In his weekly radio address yesterday, George W. Bush admitted that he had authorized secret surveillance on Americans without judicial oversight. Then he condemned the press for leaking that information, saying that the release of that information posed a threat to our security.
Well, George, so does outing a covert CIA agent.
Bush vowed to continue spying on us. He said it's for our own good. But if it's so justifiable, as Bush alleges, why is he so afraid of judicial oversight?
Then, in the same address, Bush criticized the Senate for voting against renewal of key PATRIOT Act provisions that are set to expire at the end of this year. They, too, according to Bush (Mr. "bring 'em on"), are jeopardizing our security.
No, it's not about our security. It's about unbridled power for Bush and Gonzales, with no accountability.
They want the power to do whatever they want to without judicial oversight, without the checks and balances that our founding fathers recognized as necessary in a democracy.
In a democracy, the government derives its power from the consent of the governed. But we can't consent if we don't know what's going on because they're acting in secret.
So what does that say about the state of our democracy?
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