, it was implemented a meaningful time before 9/11), but the fact that these companies are lobbying hard for amnesty for violating any laws seems to indicate that they’ve done something they’re worried about. This program seems to fit those parameters…

2 days before Ari Fleischer told the press and the American people that Bush wasn’t sure whether inspections had reached a dead end, he said to President Aznar, “No matter what happens, we’ll be in Baghdad by the end of March.” Hadn’t made up his mind, my ass.

If it wasn’t bad enough that Republican presidential candidates want to be able to imprison people without trials or judicial review, the Bush White House is embarking on a wild series of complete fabrications in order to diminish the popularity of Democrats in Congress. Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings has the details, but here’s the super-short summary:

• When Republicans do it, it’s not a tax increase - Bush, during his radio address, claimed Democrats have already increased taxes. How? By not extending the Bush tax cuts in the latest budget, just as Republicans didn’t do in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Apparently, when Democrats leave a law the way Republicans wrote it, it’s a tax increase. Needless to say, this is why the bill was written the way it was.
• Stupid criticisms about Pelosi Syria visit - The White House criticized Pelosi for planning a trip to Syria saying, “we discourage members of Congress to make such visits to Syria.” No word of what they think of the Republican Congressional trip that’s in Syria right now. Or whether these criticisms extend to the Republican member of Congress going with her… Media Matters has more details.

I will be happy when these folks are out of office.