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 Tuesday, August 06, 2002
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Bush defies judicial order
The Washington Post and AP are reporting that the Bush Department of Justice is refusing to obey a judicial order to hand over documents showing cause as to why they have detained an American citizen and are holding him incommunicado. They haven't filed an appeal, they are just claiming that their interpretation of the law supersedes that of the judge.
You'd think that Bush would have more of a sense of obligation to the judicial branch of government, given that's who put him in the presidency. He is tearing apart the Constitution.
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It gets more surreal daily: Operation TIPS to America's Most Wanted
Operation TIPS is getting more surreal all the time. Salon is reporting (in its subscribers only section) that when its reporter who had signed up to be a TIPster called the Department of Justice TIPS line, his phone call was transferred to a receptionist at "America's Most Wanted", who told him "We've been asked to take the FBI's TIPS calls for them."
I am flabbergasted - I can't think of anything to add to this story.
The ACLU put out a press release with more of the details of the story, for those who aren't Salon subscribers. Their commentary:
"This is like retaining Arthur Andersen to do all of the SEC's accounting," said Rachel King, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. "It's a completely inappropriate and frightening intermingling of government power and the private sector. What's next - the government hires Candid Camera to do its video surveillance?"
Tip o' the hat to the mighty snoops at Strangelove, where I saw this first. I suspect it will be all over the net by tomorrow.
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The people don't need to know how to protect themselves - it would only scare them
The Washington Post, in a brilliant piece of reporting, reveals how the Bush administration has been reluctant to provide concrete advice for what to do in case of a terrorist attack, because "elected officials also calculated that asking the public to make specific preparations at home would undercut the political message that government is doing everything that can be done." In the meantime of course, the adminstration has been preparing themselves and congress."On Capitol Hill, even as the government avoids recommending filtered breathing masks for private citizens, Harman of California said, "Our office was counseled to use them when opening the mail." ...In bags delivered to each office, the sergeant-at-arms provided enough hooded masks to protect every member of the Senate and the House and their staffs. Required Reading.
This is an extreme version of Bush's general attitude that "people don't need to know." The arrogance of it makes me furious. I hope they roast in the press for this.
The Washington Post has prepared their own preparedness guide, which pops up from the article, and Senator Bill Frist has also published a book, Every Moment Counts, which is excerpted online. Apparently there are a few simple things that one can do that would cost less than $10 which might well save your life in the case of a biological or chemical attack
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Bay Area: Opportunity to show Cheney what you think on Aug 7
I don't much believe in the efficaciousness of protests, but I thought that I would pass this one on. Global Exchange is calling for a protest of Dick Cheney's visit to SF. Sounds like it might be fun, except for the hour.
PROTEST DICK CHENEY'S VISIT TO SF
When? Wednesday, Aug. 7th, 7:30 A.M. (Yes, that's A.M.)
Where? Fairmont Hotel, California & Mason, San Francisco
Why? Because he's a corporate crook, cooking the books while CEO of
Halliburton. Because he wants to drag us into a war with Iraq. Because
he and his energy buddies bilked California of billions.
The SF Mime Troupe's Dick Cheney II, a.k.a. El Holmes, will be holding
a people's press conference so come with your questions about Cheney's
misdeeds!
If you're into dressing up, come as a journalist, or perhaps a "Friend
of Cheney", i.e. your favorite corporate criminal. Or you can be part
of an angry mob calling for Cheney's arrest with signs like "Wanted:
Dick Cheney - The Corporate Crook".
Let's make our point and have some fun at the same time!
For information or suggestions of other ideas, contact Global Exchange at
peace@globalexchange.org or 415-575-5555.
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© Copyright 2002 Tim Bishop aka Geodog.
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