vox
6th June 2002, 22:54
When even a right-winger like William Safire is worrying about the FBI's new power (http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0603-05.htm), you know something has gone terribly wrong.
Somehow, we're supposed to believe that the goverment will never use this power to intimidate people. Never use it to discredit people who have done no wrong. Never use it the way it used to, back in what's being called the "bad old days" of the FBI, where people's rights were violated simply because they disagreed with the government's policy on, say, the war in Vietnam. Somehow, we're supposed to forget about COINTELPRO (http://www.derechos.net/paulwolf/cointelpro/cointel.htm) and not think that something like that could happen again. Of course, that requires thinking that people like Bush and Ashcroft are decent human beings. Let's ask the people being held, for months and months, without being charged with anything what they think of Ashcroft's character, okay?
This administration has already shown a complete lack of respect for human rights (http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/amr/usa!Open). There's no reason to trust it with more power, especially power it gave to itself without any public debate, without any congressional approval.
What's really amazing, however, is the reasoning. The administration is setting up the FBI to be the fall guy for Sept. 11. Okay, we all know about politics, and that's part of politics. However, why isn't the "liberal" media asking WHY, if the FBI did such a terrible job, is it being REWARDED WITH MORE POWER? Do a bad job and get a reward? This administration can't even keep its own bullshit straight.
Homeland Security, the PATRIOT Act, now this.
Maybe this administration believes that, in order to save America, it has to destroy it.
vox
(Edited by vox at 5:55 pm on June 6, 2002)
Somehow, we're supposed to believe that the goverment will never use this power to intimidate people. Never use it to discredit people who have done no wrong. Never use it the way it used to, back in what's being called the "bad old days" of the FBI, where people's rights were violated simply because they disagreed with the government's policy on, say, the war in Vietnam. Somehow, we're supposed to forget about COINTELPRO (http://www.derechos.net/paulwolf/cointelpro/cointel.htm) and not think that something like that could happen again. Of course, that requires thinking that people like Bush and Ashcroft are decent human beings. Let's ask the people being held, for months and months, without being charged with anything what they think of Ashcroft's character, okay?
This administration has already shown a complete lack of respect for human rights (http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/amr/usa!Open). There's no reason to trust it with more power, especially power it gave to itself without any public debate, without any congressional approval.
What's really amazing, however, is the reasoning. The administration is setting up the FBI to be the fall guy for Sept. 11. Okay, we all know about politics, and that's part of politics. However, why isn't the "liberal" media asking WHY, if the FBI did such a terrible job, is it being REWARDED WITH MORE POWER? Do a bad job and get a reward? This administration can't even keep its own bullshit straight.
Homeland Security, the PATRIOT Act, now this.
Maybe this administration believes that, in order to save America, it has to destroy it.
vox
(Edited by vox at 5:55 pm on June 6, 2002)