Do you feel safer from terrorism since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act? US Attorney General John Ashcroft says you better, and that any backsliding will open the door to further terrorist attacks. “To abandon these tools would senselessly imperil American lives and American liberty, and it would ignore the lessons of September 11,” said Ashcroft as he set off across the land to stump for even more expanded domestic surveillance capabilities for government law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Well, thanks John, but you and your buddies are doing a damn fine job of senselessly imperiling American lives your own self.
The New York Times reported Ashcroft claims the USA PATRIOT Act “had been essential in preventing another terrorist attack in the United States.” Well this is front-page news that I must have missed. Oh, right, if they told us about it they’d have to kill us. I remember now. Plausible deniability morphed into plausible fairy tales and updated for the new generation.
You can call it a road show; I call it a magical misery tour. Ashcroft’s first performance in his month-long, 12-stop tour was at the American Enterprise Institute, where he honed his act by preaching to the old-line-con (as opposed to neo-con) choir. The Attorney General must not be feeling all of his oats these days because his dog-and-pony act is limited to audiences of law enforcement groups in states President Bush is targeting for his re-election campaign; there will be no public performances. Instead, Ashcroft will line up a team of all 94 federal prosecutors who will reportedly organize a series of town-hall indoctrinations, er, meetings on the issues.
In preparation for the Ashcroft misery tour, the Justice Department has published a new website with the intent of quieting the growing discord among the populace over the outcomes of the legislation that was passed in such a ham-handed fashion.
Taking a cue from the citizenry, some parts of Congress are starting to have second thoughts about the misguided legislation as well. The House of Representatives, controlled by Bush Republicans, repealed by a wide margin the part of the USA PATRIOT Act that allows government agents to delay notification that search warrants have been executed. Other legislation currently pending would roll back other especially problematic portions. Additionally, more than 150 municipalities across the country have passed resolutions in opposition to the legislation. Elaine Cassel, in her excellent “Onward, Ashcroft Soldiers!” outlines the growing resistance inside the beltway in chilling tones:
“The Hill staffer spoke eloquently. To the question from Ms. DOJ about ‘What would you have us do to fight terrorism?’ she replied, in effect, ‘I would have you do what democracies do. They balance individual rights with national security interests. You don’t violate the constitution because you think the threat is huge. There is no perfect security — and cannot be in a democracy.”
Even more alarming is this passage of Cassel’s account of her recent encounter with a Justice Department staff attorney:
“John Ashcroft is taking names. He has a list of Congressmen who want to cut off funding for a provision of the Patriot Act that allows warrantless ‘sneaks and peeks’ into people’s records and effects. And he has given that list to no other than his 93 prosecutors — the US Attorneys whose duty it is to prosecute the laws of the United States.
“So now US Attorneys are taking names. Ashcroft has ordered them to pay visits to those errant members. And to report back to him.”
Aside from the Washington Post story, the issue of Ashcroft’s enemies list has gotten predictably scant coverage in the corporate media.
What Ashcroft has in mind is the Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003, or VICTORY Act. Forget the acronym soup; it’s just more better surveillance abilities for the American government to use against its citizens and residents. Authored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chair of the Judiciary Committee, and four of his fellow Republican committee members, VICTORY legislation would give law enforcement agencies even broader subpoena powers, even more relaxed wiretap requirements, and would reclassify certain drug offenses as acts of terrorism. Oh, joy.
Related articles:
- The fallacy of magical thinking
Politicians of all stripes are among the culture's hardest working - Hey Fritz! Over here, Fritz
[Disclaimer: I'm a member of the Green Party of Minnesota - ARTS & FARCES awarded substantial judgment against Ventana Press, Inc.
Media Release For further information contact: Karen Fraase Phone: +1 651-317-4662 Email: kfraase@farces.com Web: http://www.farces.com/ For - Maine shows “common sense” healthcare is anything but
Wendell Potter is one of my healthcare heroes. After leaving - Digital disruption is the new normal
Novelist Ewan Morrison told the attendees of the Edinburgh international
Use of the ARTS & FARCES internet RSS and Atom feeds are subject to syndication and copyright policies and are provided for individual, noncommercial use without license or fee. All other uses are prohibited without an appropriate license.
John Ashcroft’s magical misery tour was originally published by ARTS & FARCES internet on Thursday, 28 August 2003 at 10:25 PM CDT. Copyright © ARTS & FARCES LLC. All rights reserved. | ISSN: 1535-8119 | OCLC: 48219498 | Digital fingerprint: 974a89ee1284e6e92dd256bbfbef3751 (64.237.45.114)