Wiretaps?
Well, I was with some Baby Boomers here recently, and one of them was surprised at how un-incensed my generation is with some of the things our government is doing in Washington. Sorry, but my job doesn't let me be too active politically, and I'm voting as hard as I can...
But I do have a blog that nobody reads, so here goes....
I recognize the need to be tough on terror. I support the use of wiretaps. But there are specific channels for such actions, as dictated by law. The executive branch of government does not have Judge Dred free reign - they have to (had to?) bounce it off a judge, run it by the ConstitutionÃ….
It's called "checks and balances."
And what if a little paperwork takes too long? We've got a kosher, legal solution for that, too. FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, give you 72 hours, more time than we spent planning post-war Iraq, to get a warrant after you've already started snooping.
You could start spying on some homesick exchange student calling his mommy on a Friday, go home for the weekend, get drunk on Saturday, go to church on Sunday and not bother about the warrant till Monday.
Or you could just ask us to trust you:
"I just want to assure the American people that... I've got the authority to do this" quoth Bush, who checked with his friends to be sure it was OK.
Great, here's an idea: lets let the government decide when the government has too much power.
While we're at it, how about if I decide how much I pay in taxes?
I'm sorry, Administration. I've tried to trust you, I really have. But that faith is lost, wandering around somewhere right next to those WMDs and the Loch Ness Monster.
Ours isn't a relationship based on trust - rather one secured by the checks and balances that have held our society together for more than 200 years, safeguards designed by Founding
Fathers who had a little experience living with unjust governance.
I guess we need an occasional reminder.
Well, it felt good getting that out. Very theraputic. Let me note, though, that this is just an example of one person's free speech. Opinions are like as..ahh..bellybuttons -- everybody's got one. Feel free to leave a (constructive, non-abusive) comment of your own.
Heck, lemme know and I'll help you set up a blog of your own so's the whole world can feel the wrath of our bellybuttons.
But I do have a blog that nobody reads, so here goes....
I recognize the need to be tough on terror. I support the use of wiretaps. But there are specific channels for such actions, as dictated by law. The executive branch of government does not have Judge Dred free reign - they have to (had to?) bounce it off a judge, run it by the ConstitutionÃ….
It's called "checks and balances."
And what if a little paperwork takes too long? We've got a kosher, legal solution for that, too. FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, give you 72 hours, more time than we spent planning post-war Iraq, to get a warrant after you've already started snooping.
You could start spying on some homesick exchange student calling his mommy on a Friday, go home for the weekend, get drunk on Saturday, go to church on Sunday and not bother about the warrant till Monday.
Or you could just ask us to trust you:
"I just want to assure the American people that... I've got the authority to do this" quoth Bush, who checked with his friends to be sure it was OK.
Great, here's an idea: lets let the government decide when the government has too much power.
While we're at it, how about if I decide how much I pay in taxes?
I'm sorry, Administration. I've tried to trust you, I really have. But that faith is lost, wandering around somewhere right next to those WMDs and the Loch Ness Monster.
Ours isn't a relationship based on trust - rather one secured by the checks and balances that have held our society together for more than 200 years, safeguards designed by Founding
Fathers who had a little experience living with unjust governance.
I guess we need an occasional reminder.
Well, it felt good getting that out. Very theraputic. Let me note, though, that this is just an example of one person's free speech. Opinions are like as..ahh..bellybuttons -- everybody's got one. Feel free to leave a (constructive, non-abusive) comment of your own.
Heck, lemme know and I'll help you set up a blog of your own so's the whole world can feel the wrath of our bellybuttons.
posted by John Derrick | 2:00 PM
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