George Bush and his squadrons of robotized flying monkeys once again reveal their moral and intellectual corruption to all who dare to look his medusa in the face. After the New York Times revealed that Bush had ordered the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans without a prior warrant - itself a criminal act - his Justice Department undertook an investigation, not into the president's criminal wrongdoing, but to find out who revealed it to the media. Bush twisted himself into a self-righteous knot and labeled such revelation a "shameful act" that violates "national security" and "helps our enemies." As prior presidents have made quite clear, it is a threat to "national security" for Americans to discover that the government is engaged in criminal activities!
The plea that such a disclosure "helps our enemies" is most revealing. In the first place, it is not even clear who the purported "enemy" is. George Bush long ago declared that he is no longer interested in the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 cause celebre that precipitated America's romance with empire, unrestrained warfare, and dictatorial power. If there are any real terrorists out there - beyond those working on behalf of the US government - I suspect that they are clever enough to have figured out - without the help of New York Times' reporting - that their communications are already being monitored by the state. I cannot imagine one such terrorist saying to another: "hey, Abdul, the New York Times says the government is eavesdropping on us. We'd better not coordinate our plans over the telephone anymore."
Who, then, is the "enemy" who ought not be informed of the government's criminal and moral wrongdoings? Pogo Possum revealed the identity of these hostile forces more than half a century ago: "they is us!" George Bush, along with his many arm-banded supporters, know full well that there is no greater threat to their "security" than people who are both aware of and unwilling to tolerate governmental wrongs. On at least three occasions even prior to 9/11, George Bush has openly expressed his predilections for "a dictatorship," a system that "would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
The Justice Department, along with Bush's conservative toadies in Congress and the media, are responding as one would expect of the defenders of any autocratic system: to them, it is a criminal offense to reveal that the president has engaged in a criminal offense! The "enemy" (i.e., the American people) might then start questioning not only their rulers, but the very nature of politics! In the cause of despotism, it "would be a heck of a lot easier" for the state to criminalize truth-telling. One prominent conservative columnist has suggested that the "whistleblower" is really a "traitor." Jawohl!
