A Bad Day for the Shrub

It was supposed to have gone so well, the day after the Iraqi elections with seventy percent turnout and little violence. I'm sure the Shrub went to bed all smug last night thinking, Friday, December 16th will be a good day.

Then the New York Times, so battered by Plamegate, gave us another revelation into the Shrub's true power-hungry, arrogant nature by publishing the story that Bush had given the National Security Agency illegal permission to spy on American citizens within the country. According to the Administration, the efforts were narrowly targeted. I guess that means we have hundreds potential terrorists in the country because supposedly at any given time 500 or more of us have had our phones tapped without judicial oversight or suspicion of any crime for the past three years. Yes, this wasn't an isolated incident but a pattern of criminal espionage against United States citizens.

High crimes and misdemeanors, anyone? Nixon resigned over less.

Of course, we can probably thank the Times for delaying publication for over a year at Administration request (delaying story of criminal conduct by the White House for a year at whose request?). Their timing was perfect to influence the vote on the greatest infringement on American civil liberties since, well, the greatest infringement ever, the USA Patriot Act. Sixteen provisions of the law will sunset on December 30th, meaning your library and ISP records are safe now from intrusion by the FBI based on a whim. In a Republican temper tantrum, leaders of the Senate refused to hear a Democratic offer to extend the act by three months for further debate. In fact, Frist, in one of the grossest mischaracterizations I've heard, found it strange that the very members filibustering the bill were those who wanted to extend it by three months. Bill, it's called an opportunity for honest debate and compromise in balancing the civil liberties of Americans, something you Republicans seem to have forgotten in your lust for power, against national security. Frist called the filibuster a strategy of retreat and defeat. To me, that more aptly seems to describe his own behavior in refusing an honest offer of a compromise so he can go down in flames but still in charge.

The President's authorization of espionage against Americans is one of the best arguments against renewing the Patriot Act. If you give them power, they will take it and if they take it, they will misuse it.