a tyrrant in the making
More and more details are coming out about the genius idea of having the NSA secretly spy (without judicial or public oversight) on communications going in or out of the US -- on mere suspicion of it being terrorism related (and we're not always right about what's terrorist related). According to one intelligence official, Bush okayed this travesty more than three dozen times since October 2001.
There is hope, however, that Bush will not get away with it...at least politically. There are many Republicans standing up to these sorts of flagrant abuses of the Constitution. Just yesterday, in voting to oppose the Patriot Act renewal, Sen. John Sununu quoted Benjamin Franklin on the Senate floor, saying "Those that would give up essential liberties in pursuit of a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security." This before he and three other Republican Senators (Hagel, Craig, and Murkowski) voted down the extension. Today the papers quote Arlen Spector as saying there is "no doubt" that these NSA regulations are "inappropriate".
Let us all hope that Bush and company will have their feet put to the fire over this. Since 9/11, Bush has taken measure after measure showing that he has no problem passing on liberties for a little security -- and therefore deserves neither. Even if he is never held accountable for his misdeeds, there is hope that some of these outrageoumisapplicationsns of power will be reigned in -- and their expansion curtailed.
There is hope, however, that Bush will not get away with it...at least politically. There are many Republicans standing up to these sorts of flagrant abuses of the Constitution. Just yesterday, in voting to oppose the Patriot Act renewal, Sen. John Sununu quoted Benjamin Franklin on the Senate floor, saying "Those that would give up essential liberties in pursuit of a little temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security." This before he and three other Republican Senators (Hagel, Craig, and Murkowski) voted down the extension. Today the papers quote Arlen Spector as saying there is "no doubt" that these NSA regulations are "inappropriate".
Let us all hope that Bush and company will have their feet put to the fire over this. Since 9/11, Bush has taken measure after measure showing that he has no problem passing on liberties for a little security -- and therefore deserves neither. Even if he is never held accountable for his misdeeds, there is hope that some of these outrageoumisapplicationsns of power will be reigned in -- and their expansion curtailed.
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