The War on Terror = The War on Drugs
Remember those commercials after 9/11 implying that the $50 you give your local dealer eventually ends up in the hands of Osama Bin Laden? (Are there really no domestic producers of illicit drugs or were these ads just encouraging kids to "but American"?)
As it turns out, the War on Terror and the War on Drugs are more connected than it may have appeared at first glance. Or, at least that is the case as it relates to the granting and execution of "Sneak-and-Peek" warrants (the ones that allow law enforcement agents to rifle through your stuff without letting you know that they have done so).
In the recently uncovered plot to dig a drug smuggling tunnel from Canada, federal officials used a Sneak-and-Peek warrant to help crack the case.
Sneak-and-Peek warrants were authorized in the USA PATRIOT Act for the War on Terror, not the War on Drugs. Have the two wars merged and Bushco just forgot to tell us?
I never thought I'd say this, but here are some wise words on the subject from David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union (yes this is the group that wants to renominate Robert Bork for the Supreme Court):
"What we've learned from history is that if we grant powers that can be abused, they will eventually be abused or misused or used in other ways," Keene said.
He's probably never been so right. The USA PATRIOT Act grants too much power to any Administration. No one should be inspecting your reading habits without a warrant or putting you under surveillance without letting you know. These abuses can be turned against an innocent victim as easily as they can a so-called "terrorist." Remember Brandon Mayfield?
I would guess that most readers are all for putting criminals behind bars. But it is not OK to trample on our Fourth Amendment rights to do it. If we do not speak up now, then when? Which right is next?
For more information on the dangers of the USA PATRIOT Act, click here.
As it turns out, the War on Terror and the War on Drugs are more connected than it may have appeared at first glance. Or, at least that is the case as it relates to the granting and execution of "Sneak-and-Peek" warrants (the ones that allow law enforcement agents to rifle through your stuff without letting you know that they have done so).
In the recently uncovered plot to dig a drug smuggling tunnel from Canada, federal officials used a Sneak-and-Peek warrant to help crack the case.
Sneak-and-Peek warrants were authorized in the USA PATRIOT Act for the War on Terror, not the War on Drugs. Have the two wars merged and Bushco just forgot to tell us?
I never thought I'd say this, but here are some wise words on the subject from David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union (yes this is the group that wants to renominate Robert Bork for the Supreme Court):
"What we've learned from history is that if we grant powers that can be abused, they will eventually be abused or misused or used in other ways," Keene said.
He's probably never been so right. The USA PATRIOT Act grants too much power to any Administration. No one should be inspecting your reading habits without a warrant or putting you under surveillance without letting you know. These abuses can be turned against an innocent victim as easily as they can a so-called "terrorist." Remember Brandon Mayfield?
I would guess that most readers are all for putting criminals behind bars. But it is not OK to trample on our Fourth Amendment rights to do it. If we do not speak up now, then when? Which right is next?
For more information on the dangers of the USA PATRIOT Act, click here.
posted by Anonymous at 11:06 AM
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