It Is Almost Unreal
As Bush melts down, he has been repeating his usual line that if we give him the power to spy on us, search us without a warrant, and generally rape us whenever he pleases, he will only spy on, search, and rape terrorists who really, really deserve it. Like Ted Kennedy said, "Give me a break."
Consider this UMass/Darthmouth student who earned himself a visit from two trenchcoats from the Department of Homeland Security when he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's Little Red Book via interlibrary loan. "The student was told by the agents that the book is on a 'watch list,' and that his background, which included significant time abroad, triggered them to investigate the student further." One of his professors has reconsidered teaching a course on terrorism in the spring, saying that if he asks his students to seek out original materials to research the topic, they will almost certainly end up in the same situation.
Bush today described the New York Times as "shameful" for printing information about the illegal, unconstitutional spying he's been doing and vowed to make Big Brother bigger "as long as [I] am commander in chief." From his track record, I think we can see that he will just do it. We can also see that he will not actually bring any terrorists to justice. So maybe he shouldn't be commander in chief anymore, you think?
UPDATE: The Mao-leads-to-DHS-Investigation story appears to be a hoax.
Yeah, I believe him when he says he conducted illegal searches. So what? If a man confesses to murder and everyone believed him, that confirms his guilt, right? And here Bush is bragging about his illicit deeds, which makes me not only enraged at his actions but also his attitude. I believe him, and that in no attenuates my justified rage.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, his rage this weekend made me think of Jack Nicholson on the stand in A Few Good Men: I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. ...my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. ...I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a [newspaper that] rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you.
Oh yeah, I have no doubt that dissenters will be pegged by the same apparat that are currently spying on suspected terrorists. "Suspected" as in we used to presume people innocent until proven guilty but 9/11 changed everything so now you are guilty when we say you are guilty and God can sort you out later.
ReplyDeleteI bristle at the label Bible-belter. I do think government should use the power of the many to stand up for the weakest few; that we as a society should endeavor to feed the hungry, clothe and shelter the cold, and educate the ignorant wherever we find them; that we should respect our neighbors as we would like them to respect us; and that we should not expect our leaders to be perfect, because we ourselves are far from perfect. That all fits pretty well with the Sermon on the Mount--which by the way would be good advice for living no matter who spoke it, whether he was Jesus Christ, Rabbi Hillel, or Confucius--and since I go to church most Sundays, I guess that does make me a Bible-belter, technically speaking. But most Bible-belters haven't read the Sermon on the Mount and their Grand Old Party's platform is, so far as I can tell, based on the opposite of each of those principles, so please don't call me a Bible-belter. I do not care to be associated with those people.
In fact, not only WILL spying be directed at dissenters, NYPD has been "covertly monitoring" anti-war protests in the city since August 2004.
ReplyDelete