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Irresponsible and Dangerous
December 19, 2005
Irresponsible, outrageous, dangerous, incompetent...call it what you want, but the fact that the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress have not implemented most of the provisions of the 9/11 Commission and have received a failing grade from this bi-partisan group (the head of the Commission is a Republican, Tom Kean) should have all Americans up in arms. Wasn't this the Congress that dropped everything and rushed back to "save" Terry Schiavo? One would think that they could put at least that much urgency into saving the nation from another terrorist attack...and the thousands of lives that could be lost.
And now, we find out that President Bush is ordering illegal spying on Americans. For once, even his own party is outraged, with Republican Senator Arlen Specter and others calling for hearings on the matter. After 9/11, the Congress gave him everything he wanted....the Patriot Act, a Secret Terrorist Court, etc. But, his unprecedented "interpretation" of his powers continues to grow unchecked. Whether he likes it or not, we are a nation of laws...that even this President (and Vice President) have to follow.
Posted by Michael Kempner at December 19, 2005 10:53 AM
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Comments
I concur wholeheartedly with your opinions, and trust the American people will continue to back Senator Russell Feingold and his bipartisan (albeit mostly Democratic)group of colleagues in permitting only a three-months' extension -- pending closer scrutiny and affirmation of the civil liberties provisions -- of the USA Patriot Act. Sen. Feingold has aptly said, once again per today's NY Times story by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "if we are absolutely committed to fighting terrorism, and we are absolutely committed to the civil liberties of the American people, then that's a winning (pro)position..."
I applaud the courage and leadership of Russell Feingold (who from Day One, or 9-11)alone opposed the Patriot Act for its indiscriminate "Big Brother" provisions.
And I deplore Pres. Bush for lambasting (by innuendo) Sens. Harry Reid and Hillary Rodham Clinton for backing Sen. Feingold's filibuster, when all they seek is a reodrering and balancing of the Act's priorities. Hilary Clinton shows an exemplary sense of what also needs to come first in our nation's priorities, by touring areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina and expressing concern yesterday that efforts to repair the city's levees might not be enough to protect New Orleans' residents from future hurricanes.
Fighting unseen, alien foes is an easy platform for legislators to enact, but combining laws with suitable domestic imperatives takes time, witness the 11th-hour renewal of the Terrorism Reinsurance Act, now worded with catastrophic loss provisions that take natural disasters into account, too.
Let's hope any renewed version of the USA Patriot Act in the current or next session preserves our basic freedoms as well as our safety.
Posted by: Mark D. Harrop at December 19, 2005 02:13 PM
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