On July 17th Bush issued an
Executive Order "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq". It has passed relatively quietly under the radar, but may be the biggest assault on our civil liberties and the constitution to date. If this doesn't frighten and mobilize people to immediate action, then the responsibility lies with us and we deserve the consequences.
This presidential executive order is unique in that it criminalizes free speech and expression of thought for anyone who "in their opinion threatens the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq", or who "undermines efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq". How many times have we heard the Bush administration accuse Democrats of threatening the stability in Iraq in response to public speeches and written editorials? It's almost a daily occurrence. (Don’t you have to have stability to threaten it? Ooops sorry, didn't mean to interject any logic here)Particular clauses in the executive order are not directed at people who support violent acts, they clearly are meant to suppress free speech and the expression of ideas on Iraq that are not aligned with theirs.
This executive order is particularly dangerous since the determination of a violation won't be made by an impartial jury, but by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. Translation, anyone on the right with connections to the Bush administration who wants to punish someone for their political views can have that person's property seized. It's also worth noting that the property seizures can be done with "no advance notice" whatsoever.
As his days in office dwindle, Bush is acting more and more like a wounded animal painted into a corner, but with his fangs intact. I fully expect to see more of these egregious attacks on our constitutional rights and the comfortably numb American people better hit the panic button now before it's too late.
On July 17th Bush issued an Executive Order "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq". It has passed relatively quietly under the radar, but may be the biggest assault on our civil liberties and the constitution to date. If this doesn't frighten and mobilize people to immediate action, then the responsibility lies with us and we deserve the consequences.
This presidential executive order is unique in that it criminalizes free speech and expression of thought for anyone who "in their opinion threatens the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq", or who "undermines efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq". How many times have we heard the Bush administration accuse Democrats of threatening the stability in Iraq in response to public speeches and written editorials? It's almost a daily occurrence. (Don’t you have to have stability to threaten it? Ooops sorry, didn't mean to interject any logic here)Particular clauses in the executive order are not directed at people who support violent acts, they clearly are meant to suppress free speech and the expression of ideas on Iraq that are not aligned with theirs.
This executive order is particularly dangerous since the determination of a violation won't be made by an impartial jury, but by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. Translation, anyone on the right with connections to the Bush administration who wants to punish someone for their political views can have that person's property seized. It's also worth noting that the property seizures can be done with "no advance notice" whatsoever.
As his days in office dwindle, Bush is acting more and more like a wounded animal painted into a corner, but with his fangs intact. I fully expect to see more of these egregious attacks on our constitutional rights and the comfortably numb American people better hit the panic button now before it's too late.
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