Politics > Politics-USA > Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of government than the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government
| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"WBG" |
| Date: |
20 Dec 2005 10:39:05 AM |
| Object: |
Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of government than the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government |
Detroit Free Press
December 20, 2005
Editorial
The War President
Spying without oversight no mere matter of trust
Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of government than
the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government.
Liberty, after all, was one of the unalienable rights the Continental
Congress held to be "self-evident."
That liberty is severely compromised by a president who finds it
acceptable to spy on citizens without so much as a secret court
review, and who condemns questions about that spying as "shameful."
President George W. Bush's heartfelt pledge Monday to defend America
would be more reassuring if he proved himself just as committed to the
freedoms U.S. citizens cherish.
At the same time Bush said he understood Americans' concerns about
government eavesdropping, he scolded whoever revealed the
four-year-old secret program to the public and said he would not
submit to questions before Congress, because "any public hearings on
programs will say to the enemy, 'Here's what they do. Adjust.' "
It's hard to accept the president's trust-me assurances when he
accuses those who dare ask how their government is running of
empowering the enemy.
"We're at war. And we must protect America's secrets," Bush admonished
reporters Monday.
Even war has guiding principles. So do countries. The president should
be able to win the former without violating the latter.
That's why it's so encouraging to see a member of his own party,
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania,
promising to hold hearings into the president's previously
unpublicized 2001 order allowing spying on citizens without court
approval.
This was all so unnecessary. The government could have easily gotten
an OK for such eavesdropping through a secret court that has rejected
only a handful of the thousands of wiretaps federal authorities have
requested.
Similar concerns about overreaching are central to the blocking of the
Patriot Act, which Bush called "inexcusable" Monday. If the president
expects Congress -- and the American people -- to trust him with more
power, he's going to have to be more forthcoming about how he uses it.
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| User: "Server 13" |
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| Title: Re: Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of governmentthan the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government |
20 Dec 2005 04:31:23 PM |
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WBG wrote:
Detroit Free Press
December 20, 2005
Editorial
The War President
Spying without oversight no mere matter of trust
Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of government than
the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government.
Liberty, after all, was one of the unalienable rights the Continental
Congress held to be "self-evident."
That liberty is severely compromised by a president who finds it
acceptable to spy on citizens without so much as a secret court
review, and who condemns questions about that spying as "shameful."
President George W. Bush's heartfelt pledge Monday to defend America
would be more reassuring if he proved himself just as committed to the
freedoms U.S. citizens cherish.
At the same time Bush said he understood Americans' concerns about
government eavesdropping, he scolded whoever revealed the
four-year-old secret program to the public and said he would not
submit to questions before Congress, because "any public hearings on
programs will say to the enemy, 'Here's what they do. Adjust.' "
rofl How's THAT supposed to work?
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| User: "SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim" |
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| Title: Re: Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of government than the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government |
20 Dec 2005 07:01:51 PM |
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then it's time to take out the united states government
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