Letters to the Editor
Cocktailhag
Published Letters: 483
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A Note from Big Brother
[Read the article: The "liberal" position on the Surveillance State]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In response to a letter I sent, in which I chided Sen. Gordon Smith for his support for telecom immunity, and included a gift of a lovely phone message pad depicting a dyspeptic looking George Bush wearing headsets, the cord of which morphed into barbed wire and wrapped attractively around the page, I received this curious (not really) missive:
Dear Cocktailhag,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the proposed changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). I appreciate your comments and welcome this opportunity to respond.
There is little doubt that the devastating attack of Sept. 11, 2001, exposed some serious deficiencies in our domestic law enforcement and intelligence gathering capabilities. (CH: Actually, the deficiencies lay in our President and his minions, but tell me more...) Shortly after 9/11, a congressional resolution was passed that authorized the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, organizations or persons that are determined (By Bush, Cheney, Rove, and O'Reilly) to be planning, authorizing, committing or aiding future terrorists terrorist actions. (Or worse, supporting Democrats.)
Recently, the Bush Administration has asked (which is a nice word for threatened) the Congress to provide telecommunications companies with immunity from lawsuits brought against them for assisting surveillance afforts (for big bucks) without (required!) warrants. An individual may be granted immunity from prosecution for his or her testimony (or in this case, a corporation for refusing to testify, but this is awfully Complicated, you know) in very limited cases. Therefore, Congress must use careful discretion when considering expanding this protection. (to those who nether deserve it or offer anything in return.)
Like you, I believe that we must work to safeguard our civil liberties and I'm working to make sure they are protected. (How, pray tell?) There must be a careful balance struck between preserving Americans' freedoms and their security. (do you mean "balance" in the way Fox News does?) The freedoms that Americans (used to) enjoy are the envy of the world, and we must not allow our fundamental values to be compromised. (except this time) You can rest assured that I will work closely with my colleagues to strike the balance between protecting our country from future terrorist attacks while ensuring adequate (as so deemed by Our Leader) protection of our civil liberties.
Again, thank you for sharing your concerns. (though I'm hereby ignoring them) It is a great honor and prvilege to represent (an increasingly small slice of) Oregon in the United States Senate. (Enjoy it while it lasts, Gordon....)
Warm Regards, ("sincerely," in this case, is too much of a stretch)
Gordon H. Smith
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"Fantastical (sic) Thinking, Blinded by Narcissism..."
[Read the article: The ornery pride of the political journalist]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How a candidate "treats" the press, who have a responsibility to inform the public, ought certainly to play a role in coverage if only to reveal how much a candidate respects the right of the people to be informed, but cases like these are proof positive that party and power is more important than courtesy.
What is abundantly clear here, is that open hostility to the basic function of the press and refusing to provide it any information, is easily compensated for by good food, accomodations, and playfulness, if one is a Republican. Bush and McCain can imperiously declare that any discussions of what they might do or intend for their lowly and gullible subjects is "off the table," as long as a nice meal in a desirable setting is provided.
With her usual tin ear for politics and nuance, Sen. Clinton looked at Bush's contemptuous treatment of the press and decided early on, that that might work for her too. Oops. She apparently forgot that as a Clinton and a Democrat, there simply wasn't any way to win over the press, but foolishly decided that friendliness and accessibility was a waste of time. It probably wouldn't have worked, but she didn't think to try it, to her discredit, and the bathroom incident most likely constitutes her Nixonian "you won't have me to kick around anymore" moment.
The fact that McCain "treats the press like friends, and they respond in kind," willfully ignores the fact that McCain's gesture is designed to shield himself from criticism, discourage the press from doing its job, and reinforce the Us vs. Them mentality wherein the press corps and the powerful whisper, conspiratorially, when the servants, i.e. the American people, are in the room.