SMDP: Time to Say Enough to Attack on Civil Liberties

[Bennet Kelley]

Time to Say Enough to Bush’s
Attack on our Civil Liberties

A RECENT OPEN LETTER TO THE American people lamented that “under the pretext of ‘the war on terror,’ civil liberties in the United States are being increasingly curtailed. Even the privacy of individuals is fast losing its meaning. Judicial due process and fundamental rights are trampled upon. Private phones are tapped (and) suspects are arbitrarily arrested”. The fact that this was written by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad is galling given Iran’s poor human rights record, but what is especially appalling is the fact that it is not far from the truth.

On September 10, 2001, we lived in a country that proudly stood as a beacon of freedom and which no country, let alone Iran, could criticize our commitment to civil liberties. Today, however, we are “decaying into a police state” according to a National Security Agency whistleblower, as without any warrant or statutory authority the Bush administration monitors our phone calls, banking transactions and Internet searches and spies on such “seditious” organizations as the Quakers and Veterans for Peace. Now President Bush claims the right to open our mail in “exigent circumstances” according to his signing statement in approving the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act which expressly prohibited the opening of domestic mail without a search warrant.

On September 10, 2001, “(o)ur great republic,” was, as President Ford declared upon taking office after Watergate, “a government of laws, not men.” Today, we face our most serious constitutional crisis since Watergate, as President Bush has held hundreds of citizens and non-citizens indefinitely without any charge and often without access to counsel. His administration also has tortured detainees held by the United States and transferred others against their will to foreign authorities for interrogation and torture, while refusing to provide to Congress the presidential directives authorizing such practices.

In doing so, President Bush not only has disregarded the Bill of Rights’ protections against unreasonable search and seizures, due process and cruel and unusual punishment but he also has ignored constitutional limitations on his own authority. For example, the new postal law is one of over 750 laws that President Bush has claimed the ability to disregard in his signing statements.

President Bush’s Constitutional blitzkrieg, however, has generated little outrage and only modest dissent. It appears that amidst the hyper-patriotism that followed September 11th we have forgotten that what defines this country as a great nation is not our technology or weapons, but our liberty. We have forgotten that when our founding fathers declared independence from Great Britain, they recited a “history of repeated injuries and usurpations” that bears some resemblance to the actions of President Bush. More importantly, we have forgotten our own responsibilities as citizens, since it is we who have been entrusted with the responsibility of preserving what President Washington referred to as “the sacred fire of liberty”.

Since September 11th, however, we have failed to be vigilant in preserving this “sacred fire”. As Rev. Norman Vincent Peale noted, “(o)nce we roared like lions for liberty; now we bleat like sheep for security!” Part of the price we pay for our passivity is the disgrace of having rogue nations such as Iran rightly criticize America for violating civil liberties. What will it take before we finally stand up and say “enough”?

While we are fortunate that the courts have stepped in to invalidate a number of these actions while reminding President Bush that he is not king and only has the power given to him by either the Constitution or the Congress; we should not always have to count on the judicial branch to salvage our civil liberties.

It is time for the Democrats to remove their weathered cloak of timidity and finally roar like lions in fighting this unprecedented assault on our civil liberties. Just as President Ford stepped forward to steady an anxious nation by reassuring them that we are a government of laws, the Democrats must do the same now.

It is time that we remember our own obligations. As President Carter stated in his farewell address, "every American has a right and a duty to shape the future course of the United States.” For it is only by upholding and fulfilling our duty to protect the “sacred fire of liberty” that we can dispel the darkness of the past few years.

Finally, it is time for courage. If a ragtag group of colonists were willing to take on the global superpower of their day for the sake of liberty, then the Democrats should be able to muster the courage to challenge a president with 30 percent approval ratings and surely we the people, can find the fortitude to finally say “enough!”

Bennet Kelley is the former national co-chair of the Democratic National Committee’s young professional arm, publisher of BushLies.net and a columnist with the Santa Monica Daily Press. This column was originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press.

[derby378]

1. Well, uh, yeah...

Why do you think good progressive Dems like me have been on the warpath for the party as a whole to get on the stick?

[Strathos]

2. I'm ready

where do I sign up to stop people from trying to run and ruin the lives of every American?

[shance]

3. Nice work Bennet***

Absolutely. It is a time for courage.

The past seven years have been a loud cry for courage havent they?

What I can say has been my experience in being involved in actively opposing this Administrations policies, I have personally witnessed an amazing abundance of outcry and protest both nationwide and WORLDWIDE.

