Letters to the Editor
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We Have Met the Enemy
"But if that's the case -- if it was only in 2004 that a requirement was created that the eavesdropping be tied closely to terrorists encompassed by the AUMF -- then that would mean that prior to that time, there was no nexus between the eavesdropping and those terrorist groups." -- Glenn
I imagine the only change that was made in '04 to tie the program to the enemy was to reclassify us the American people as "the enemy." I, too, was and am struck by the way Bush-Cheney use the word "enemy" to describe us all; and after all these are the same people who think pot growers in Canada and anti-war Quakers in Florida are "terrorists."
[Remember the post-9/11 TV ad that portrayed pot smokers as terrorists? and Ariana's smart response ad tying gas-guzzling SUV owners to terrorism?] "Everyone's a suspect" -- wasn't that Frontline's opening line? You're either with Bush-Cheney or against them.
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Wishes
Mr. Greenwald's keen eye for what is truly important in the going-ons of our government reinforces the sense I keep having that my country has left its orbit and is spinning away, careening closer and closer to some larger and nefarious end. If only we had some medium for getting this type of information out to the rest of the citizenry.......if only there was, I don't know, some sort of estate after the third one that would watch our government and use its power to right a listing ship of state......
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Shorter post: They must be held to account
"At this point, how can anyone justify the lack of criminal investigations or the appointment of a Special Counsel? The President engaged in extremely serious conduct that the law expressly criminalizes and which his own DOJ made clear was illegal."
The media is AWOL as Glenn and others have documented exhaustively. It's going to have to be a grassroots/netroots phenomenon if this country is going to turn itself around. Everyone is familiar with the quote Ben Franklin gave when he was approached by a group of citizens upon leaving the Constitutional Convention, asking him what sort of governnment the delegates had created. His reply: "A Republic, if you can keep it."
When enough people are passionate enough to raise their voices, organize, write, demonstrate, apply pressure on Congress in every constructive way imaginable, this country can be turned around. Our institutions are too dysfunctional to help; it's up to us.
Last night's Frontline was powerful. The most chilling part was the section about the secret room built at AT&T headquarters in San Francisco that whistle-blower Mark Klein has come forward about. It's clear now. The government has decided that it must keep hugely important matters secret from U.S. citizens. There are now just two significant classes in the US: the rulers and the ruled, in case we hadn't noticed. The rulers know what's best. We are all suspects now, guilty until proven innocent. Goodbye 4th amendment, goodbye Constitution, goodbye life as a free people. The Bush Administration knows best. We must trust them. Where in history have we heard that before?
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One of many threads
that woven together present a clear image of an executive that has taken on the trappings of an Autocracy, contrary to Law (to say the least), and dares (double-dog dares) anyone to do anything about it.
This has been clear for quite a long time now, so there should be no surprise. The Big Media makes no stink to speak of because they made their bed with the Regime, indeed created and have long propped it up, they and believe it is in their corporate interests to maintain the status quo -- a lawless Autocracy in DC. They will not make much of a stink -- though they will report now and again -- because none of their interests are served by doing so.
Congress is willing to expose some of the details of the Autocratic Rule we are under, but Congress has so far shown little stomach for doing anything about it, in part, of course, because so many members of Congress long ago agreed to go along with the institution of Autocracy in the Executive branch, and few are willing to reverse that agreement now.
The People, seeing this, are alarmed, but their options are very limited. Maintaining a sense of public helplessness in the face of what is and has been going on is part of the job that the Big Media took on when they became the chief enablers of the Regime, and they continue it. It's habitual and self-reinforcing.
The People are told their only real options are in the election booth, but one of the revelations of late is that elections have been manipulated to the advantage of the Regime, and the results cannot be trusted. Indeed.
So the question is, what are The Peoples' options?
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Kudos to Wired
When the rest of the MSM is AWOL, kudos to Wired for doggedly pursuing the internet spying scandal. Their most recent interview:
http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/05/kleininterview
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It is refreshing...
...to hear the testimony of someone who can remember dates, events, meeting attendees, etc.
On a related topic: Aren't Gonzo's memory problems enough reason to relieve him of his postion at the Justice Department? Clearly he has some serious neurological problems. It seems the Justice Department needs someone sharp at the helm, especially during this "time of war". I'm sure Republican congressmen and presidential candidates who place "homeland security" at the top of their priority list would agree.
I'm signing this anonymously because we no longer have freedom of speech.
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other programs
That in the limited time that I watched Gonzo testify, and on Frontline last night, I keep hearing these people refer to "this program" or "the program we're talking about here". This leads me to believe, as someone else stated on Frontline, that there are other spy programs out there that no one knows about.
Well, there is for instance the ECHELON program (google it!), which does not officially exist (although Australia and the UK have admitted to collaborating with the USA on it) and does anyone really believe the investment put into the Total Information Awareness program was just written off as a loss when it was shut down?
(fwiw, I've read the TIA program was renamed "Basketball", probably to keep references to it from being findable online.)