Bush Leaves Legacy of Orwellianism

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent . . . the greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding."
Olmstead vs. United States,
United States Supreme Court, 1928
Justice Louis Brandeis

Since the founding of the United States, government officials have been seeking to get around that darn Bill of Rights. "Think how much good we could do, how much crime we could eliminate, how much tax money we could generate, if only we were allowed to spy on regular citizens without search warrants and court approval." "We don't want to by-pass the Constitution for regular citizens, just for criminals."

On September 11, 2001, a group of towel-heads caught us with our pants down and pulled off a brilliantly conceived plan, shocking our nation. Less than 3,000 deaths made us so afraid that we decided to disregard the sacrifice of millions of military men who died to protect our freedom. Congress and the Bush Administration saw an opening and they charged through it, blasting a hole in our Bill of Rights that will never be repaired. They rammed the Patriot Act through the legislative process in record time.

I am sure the Patriot Act has helped stop a few terrorists. But the Patriot Act has accomplished what Osama Bin Laden never could have. It has poured a truckload of K Y Jelly on the slippery slope. The first "terrorist" caught using Patriot Act shortcuts was Las Vegas strip club owner Michael Gilardi. Then they caught a few kiddie porn distributors. Surely no one could argue that the Patriot Act should not be used to shut down this evil. The precedent was set. If the Feds use the Patriot Act to bypass the fourth amendment and they find evidence of a crime, then they are going forward with prosecution and the courts are going to support them.

9-11 was a blip on the radar screen. Yes, it was horrible. But in the end, Bin Laden may have accomplished more destruction than knocking down a few buildings. He succeded in giving the government what it has wanted for over 200 years, a way around the constitution.

Note to Readers: I voted for George Bush twice. I also worked very hard in the 1980's and 1990's to help elect conservative legislators. Sorry 'bout that! Only voting for protectors of liberty from now on. Sorry Democrats.