In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
I just heard an interview with Daniel Ellsberg, whom some of you may remember; he photocopied the Pentagon papers and gave them to the Washington Times, which ultimately led to Watergate and the resignation of Richard Nixon. What you should know is that Nixon is vindicated by the Patriot Act. Had this happened yesterday, not only would Nixon still be in office but Ellsberg would be in Guatanamo Bay, held without charge, without access to lawyers, with a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, as a terrorist and a traitor. This is a guy who published the truth about decision making in Vietnam during an election year. After Watergate, Congress passed a bunch of laws making it illegal to wiretap American civilians, which is how Nixon was eliminating his opposition. For starters, he had an enemies list, and sicced the IRS on anybody who signed any petitions opposing his views, which included tax audits going back as far as seven years, the legal limit. This was in the days before computers, when people tended not to keep every check they wrote going back to 1965. My parents were targets, and they paid the price, full taxes going back seven years, which they already legally paid. This was standard operating procedure for Nixon et al. When Ellsberg came out with his story, it was too late, Nixon couldn't shut him down. Killing him at that point wouldn't have changed anything. The president tried to discredit him by illegally confiscating Ellsberg's psychiatric records, which is the burglary incident at Watergate, committed by thugs, including G. Gordon Liddy, who is a criminal and now a celebrity, with a talk show. You should be alarmed. This man is a criminal and a right-wing hero, not unlike Oliver North. The reason I write this history is that all the usual suspects are back in charge, and not by accident: the Patriot Act vindicates Nixon and undoes every single reform enacted by Congress in the aftermath of Watergate. Not only can those crimes be committed again, they can be done with impunity. The disgrace of our country at the hands of the Republicans thirty years ago has now become the law of the land, and anyone who ever tries to shed light into our dark American heart will never again be seen or heard, by law, by decree. UNBELIEVERS TAKE NOTE
- Michael 3:08 PM - [PermaLink] -
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