Note: I’m moving this up because the Journal published it 7/3/06 and I think it says something about freedom and independence in America today. peace, mjh
In so very many matters these days, reactions are binary. You see black, I see white. You say yes, I say no. Worse, the notion of “let’s agree to disagree” is long gone. I’m right and you are not only wrong, you are an idiot without morals. Or vice versa.
So, it is no surprise that some people think the Bush Administration should do absolutely anything it deems necessary to fight the War Without End: spy, arrest, torture — anything. Similarly, it is no surprise that some people find these “cures” worse than the disease.
The latest installment in this is the program involving sifting through financial transactions looking for something. To some, this is a no-brainer, to others, this is intrusive. More importantly, it is just one more example of a President who believes he has no limits so long as he’s “protecting” us like a Big Brother.
To tell you the truth, I don’t really care about this latest assault. I rather doubt any of my financial transactions rise to the level of notice. If Bush wants to spy on rich people, he has my blessings. I doubt they’ll tolerate it for long.
What troubles me is the Radical Right’s tactic of shooting the messenger. To the Radical Right, the discussion is not about civil liberties or even appropriate tactics in the War Without End, it’s about treason — the New York Times has committed treason in revealing these details, as the Washington Post committed treason in revealing our CIA prisons, etc.
You and I cannot agree or disagree on something kept secret from us. Nor can we have any intelligent debate if we reduce it all to a matter of treason.
Secrecy is unavoidable in all human matters. However, secrecy is a great tool of totalitarianism, as is a populace that wants to be kept safe and in the dark and is willing to destroy anyone who wants things discussed in the open. mjh
Press Secretary Tony Snow followed up with another attack at today’s press briefing:
[T]he New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public’s right to know in some cases might override somebody’s right to live, and whether in fact the publications of these could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans.
Think Progress » Rep. King: NYT Reporters Should Be Charged Under Espionage Act
Rep. Peter King (R-NY): [N]o one elected the New York Times to do anything. And the New York Times is putting its own arrogant elitest left wing agenda before the interests of the American people, and I’m calling on the Attorney General to begin a criminal investigation and prosecution of the New York Times — its reporters, the editors who worked on this, and the publisher. We’re in a time of war, Chris, and what they’ve done has violated the Espionage Act, the COMINT act.
GOP Measure Slams NYT for Bank Story By Ben Pershing, Roll Call Staff
The House will vote on a resolution today or Thursday that is expected to criticize The New York Times for its recent disclosure of the government’s secret use of information from a massive international finance network to fight terrorism.
[MSNBC’s Hardball Chris] MATTHEWS: Let me ask you Melanie, do you really mean treason? You mean put them in jail for life? I don’t know what treason carries as a sanction, but I assume the penalties are incredible severe, 20 years perhaps.
[radio talk show host Melanie] MORGAN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: You are saying to put Bill Keller and his associates in prison for 20 years?
MORGAN: Absolutely. I am absolutely advocating that. What has happened is shameful If he’s the one that is ultimately responsible for making this decision. …
When you break the law, you break the law. And the press, the media in this country have to learn one thing. They have to operate under the same laws and the same rules and regulations that all of the rest of the American people do.
Piling On the New York Times With a Scoop By Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer
Even by modern standards of media-bashing, the volume of vitriol being heaped upon the editors on Manhattan’s West 43rd Street is remarkable — especially considering that the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal also published accounts Friday of a secret administration program to monitor the financial transactions of terror suspects. So, in its later editions, did The Washington Post. …
[R]arely if ever has any White House mounted such a sustained public campaign against a single news organization. And a vast array of pundits on the right have responded by escalating their rhetoric.
Heather MacDonald, writing in the Weekly Standard, called the Times “a national security threat” that is “drunk” on its own power. …
Despite the stories that appeared in competing papers, the New York Times is still bearing the brunt of the criticism at the White House, on Capitol Hill and throughout the media world.