Wake up and smell the corruption
Two sources related to the recent revelation that Bush ordered domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency prohibited by law --
Today's New York Times story says the claim of "executive prerogative" as the all purpose excuse for executive branch violation of civil rights and costitutional provisions is beginning to wear thin:
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/17/politics/17legal.html?hp&ex=1134882000&en=e6794b1f39df0692&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Blogger Glenn Greenwald lays the basis in the Federalist Papers for why the Bush administration is out of control with corruption:
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2005/12/bushs-unchecked-executive-power-v.html
The NYT article is ok as far as it goes, but it seems to relegate the whole illegal surveillance/executive "prerogative" scandal to inside beltway stuff . . . like large segments of the public in general, the blogosphere, real reporters and analysts are just carping at the fringes; as if the people are not really a significant part of the discussion -- only the victim:
The Federalist Papers are almost sacred in outlining the limits of delegated government, as well as the balance between branches. Perhaps only more sacred is the doctrine that the government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. The struggle between branches of government for ascendency and balance is ongoing but, let's face it, recoiling from tyrannical monarchy is most fundamental, with rebellion and revolution being the default position. That may seem an outmoded and quaint possibility in our hubristic, self-congratualtory "democracy. Hopefully the "Severe criticism from scholars and the courts" will be prelude to an exercise of government that eviscerates the Bush/neocon oligarchy.
More voices are raising the alarm that has previously been marginalized as left wing blogoshpere wackos. But I'm still waiting for the general raising of voices of incumbent politicians that matches the level of urgency we face and brushs Bush's 2004 "accountability moment" idea away in a wave of responsible and righteous legislative revolution. We can't wait for the people to speak through the increasingly corrupt election process. Rather, the political process must wake up to what ordinary people are only beginning to sense about the danger that faces the country.
The corruption of Watergate was rooted out. Iran Contra became a minor ripple. How will our polity deal with the immensely more pervasive and corrosive subterfuge now festering?
Today's New York Times story says the claim of "executive prerogative" as the all purpose excuse for executive branch violation of civil rights and costitutional provisions is beginning to wear thin:
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/17/politics/17legal.html?hp&ex=1134882000&en=e6794b1f39df0692&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Blogger Glenn Greenwald lays the basis in the Federalist Papers for why the Bush administration is out of control with corruption:
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2005/12/bushs-unchecked-executive-power-v.html
The NYT article is ok as far as it goes, but it seems to relegate the whole illegal surveillance/executive "prerogative" scandal to inside beltway stuff . . . like large segments of the public in general, the blogosphere, real reporters and analysts are just carping at the fringes; as if the people are not really a significant part of the discussion -- only the victim:
From the government's detention of Americans as "enemy
combatants" to the just-disclosed eavesdropping in the United States without
court warrants, the administration has relied on an unusually expansive
interpretation of the president's authority. That stance has given the
administration leeway for decisive action, but it has come under severe
criticism from some scholars and the courts. (bold
mine)
The Federalist Papers are almost sacred in outlining the limits of delegated government, as well as the balance between branches. Perhaps only more sacred is the doctrine that the government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. The struggle between branches of government for ascendency and balance is ongoing but, let's face it, recoiling from tyrannical monarchy is most fundamental, with rebellion and revolution being the default position. That may seem an outmoded and quaint possibility in our hubristic, self-congratualtory "democracy. Hopefully the "Severe criticism from scholars and the courts" will be prelude to an exercise of government that eviscerates the Bush/neocon oligarchy.
More voices are raising the alarm that has previously been marginalized as left wing blogoshpere wackos. But I'm still waiting for the general raising of voices of incumbent politicians that matches the level of urgency we face and brushs Bush's 2004 "accountability moment" idea away in a wave of responsible and righteous legislative revolution. We can't wait for the people to speak through the increasingly corrupt election process. Rather, the political process must wake up to what ordinary people are only beginning to sense about the danger that faces the country.
The corruption of Watergate was rooted out. Iran Contra became a minor ripple. How will our polity deal with the immensely more pervasive and corrosive subterfuge now festering?
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