Surprise! George W. Bush picked a loyal right-wing law enforcement officer to head the Department of Homeland Security. Michael Chertoff used to be a federal prosecutor before Bush appointed him as federal appeals court judge. Chertoff was also deeply involved in Federal prosecutions following 9/11 and a strong advocate for the elimination of civil liberties under Bush's Patriot Act.
So now the guy in charge of making all feel more secure at home is going to be a lawyer who has no qualms arresting and prosecuting those who disagree with the government. Meanwhile the Attorney General is likely to be the lawyer who advised Bush to go ahead and jail forever people when you don't have enough evidence to convict them and cannot manage to torture a confession out of them.
First Bush came for the terrorists, but since none of us were terrorists, we did not speak out. Then he came for the "enemy combatants," but since we didn't know any enemy combatants, we did not object. And even last summer, when they came for the protestors resisting "free speech zones" near Bush campaign rallies, we only voiced mild objection.
How long will it be before they come for someone we know, and then for the rest of us?
Associated Press - Bush Picks Ex-Prosecutor for Homeland Post
No comments:
Post a Comment