Police State

Ok, maybe the title is a little over-blown... or maybe not.

I just ran across this article that describes how the rules governing investigations for the FBI may be changed to make it presumably more efficient at combating terrorism. Now, I don't typically believe in conspiracy stories, and although I know America has done many heinous things, I still believe that we are one of the greatest countries on the earth. But, our greatness has come from our understanding that power corrupts and therefore, not even our beloved government should be trusted. This was the beauty behind the founding of this country and our constitution. It ensured that power was balanced and everyone was watched.

During the Bush years we have witnessed a death of a 1001, small cuts and a few large ones. These cuts take power from the people and grant them to the government and more specifically to the executive branch. This article is yet another one that I find deeply troubling.

You see, according to the fundamentals of our laws, I have a state- and god-given right to live happily and peaceably. Partly this is governed by my rights against unreasonable search and seizure. However, the FBI is considering to change the rules such that they can open investigations that potentially allows them into our lives no reason at all other than they don't like how we live our lives. But this is OK because after all... these are terrorists right? NO!!! These rule inevitably get used in unforeseen ways to meet the needs of every person in the chain of command. So without a clear definition of what is a terrorist (and an independent body to authorize the investigations), these rules will certainly be used to compile investigations on political rivals or anyone else.

I feel like I'm rambling so I'll just end by reminding everyone of how another, recent FBI tool that was granted to help fight terrorism has already been perverted according to their own internal investigation to trample on the rights of everyday citizens. The biggest legacy of George Bush will be how he destroyed the perception of what it means to be American.