Salon has a piece on the increasing powers of secrecy wielded by the U.S. government, and the deterioration of important checks and balances in the system. The situation is bad enough now, but it will get worse if planned legislation is passed.
The secret society
Salon.com News
In the war on terror — and outside of it — the Bush administration is finding increasing latitude to operate with secrecy as the norm, and accountability the exception. Congress has handed the administration broad new powers without requiring it to account for their use, while courts have repeatedly granted the government the right to operate outside the public view and — at times — without any possibility of judicial review.
And if Attorney General John Ashcroft and Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch have their way, the situation may soon get much worse. Ashcroft’s Justice Department is apparently eyeing legislation — dubbed PATRIOT Act II — that would further expand the administration’s powers to act in unilateral silence. Meanwhile, Hatch is working to make PATRIOT Act I permanent now — it is currently set to expire in 2005 — before Congress can consider whether the Justice Department is making appropriate use of the broad surveillance powers provided by it.
Steven Aftergood, a researcher who monitors government secrecy issues for the Federation of American Scientists, calls Hatch’s proposal a “direct assault” on Congress’ ability to monitor the Justice Department. “If it goes through, we might as well go home,” he told Salon. “The administration will have whatever authority it wants, and there won’t be any separation of powers at all.”
The article doesn’t really cover much new, but it does offer a reminder that there is still time for Congress to temper the excesses of the Bush administration. This will only happen if members of Congress have the support of their constituents. Now is the time to contact your representatives to let them know how you feel about the direction Bush is taking the country.
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hello
i this a secret cult ?