Saturday, December 17, 2005

Is it Patriotism?

President Bush complained that the Senators who opposed the renewal of the USA Patriot Act are "acting irresponsibly and standing in the way of protecting the country from attack," today in his weekly radio address. You remember the Patriot Act, the Act that authorizes, inter alia, officials to arrest and detain people for looking suspiciously like terrorists (read: looking Middle Eastern). This act has the effect of stifling individual liberties in the name of defense, the Government's looking out for our best interests.

I don't believe that opposing the Patriot Act is irresponsible, and I think that suggesting otherwise carries the hint of McCarthy-ist sentiments. Senators who oppose the Patriot Act can do so freely, and should not have to bear veiled threats of being anti-american from our Uniter, not Divider president.

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