What most people either don't know and/or have not observed, primarily with the help of the internet which has been the more accurate venue by which to observe what has been taking place across America, have been the record breaking protests and demonstrations here in the states and abroad.

Of course as we have attended the marches, we have come home to see that the corporate networks have all but ignored the thousands and in some cases millions of Americans marching.

Certainly by our corporate run networks which might have offered a few bread crumbs of coverage, however, the powerful protests were ignored and dismissed essentially into obscurity. Atleast according to CNN and MSNBC and ABC.

I think there is an illusion that even we as Americans have bought - that we haven't been powerfully mobilized and active, when in fact we have been amazingly mobilized, millions marching in Washington just a couple of years ago, breaking the record of MLK's March on Washington.

It seems now these huge demonstrations we have had to oppose the Iraq invasion have had to be blacked out and/or totally marginalized in order to block any inspiration it might breed. As such, it may have had a somewhat successful effect by those who want us to feel as though we are not making an impact. That is why it is so important for us to communicate with each other because the corporate media is trying to maintain an illusion that we are disconnected and fragmented. When it comes to our concern about what is happening, I believe it is there, simply waiting to be further tapped.

With all our progress, which has of course largely gone unnoticed and underappreciated, we have had challenges.

I think our main challenge has been doing this and at the same time lacking enough leadership to continue building momentum. I think to invite more quality leadership, I think we need more leaders at a local level and we need a number of women and men leaders across the country, not simply one person to lead the way. I think that is too much water for one individual to carry. In addition, we also need to better protect and support our leaders, although I think we are improving there as well.

Just some thoughts.


Cheers*

[marchtoimpeach]

4. Nationwide Impeachment March

Outraged by the escalation of the war in Iraq?

Incensed that the Democrats don't want to impeach Bush, even though they've now got the votes to do so?

Do you feel that letting Bush get away with criminal subversion of our democracy and the Constitution would be a travesty of everything you believe in?

Signing petitions and writing our representatives may not be enough to bring this madman to justice. A growing number of us feel that something more dramatic is necessary. We're putting out a call for a MASSIVE nationwide convergence on Washington to demand that that Congress impeach Bush NOW.

This wouldn't be part of an antiwar march or any other political demonstration (important as those are). It would be a separate event with one unequivocal purpose: calling for the impeachment of the President.

There are no organizers of this event. Or, rather, everybody who wants to be involved is an organizer. This is a grassroots DIY open-source wikiflashmob revolution, harnessing the tools that have evolved over the last several years. Never has it been so possible for millions of people around this country to self-organize something they believe in.

A website has been set up at www.marchtoimpeach.com as an initial information node to get the ball rolling, but if this is going to work everybody needs to make this their own and spread it around. Are we smart enough and sophisticated enough and pissed off enough to get a million people to DC to demand Bush's impeachment?

Let's find out.

www.marchtoimpeach.com

[The Wizard]

6. There is a protest

on January 27th in DC. DC may be the seat of power, but it's not where the masses who detest fascism reside. Doubts about weather conditions will also curtail attendance. January 27th in DC is logistically difficult for many.
Saturday is also ineffectual as tying up the city on a workday would be more effective.
What would be more effective is a national day of protest where everyone stays home from work and contacts their Congressional representatives via email or telephone or fax. We might also try picking one day a week where we don't drive, using alternative methods to get to work. Cutting oil use by 20% would take money from the pockets of those wishing to enslave us.
If we really believe that change is necessary we will take the steps necessary for that change. It will take sacrifice. Good things don't come easy.
The ultimate power of the purse is with those who spend and circulate money.
The borrowing and embezzling in Washington DC is breath taking, all being done for the war on our liberty. Bush, Cheney and Rice are heavily invested in energy, big pharma and defense spending. They have managed, with the help of corporate media and religious hucksters, to corrupt the United States beyond our worst nightmares.

[Bennet Kelley]

5. thanks

I'd be interested in any info you have on the size of the rallies - particulary if it related to civil liberties. Thanks.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. 4th Amendment Shredded - Impeachment A Must

Warrantless wiretapping is a full-frontal violation of the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. Impeachment is required. no investigation is needed - the crime has been freely admitted.

It's really that simple. Any othe action is a breach of our responsibilities.

[benEzra]

8. Thank you. Well said. (n/t)

[Mrspeeker]

9. I've been saying that for 7 years

As I watched a unelected president that was appointed by the supreme court which the president appoints, rout our entire republic with no opposition.