Worldy girl, you made a good point which I feel I must address. I am not opposed to government having authority to investigate and do its business in making our communities safer. What I am concerned about is the extent of authority given to government and the erosion of our basic liberties and freedoms that this government under Bush has taken away in the guise of protecting our security. When our founding fathers framed the Constitution these liberties and freedoms were God given rights inherent in every individual not priveleges that were granted or removed by the State even in times of extreme emergency. The Patriot Act pushed through by the Bush Administration after 911 effectively rescinded these rights our forefathers and soldiers fought so hard to preserve.
The framers of the Constitution understood that this delicate balance of power in government had to be preserved at all cost if government was going to work for the interests of the people and not the powerful and wealthy elite. Let me quote the words of Andrew Jackson in his farewell address:
"But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It beehooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States as well as in the Federal Government."
Let me share with you some other quotes:
"My greatest fear is that too many members of the public will embrace the government's call to give up some freedom in return for greater safety, only to find that they have lost freedom without gaining safety." Christoper Hitchens in the Aug 2003 issue of Reason
"Any time you give power to government, it will be abused, it will be enlarged, it will be used in ways you never intended." Harry Browne on the Drudge Report
History has shown that whenever governments and individuals gain too much power they are reluctant to give up that power and often end up abusing that power for their own benefit. (eg GB of WT) As an American citizen I am concerned at the growing abuse of power that has been taking place under Bush. I am concerned at the loss of freedoms and rights that was guaranteed to us under the Constitution. I am concerned at the growing loss of human lives both American and Iraqi that have been sacrificed to further the agenda of the wealthy elite.
This war is illegal under international law and was started under the false pretense that we were under imminent danger of weapons of mass destruction. Now we learn that the evidence to support this was all fabricated. Furthermore, isn't it interesting that the major beneficiaries of this war are those companies that are engaged in the lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq - one of which is Halliburton of which Dick Cheney was the head of. Doen't that sound like a conflict of interest? Dick Cheney certainly comes out ahead in this war since he has retained millions of stock options in Halliburton. The Bush family hasn't done too badly either as they are major stockholders in the Carlye Group a major defense contractor for the Pentagon. ( If you want to find the reasons for why things are done just follow the trail of money) For a comprehensive list see www.practicalradical.com/followthemoney.html
In case you think I am just a left wing radical out to get Bush I am not. I am equally critical of the Clinton Administration under the Democrats. He was just as bad and corrupt in abusing his presidential powers to cover up his scandals. What is really sickening is that Bush has taken this one step further by putting hundreds of thousands of our young men and women in harms way to further this own interests and the interests of his wealthy supporters. We do not need to support this illegal war. We do not need to send another generation of our youth to die to enrich the wealthy few. We cannot stand by and do nothing while the powers that be in Washington pass legislation to restrict more freedoms ( Patriot Act II coming ) and send thousands more youth to die in this phony war. If there is anything I have learned coming out of the Watchtower cult is that if we do nothing and say nothing EVIL triumphs.
