(A transcript of today's "Cup O' Joe Report" blogcast)
George W. Bush talks a lot about freedoms. He talks about how the terrorists hate our freedoms and about how important it is for us to bring the same kind of freedom we have in the United States to as many countries as possible. And we'll do it even if we have to bomb you back into the Stone Age. You'll get your freedom whether you like it or not.
Of course, George W. Bush's concept of freedom is very different from mine, at least in the sense of who gets to be free and who doesn't. In the world according to Bush, freedom means he and his pals get to do anything they want, and if anyone doesn't like it, tough. Why bother vetoing a law, for example, when all you have to do is sign it and then write a statement saying you'll ignore it. Since no one has seriously challenged this, the end result is that the law is what George W. Bush says it is.
It's no surprise to me that Bush behaves this way, in fact I would be surprised if he acted differently. He gets away with it is because the people with the power to stop him won't act, the activists have no power, and the rest of us are more interested in who wins American Idol. Two hundred thirty years ago, Patrick Henry said Give me liberty or give me death!. Now, we have Senator Pat Roberts arguing that we have to give up our liberties in order to be safe. We don't have any civil liberties if we're dead, he says. Ben Franklin said that people who give up their liberty for safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Smart boys, those Founding Fathers. Wish we had a few like them now.
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