Post by Steve Gardner on May 6, 2008 21:08:17 GMT
Now I've been moaning about the state of affairs in the US for some time. About how the War on Terror is a phoney war; about how US citizens are being taxed in order to line the pockets of corporate America; about how the US economy is in real danger of collapse; about the US administrations apparent attempt to re-write the Constitution; and so on.
Take a look at the comments made by Chertoff recently (emphasis mine). I think they're rather scary. I mean, to suggest that, once a law is enacted, citizens should lose the right to question the authorities interpretation of the law is... well, fascism.
He goes on to essentially argue that the people should give up their freedoms for security.
If this is path we're going to tread, we'd better make damn sure the threats we are said to face are real.
Source: Blacklisted News
Take a look at the comments made by Chertoff recently (emphasis mine). I think they're rather scary. I mean, to suggest that, once a law is enacted, citizens should lose the right to question the authorities interpretation of the law is... well, fascism.
He goes on to essentially argue that the people should give up their freedoms for security.
If this is path we're going to tread, we'd better make damn sure the threats we are said to face are real.
Source: Blacklisted News
At a speech before the Heritage Foundation this week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the U.S. needs to have a “nonpoliticized, serious discussion” while writing new laws to define the best way to combat terrorism.
Chertoff said that once laws are written, the public should not second-guess government actions and claim that federal officials are overstepping their authority. He decried critics who make such accusations, despite the widespread pubic calls after the September 11, 2001 attacks for the U.S. government to do more to protect the country. Chertoff further said U.S. society needs to come to a determination as to what are acceptable authorities for the U.S. government versus what violates people’s rights.
If the public limits what the government can do, it must accept that the risk of terrorist attacks may increase, he said. If the public gives the government greater authorities, it should not criticize the government for using those authorities at a later date.
Chertoff called U.S. laws “woefully inadequate” in the context of current technology. He said the most significant step American society needs to take is adapting laws to the 21st Century challenge of fighting terrorism. Changes in technology have created unique challenges for the government when it comes to intercepting communications, as well as collecting and analyzing information found in the public domain according to Chertoff.
