Tuesday, December 20, 2005
A Closer Look
Something just doesn’t add up. Well actually, a lot of things don’t add up. Bush recently announced that secret wiretaps won’t stop claiming "I swore to uphold the laws. Do I have the legal authority to do this? And the answer is, absolutely."
Yet despite this seeming confidence Bush is scrambling to overcome the Senate’s recent filibuster of certain provisions of the Patriot Act including the one that gives the government the power to get secret warrants from secret courts to secretly tap Americans’ phones. Exactly what laws is he referring to that give him the right to blatantly violate Americans’ constitutional protection against illegal search and seizure. Is it the Patriot Act? Because if we spin it that way, I would guess that many fewer Members of Congress would vote for it. Furthermore, if it is the Patriot Act, will Bush finally stop these obnoxious atrocities against American’s civil rights when these provisions aren’t renewed? And if he thinks these powers of his come from somewhere other than the Patriot Act, why exactly do we need the Patriot Act at all.
Now lets take a closer look at these suspected terrorists we absolutely need to spy on. Lisa Meyers at MSNBC published a report outlining exactly who the Pentagon is spying on. I’ll give you a couple of interesting tidbits, but I really just recommend that you read the article. Many of the targets are remarkably biased and partisan. Apparently the Bush administration doesn’t just want to disenfranchise homosexuals, he actually thinks they are terrorists. A UC-Santa Cruz "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" protest, which included a gay kiss-in, was labeled as a "credible threat" of terrorism. An NYU protest organized by LGBT undergrads and the law schools LGBT group “OUTlaw” was labeled as “possibly violent.” The Pentagon also spied on groups demonstrating in opposition to Military recruiting in underprivileged high schools and colleges.
Does this sound like effective use of the Patriot Act to you? Whatever your position is on gay marriage, I seriously doubt that these rallies mentioned above constitute credible threats to our nation’s security. Time and time again Bush comes to the plate to take gigantic swings at defending the Patriot Act, The Iraq war, etc. What does it say that he has to step up to the plate almost every week to keep making pleas to the American people? The more the public knows the less they are approving of these issues. When is Bush going to realize this and back off? I’m waiting for the day.
Yet despite this seeming confidence Bush is scrambling to overcome the Senate’s recent filibuster of certain provisions of the Patriot Act including the one that gives the government the power to get secret warrants from secret courts to secretly tap Americans’ phones. Exactly what laws is he referring to that give him the right to blatantly violate Americans’ constitutional protection against illegal search and seizure. Is it the Patriot Act? Because if we spin it that way, I would guess that many fewer Members of Congress would vote for it. Furthermore, if it is the Patriot Act, will Bush finally stop these obnoxious atrocities against American’s civil rights when these provisions aren’t renewed? And if he thinks these powers of his come from somewhere other than the Patriot Act, why exactly do we need the Patriot Act at all.
Now lets take a closer look at these suspected terrorists we absolutely need to spy on. Lisa Meyers at MSNBC published a report outlining exactly who the Pentagon is spying on. I’ll give you a couple of interesting tidbits, but I really just recommend that you read the article. Many of the targets are remarkably biased and partisan. Apparently the Bush administration doesn’t just want to disenfranchise homosexuals, he actually thinks they are terrorists. A UC-Santa Cruz "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" protest, which included a gay kiss-in, was labeled as a "credible threat" of terrorism. An NYU protest organized by LGBT undergrads and the law schools LGBT group “OUTlaw” was labeled as “possibly violent.” The Pentagon also spied on groups demonstrating in opposition to Military recruiting in underprivileged high schools and colleges.
Does this sound like effective use of the Patriot Act to you? Whatever your position is on gay marriage, I seriously doubt that these rallies mentioned above constitute credible threats to our nation’s security. Time and time again Bush comes to the plate to take gigantic swings at defending the Patriot Act, The Iraq war, etc. What does it say that he has to step up to the plate almost every week to keep making pleas to the American people? The more the public knows the less they are approving of these issues. When is Bush going to realize this and back off? I’m waiting for the day.
