Thursday, January 12, 2006
I keep reading and hearing about the "war powers" that the Bush administration claims for the executive branch. As an old fashioned John Stuart Mill liberal -- read "libertarian" in this day and age -- I feel very nervous about all this.
It's easy for those who have never trusted George Bush to see what is wrong with giving him authority over the personal rights and privacy of Americans. It's also easy for those who have always trusted George Bush to see nothing wrong with giving him authority over those personal rights and privacies. There were a lot of people (at the time) who approved of the FBI spying on anti-war groups in the Vietnam era.
I'd like to propose a little game for those who think unchecked executive branch powers make us safer. Imagine that the sitting president is a wild-eyed left winger, perhaps a pacifist, an atheist, or an environmental activist. This duly elected president wants detailed personal information about all the gun owners in the country.
Would you still feel safe and comfortable with unlimited executive power?
It's easy for those who have never trusted George Bush to see what is wrong with giving him authority over the personal rights and privacy of Americans. It's also easy for those who have always trusted George Bush to see nothing wrong with giving him authority over those personal rights and privacies. There were a lot of people (at the time) who approved of the FBI spying on anti-war groups in the Vietnam era.
I'd like to propose a little game for those who think unchecked executive branch powers make us safer. Imagine that the sitting president is a wild-eyed left winger, perhaps a pacifist, an atheist, or an environmental activist. This duly elected president wants detailed personal information about all the gun owners in the country.
Would you still feel safe and comfortable with unlimited executive power?
Comments:
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Dorothy: Right on. I am a libertarian, but voted for George the first time. We saw almost immediately that he didn't quite have a grasp of his authority or other's authoritative limits. Now it's escalating and everyone trusts him so there's no issue, right? So scary. Americans are so fat and stupid they don't know how to think these things through anymore, and it's going to hurt us BIG time.
It will be hard ever to control snooping since it's always done secretly. This latest case is notable only because it came to light. Politicians are voyeurs by nature, and they'll use any excuse (like a war or emergency) to eavesdrop and get the goods on whatever opposition they perceive.
# posted by 
: 7:47 AM
: 7:47 AM
even more fascinating than what you or I or anyone else thinks is the poll which shows no one - or very few - care. thats scary.
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# posted by : 4:53 PM
: 4:53 PM << Home
