How To Be A Fucking Fascist Disgrace, by Alberto Gonzales
The Bush gang has hit a new low recently. As amazing as this tidbit may seem upon first consideration, it is true. Speaking on former Clinton chief of staff George Stephanopolous' weekly political handjob/television show, the Attorney General announced that the administration is reserving the right to prosecute journalists for violations of national security. According to the nation's chief lawyer, the Constitutional protections of freedom that were once guaranteed for the press are now subservient to the demands of "national security"--all this despite the fact that the words national security are nowhere to be found in the Bill of Rights, but the words freedom of the press are.
To ignore the Constitution while you are a working public official in any part of American government is illegal. For the Attorney General to say that "it can't be the case that that right [the right to a free press] trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity" is utterly mindblowing. Gonzales is an appointed official of a Presidential administration, yet he is claiming the right for the administration to re-interpret and completely distort the Bill of Rights. With this statement, Bush and his gang have declared publicly that they intend to ignore and possibly supersede the Supreme Court when it comes to interpreting the Constitution. Additionally, Gonzales claims that the administration's actions are derived from the will of the people, despite approval poll ratings that have been mired at roughly 33% since last July. If these underhanded misrepresentations of the Constitution were not so serious and threatening to our liberties as citizens of the US, they would be hilarious. The Bush gang is attempting to impose radical legislation from above, enshrouded in the most opaque secrecy, without the consent of the American public, and all despite the fact that they are the most unpopular administration in the last century of American history.
Ever since they allowed the events of 9-11 to occur, the Bush gang has taken a proprietary attitude (to say the least) towards national security. They are attempting to use the fear generated by that day to permanently attach war powers (or to use their trendy term, plenary powers) to the office of the Presidency. Going hand in hand with this repugnantly undemocratic conception of our highest elected office is the idea that the administration can ultimately determine exactly what constitutes a national security issue. In other words, the administration can immediately trump up charges against any citizen or journalist and accuse those individuals with violating national security statutes or directives. Since this administration believes that matters of national security should be forever hidden from any sort of oversight, even more people will soon be arrested in this country without being aware of what crimes they have committed or what crimes they are being charged with. This frightening idea is the germ of the New Christian Primitives' American police state.
These ideas are fundamentally antithetical to any concept of American government. They have their closest philosophical antecedents in such wonderfully anti-human stratagems as Stalin's Article 58 or Britain's anti-Irish Poor Laws of the 19th century. The FISA violations, the lies that built up the rush to Iraq, the Enron bankruptcy, the Katrina disaster, and the scandals surrounding the no-bid contracts given to Halliburton and Blackwater were all brought to the attention of the American public by courageous reporters who risked major retaliation against their reputations, their careers, and their families from a vindictive and vengeful administration. The sacrifices these journalists made to tell the truth will probably never be known. We cannot allow this criminal administration to withdraw protections that are nearly two hundred and thirty years old. The traditions of America are contained within the pages of the Constitution. When will we wake up to defend them?
To ignore the Constitution while you are a working public official in any part of American government is illegal. For the Attorney General to say that "it can't be the case that that right [the right to a free press] trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity" is utterly mindblowing. Gonzales is an appointed official of a Presidential administration, yet he is claiming the right for the administration to re-interpret and completely distort the Bill of Rights. With this statement, Bush and his gang have declared publicly that they intend to ignore and possibly supersede the Supreme Court when it comes to interpreting the Constitution. Additionally, Gonzales claims that the administration's actions are derived from the will of the people, despite approval poll ratings that have been mired at roughly 33% since last July. If these underhanded misrepresentations of the Constitution were not so serious and threatening to our liberties as citizens of the US, they would be hilarious. The Bush gang is attempting to impose radical legislation from above, enshrouded in the most opaque secrecy, without the consent of the American public, and all despite the fact that they are the most unpopular administration in the last century of American history.
Ever since they allowed the events of 9-11 to occur, the Bush gang has taken a proprietary attitude (to say the least) towards national security. They are attempting to use the fear generated by that day to permanently attach war powers (or to use their trendy term, plenary powers) to the office of the Presidency. Going hand in hand with this repugnantly undemocratic conception of our highest elected office is the idea that the administration can ultimately determine exactly what constitutes a national security issue. In other words, the administration can immediately trump up charges against any citizen or journalist and accuse those individuals with violating national security statutes or directives. Since this administration believes that matters of national security should be forever hidden from any sort of oversight, even more people will soon be arrested in this country without being aware of what crimes they have committed or what crimes they are being charged with. This frightening idea is the germ of the New Christian Primitives' American police state.
These ideas are fundamentally antithetical to any concept of American government. They have their closest philosophical antecedents in such wonderfully anti-human stratagems as Stalin's Article 58 or Britain's anti-Irish Poor Laws of the 19th century. The FISA violations, the lies that built up the rush to Iraq, the Enron bankruptcy, the Katrina disaster, and the scandals surrounding the no-bid contracts given to Halliburton and Blackwater were all brought to the attention of the American public by courageous reporters who risked major retaliation against their reputations, their careers, and their families from a vindictive and vengeful administration. The sacrifices these journalists made to tell the truth will probably never be known. We cannot allow this criminal administration to withdraw protections that are nearly two hundred and thirty years old. The traditions of America are contained within the pages of the Constitution. When will we wake up to defend them?
posted by alyosha mcbain at 11:01 AM
1 Comments:
RE your title for this post: Well, he's the expert.
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