UPDATE III: John Cafferty unplugged, slams Bush on “dictatorship.”
UPDATE II: You knew this was coming. I've been waiting for it for weeks. A new article in The Nation entitled, THE NEW JOHN KERRY. Berman gets it right: “Call it the Al Gore Effect.” …also see Kerry's piece on “affordable health care” today for KnightRidder. AND… Thanks to reader Pamela, who offers the link to Kerry's full speech. It's worth your time.
UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald weighs in.
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| Ex-NSA Chief blasts wiretaps. Also see DefenseTech. |
John Kerry has posted a barn burner of a read over on DailyKos.
This is what we should be talking about today. It is simply the most pressing
issue of our day and Kerry nails the bottom line. What are we going to do about
it?
We've got a government run by people who hold themselves above the law —
in the way they not only treat prisoners in Abu Ghraib, but assert unchecked
power to spy on American citizens.We know the consequences. We witnessed the CIA being bullied by the Rumsfeld
Pentagon and the Cheney White House into shredding its credibility with unfounded
claims of “slam dunk” evidence for mythical weapons of mass destruction
in Iraq.But where's the insistence that – after having lives lost to this abuse of
power and more lives on the line – we're going to demand an accountability
moment?Now that the President has tapped the chief defender of his warrantless
wiretapping program to become CIA Director, what are we going to do about
the nomination of Michael Hayden to head this wayward agency? … … …When
Is Enough Really Enough?
Senator John Kerry (read the whole post)
Peter
Daou offers more in his Salon premium piece that brings forth the bottom
line.
When will this administration's overreach attain crisis-level attention?
Will it simply be another blogswarm and a few days of scattered coverage?
Will OJ Simpson and Natalee Holloway and Michael Jackson and Bush's rehashed
speeches be the only items that receive roadblock coverage on the cable nets?
Will Dem leaders step up and say “enough!” Will so-called 'conservatives'
draw a line in the sand?Once again, I have my doubts.
There is good reason for doubt, because the American people have done nothing
so far.
John Kerry issues a rallying cry. Here's more of what he had to say, but please
take the time to read
Kerry's whole post. It's spectacular.
But something far more fundamental is out of whack in Washington. Every day
we learn something new about this Administration's attitude – and too many
people greet each story with a yawn as we learn that President Bush has announced
he can disobey more than 750 laws enacted on his watch. Since when do we accept
that any President has the power to set aside statutes passed by Congress
when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution?We're dealing with a group of people who believe our traditional values are
a luxury we can no longer afford. That's the Bush-Cheney Doctrine – under
which we can't foreswear the fool's gold of information secured by torturing
prisoners, under which we need to create a shadow justice system with no rules
and no transparency, under which unwarranted secrecy and illegal spying are
now absolute imperatives of our national security and those who question the
abuse of power question America itself.These guys believe in their guts that executive powers trump the
constitutional doctrine of separation of powers and smearing administration
critics is not only permissible, but necessary-and revealing the identity
of a CIA agent is an acceptable means to hide the truth.I know one thing – we can't defeat the Bush Cheney Doctrine if we're
not crystal clear that it's wrong and we will not tolerate it any longer.
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