Nasty Little Man

Our continuing descent into the absurd

Here's the playbook on how to grab dictatorial-like power:
1. Approach the Congress about altering the FISA law to allow warrantless spying on American citizens.
2. When you get shot down by Congress, do it, anyway, and break the law in the process.
3. Mark the program as "classified".
4. When the word gets out to the media, investigate the informants who fibbed on your illegal power grab because they leaked "classified" information.

As you probably heard by now, the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the domestic spying program by the NSA. Common sense tells you that the Justice Department would investigate the legality of the program, but common sense has been missing from the U.S. government for years. No, the DOJ is investigating those who gave the information about the program to the New York Times.

If it is carried out in the worst way, an investigation like this can only hinder freedom, particularly the freedom of the press but also other freedoms that we hold dear. Already, visions of reporters being brought before investigators or even a grand jury to testify are dancing in our heads. From there, the reporters protect their sources, go to jail, and the downward descent continues. Freedom of the press is chilled because reporters really don't like going to jail, and the media becomes less of a watchdog of the government, as our Framers intended it to be. Government informants who aren't comfortable carrying out unconstitutional acts are deterred from whistleblowing in the future, opening up Pandora's Box of governmental abuse of our most basic freedoms.

And, of course, it is worth noting that Gonzo is now the Attorney General and was the White House counsel at the time that the domestic spying program started.

Meanwhile, yesterday the NY Times reported that then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey refused to approve aspects of the program while acting as attorney general during John Ashcroft's gallbladder surgery. The Times reported that even Ashcroft felt uncomfortable and not just because he was recovering from getting stuck:

But some officials said that Mr. Ashcroft, like his deputy, appeared reluctant to give Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales his authorization to continue with aspects of the program in light of concerns among some senior government officials about whether the proper oversight was in place at the security agency and whether the president had the legal and constitutional authority to conduct such an operation.

When John Ashcroft and his top assistant are the voices of reason, we are all in serious trouble.

More from the Times story:

Several senior government officials have said that when the special operation first began, there were few controls on it. Some agency officials wanted nothing to do with it, apparently fearful of participating in an illegal operation, officials have said.

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer did a great editorial, Protect life and liberty:

Nobody ever said it was a risk-free proposition to stand by the U.S. Constitution.

Not the nation's founders, certainly: They risked their very lives in waging the war for independence that led to enshrining the Constitution's democratic ideals in the first place.

And now the threat of terrorism sharpens the risk posed by living in an open, democratic society.

As long as the nation values and protects by law the rights of everyday Americans to be spared from unwarranted snooping, its enemies could find ways to exploit that openness - as they assuredly did on Sept. 11, 2001.

Citizens have a choice. They can live with that risk, understanding it for the central role it plays in making this a nation worth preserving. Or they can surrender to fear - out of a misguided sense that no civil liberty is so cherished as to risk another terror attack by its defense.

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 11:50 AM