CRY ME A DAMNED RIVER

THERE ARE MANY RIVERS TO CROSS before we get to the dance of the damned where demagogues again appeal to fear while they condemn those who lament the loss of liberty. Bush is still president and Rudy Giuliani would like to be.  If there are two men who have milked the sad cow of September Eleventh more, somebody tell me please.

WHEN THE MILKING IS DONE we will still have our tears, perhaps finally dry.  We have seen a river of tears running along the Hudson.  We have seen a river of woe along the Potomac.  We have known true patriots who defend rather than attack.  We know who cries true for lost soldiers and lost liberty. We have seen enough of lost soldiers to know a river of tears will not wash them back.  We will not be governed by demagogues who say they defend liberty, but then attack it when we turn our backs.

THE PATRIOT IS SEEN in the word and in the act and scoundrels are as well. A president who thinks he shouldn’t have to take the time to get a warrant before he can spy on you now says no time may be lost. The Patriot Act must be approved . . . so we can spy on you.  The Senate as a legislative body is but meant to approve the emperor's dicutms.

Yet a minority of senators filibustered to block the renewal of the Patriot Act when it came up for a vote yesterday. That decision is irresponsible, and it endangers the lives of our citizens. The senators who are filibustering must stop their delaying tactics, and the Senate must vote to reauthorize the Patriot Act. In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment.

WE HAVE EACH had our single moment of sadness that goes on forever more within. Bush says we can’t wait until our enemies from without strike again. The Patriot Act Giuliani says was carefully considered was voted on without debate.  The fool is quick to judge while the tongue of the wise will let his words wait. Bush must think us fools, as though we don’t know the law.

AT LEAST BUSH MENTIONED the law, the law he didn’t respect when he decided laws mean nothing if you are a war time president.   It is hard to figure what Bush seeks to remind us of more to scare us, that we are at war, or that he is president.  He’s a war president. Damn it.

To fight the war on terror, I am using authority vested in me by Congress, including the Joint Authorization for Use of Military Force, which passed overwhelmingly in the first week after September the 11th. I'm also using constitutional authority vested in me as Commander-in-Chief.
In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations.

SOME MIGHT OFFER a message to Bush as we step lively in our dance of the damned. The demagogue should know: Just because you say it doesn’t make it so.  Warrantless searches and spying are not consistent with U.S. law nor with the Constitution. We the people deserve better and it’s time you remembered that people don’t forget.  We have cried a river of tears for the lost and drowned in your rhetoric, your duplicity and bad faith. I would not tell you to cry me a river and tell you to drown in that damned river for all your lame protest, but others less patient just might. And they might tell Giuliani the viper Il Douchebag to go to hell too.

MORE ON BUSH AND SPYING
OOPS, HE’D DO IT AGAIN Only unamerican activities can save America, folks. Bush sounds like a little boy unappreciated.

Appearing angry at points during his eight-minute address, Bush said he had reauthorized the program more than 30 times since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and plans to continue doing so.
"I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al-Qaida and related groups," he said.

THE HERETIK NOTES COMMANDER IN CHIEF, war forever, spying forever, President challenged. And he’s angry.  Bush does not get it.

Reacting to Bush's defense of the NSA program, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said the president's remarks were "breathtaking in how extreme they were."
Feingold said it was "absurd" that Bush said he relied on his inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps.
"If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act because he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for," Feingold told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The president had harsh words for those who talked about the program to the media, saying their actions were illegal and improper.
"As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have," he said. "The unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk."

SO THE QUESTION IS who is the enemy? And who is putting our citizens at risk? Those questions remain for us to answer. When Bush was done with his Saturday radio address, he took no questions.

STILL MORE ON the question Bush looks less and less likely to answer.
NY TIMES ASKS the question today: But Mr. Bush did not address the main question directed at him by some members of Congress on Friday: why he felt it necessary to circumvent the system established under current law, which allows the president to seek emergency warrants, in secret, from the court that oversees intelligence operations. His critics said that under that law, the administration could have obtained the same information.

THE HERETIK ASKED the same question two days ago.

RELATED HERETIK POST Inherent BS
ALSO SEE Does He Know He Isn't King ?

Comments

[Neil Shakespeare]

Jesus, H., that is one frightening graphic! Looks like Voldemort from those Hairy Peter movies.

[blogenfreude]

Ghouliani ... sucks more blood of the living than Novakula.

[Kate S.]

Very good, Joe. Well stated. I rely on you and your writing talents, often, to speak for me. I'm still finding my voice.

And hearty congratulations on your nominations! You deserve an award for all the hard work you have put in. America is better for your conscientious spirit.

[Night Bird]

The terrorists seek to destroy our civil liberties??
Huh? I don't get that.

[Diane]

When Giuliani was mayor, there were 26 or 27 civil liberties cases filed against him. He lost all of them.

[The Heretik]

Rudy has a dark side that will come out. His dreams of a presidential nomination could turn into a nightmare if his civil rights record gets a good look. Also the Kerik connection is just begging for further investigation. How could Giuliani not have known what was going on there?

[Anita]

Giuliani lost ALL credibility as far as I am concerned when he was took on Merrill Lynch as a client to defend them against the Spitzer attacks, to prove they were good corporate citizens !! Ha !!