Friday, December 30, 2005
Bush's libertarian vigilance
This administration never misses an opportunity. In the wake of the revelations that the president ordered extensive interception and surveillance of Americans’ private communications without the use of warrants, DOJ has begun a criminal investigation…not of those who violated the 4th Amendment, but of those who revealed the existence of the warrantless surveillance. The New York Times in particular is coming under scrutiny.
After all, this is war. The public has no right to know what the government is doing, and particularly not that the government is illegally spying on us, without any sort of oversight or independent checks. And no one has any right to publicly reveal this activity. As the president has made clear, it is outrageous to even ask if there are any legitimate limits to his power.
This is neoconservativism’s finest hour – the defense of unlimited power of the executive. George the Third never dreamed of such power as George the Fourth is wielding. Vigilance for complete liberty…of the king to do as he damn well pleases.
After all, this is war. The public has no right to know what the government is doing, and particularly not that the government is illegally spying on us, without any sort of oversight or independent checks. And no one has any right to publicly reveal this activity. As the president has made clear, it is outrageous to even ask if there are any legitimate limits to his power.
This is neoconservativism’s finest hour – the defense of unlimited power of the executive. George the Third never dreamed of such power as George the Fourth is wielding. Vigilance for complete liberty…of the king to do as he damn well pleases.
Comments:
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Your link by Pajamas Media was a great opportunity for you. Too bad all you had to offer was silly and inaccurate polemics. There are by now many detailed analyses of the NSA program and FISA (see Power Line, for example).
If Al Queda is calling someone in the US, I want the authorities to know about it. It's no accident that there has not been another attack on the US since the WTC.
If Al Queda is calling someone in the US, I want the authorities to know about it. It's no accident that there has not been another attack on the US since the WTC.
# posted by 
: 08:52
: 08:52
Thanks for your comment.
Pajamas Media? What are you talking about? I don't know what Pajamas Media is and never made any polemics there, silly or otherwise, there.
You claim that Bush's violation of the law prevented attacks, but you offer no evidence. Do you have any, or is this another example of post ho ergo propter hoc?
Regardless, it is wrong and I resent it when NSA monitors my international calls and emails. It's also potentially dangerous for me and my friends, since we are discussing subversive ideas such as individual rights.
Pajamas Media? What are you talking about? I don't know what Pajamas Media is and never made any polemics there, silly or otherwise, there.
You claim that Bush's violation of the law prevented attacks, but you offer no evidence. Do you have any, or is this another example of post ho ergo propter hoc?
Regardless, it is wrong and I resent it when NSA monitors my international calls and emails. It's also potentially dangerous for me and my friends, since we are discussing subversive ideas such as individual rights.
Aha, here it is: PajamasMedia characterizes my post as “But Unforeseen Contingencies sees an attempt to chill the press in the move by the DOJ…”
It seems an obvious point. But my “polemic” is much more than this: the president must never be allowed to ignore the fundamental law of the land. Our current president has been unusually destructive in this regard, and he has already established all the mechanisms needed for a totalitarian police state: search and seizure without warrants, arrests and indefinite detention without habeas corpus, legal counsel, or any judicial oversight, and the use of torture. If he is allowed to get away with this, America will cease to be a free country.
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It seems an obvious point. But my “polemic” is much more than this: the president must never be allowed to ignore the fundamental law of the land. Our current president has been unusually destructive in this regard, and he has already established all the mechanisms needed for a totalitarian police state: search and seizure without warrants, arrests and indefinite detention without habeas corpus, legal counsel, or any judicial oversight, and the use of torture. If he is allowed to get away with this, America will cease to be a free country.
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