Bush’s defense of wiretapping, and four reasons to reject it
I’m issuing today’s rhetoric citation to President Bush for four statements he made at Kansas State University today:
1.'’I'm mindful of your civil liberties and so I had all kinds of lawyers review the process […]'’
Bush is a big fan of the “all kinds” variety of vagueness, and it insults our intelligence. Are we children seeking reassurance, who don’t care about names or numbers, and only want to be told that all kinds of nice people are on our side?
2. “There have been no documented abuses of the patriot act […]”
Meaning no federal agents have used the Patriot Act to hunt down and hassle old girlfriends? Maybe — but the Patriot Act legalizes measures that abuse our civil rights. Holding suspects without trial for indefinite periods, defining American citizens as “enemy combatants” and placing them outside the American justice system — these aren’t “abuses” of the Patriot Act, they’re business as usual.
3. ‘He said that the war on terror is an “ideological struggle” against an enemy that has a “view of the world that is the exact opposite of our view of the world.”‘
I’m sure Bush means that al-Qaeda envisions a world of repression while he hopes for a world of freedom. But in the words above, he puts himself on a level with al-Qaeda as someone who wants to shape the entire world according to his ideals. It’s great to be a visionary, President Bush, but it’s dangerous to be an ideologue, and you crossed that line a long time ago.
4. ‘”If I wanted to break the law,” Bush asked rhetorically, “why was I briefing Congress?”‘
Translation: If I really wanted to break the law, you people wouldn’t hear about it. What I wanted was to tell Congress what I was going to do, and then do it, and not take any lip from anybody.
I don’t think Bush wants to use surveillance to steal liberal babies or make Cheney’s Halliburton stock go up. But I do think he wants to consolidate power in the executive branch so he and his associates can mold the world they want. He’s willing to sacrifice our freedom to his vision, and he’s pretty obvious about it. Don’t let him do it.
The ACLU has started a campaign to convince the Justice Dept. to appoint a special counsel to investigate the President’s wiretapping program. I sent an e-mail to the White House from the ACLU site; if you find a better way to stick up for your right not to be spied upon, let me know and I’ll post it here.
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:36 pm | Promoted
While reading about the ACLU’s lawsuit against the NSA, I was surprised to see Greenpeace listed as a party to the lawsuit. After all, what’s an environmental advocacy group got to do with a lawsuit about civil liberties? As it turns out, a lot. From Greenpeace’s statement:
Right on, Greenpeace.