This from today's NY Times:
"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggested on Thursday for the first time that the president might have the legal authority to order wiretapping without a warrant on communications between Americans that occur exclusively within the United States."
During the meeting, Rep. Adam Schiff stated that Mr. Gonzales' refusal to rule out domestic interceptions with a warrant, "represents a wholly unprecedented assertion of executive power. No one in Congress would deny the need to tap certain calls under court order, but if the administration believes it can tap purely domestic phone calls between Americans without court approval, there is no limit to executive power. This is contrary to settled law and the most basic constitutional principles of the separation of powers."
No matter the intentions of our president and his people, whether they honestly believe they are trying to keep us safe or they have a maniacal bent, the slow erosion of personal liberties scares the hell out of me. We are attempting to build a democracy in Iraq while we are dismanteling our own.
Our safety can be assured by using the framework of the Constitution. Our just laws are our beacon of light into an otherwise murky world. That light is being dimmed.
"Hey, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's goin' down."
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