I haven't blogged about the horrifying revelation that President Bush has gleefully authorized illegal wiretaps, and justified it with the "I will do whatever it takes to protect this country" defense, because my fellow liberal bloggers have been doing a far better job of it than I possibly ever could. However, there is one aspect of it that I haven't seen addressed, and that is the discrepancy between the level of anti-terrorism commitment the Administration pretends to have, vs. the level of commitment they've actually demonstrated thus far.
Bush claims that the War On Terror is so important that he has to break the law in order to wage it effectively. But if that's true, why hasn't he put his foot down that Homeland Security funds be allocated on the basis of need, and not used for air-conditioned garbage trucks or police dog body armor? Why doesn't he buck the nuclear and chemical industries to force them to improve their plant security? Why has he ignored all the recommendations of the 9/11 Committee?
As with torture, it looks as though Bush and the Republicans are only interested in "anti-terror" methods if they are illegal. For me, it begs the question: Is preventing terror attacks the end which justifies the means of violating individual rights, or are those violations an end unto themselves?
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Why has he ignored all the recommendations of the 9/11 Committee?
The answer really is as sad as it is simple.
Because none of this has anything to do with anti-terrorism. All along 9/11 and the 'War on Terra' have just been excuses to do the things they wanted to do anyway, whether it was invade Iraq or spy on their perceived enemies.
Dick Cheney earned his bones in the Nixon White House. This is all a continuation of the Nixonian Imperial Presidency.
Just wait -- they'll be redesigning the White House Security uniforms soon.
They are those violations an end unto themselves. They don't care about the law. They want to run the country the way THEY want it run. F*ck everyone else.
Well, yeah. They've decided to bypass the courts and appeal everything in the court of public opinion, with the ultimate goal of creating a "precedent" that laws exist only at the whim of the president.
Well, he enjoys being president, you know. He loves making decisions. "That's just the kinda guy I am," I saw him telling this guy on TV. He is addicted to decisionmaking. He needs more decisions to make to feed his monkey. And he loves making these secret spy decisions because he gets to make them every 45 days or so and that makes him feel better.
... And when in 2008 we have another "terrorist attack" on US soil, will they simply suspend elections, or will they insist that W keep the mantle of kingship, like they tried to do with Guiliani?
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