Wolf in the Fold

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
-Preamble to the Constitution for the United States of America

Did I go through some interdimensional, parallel-universe accident on the Starship Enterprise overnight, or something? I seem to recall when I went to bed only a few nights ago, there still were terrorists who had promised to cause all manner of mayhem and death to our country -- and, indeed, much of the free world -- and we were supposed to be doing everything in our power to stop them from succeeding. After all, our own formative document, the Constitution, was drafted to guarantee our government would “provide for the common defence”.

What happened?

Suddenly, the ACLU and a couple of other organizations have decided to sue the government to stop them from collecting sensitive defense data. One of those organizations is the radical Islamic group, CAIR, whose primary intent seems to be to undermine Constitutional powers of all our elected government branches, via specious lawsuits and veiled threats of same. We can only guess what their ultimate aim is. Naturally, Al Gore, too, felt it necessary to join the fray, and accuse the Bush Administration of breaking the law. Gore had no evidence, no actual support for his beliefs, yet he felt compelled to offer them. Yes, Al Gore -- the Will Riker of politics -- ever the bridesmaid, never the captain, always second-guessing his superiors. Albert Gore, erstwhile presidential candidate, who has repeatedly chosen the coldest days on record in several cities to speak shrilly on the threat of global warming, and Albert Gore, erstwhile vice president in an administration rife with cases of domestic eavesdropping, warrantless searches, and other egregious domestic policy errors (cough Branch Davidians cough Elian Gonzales cough cough).

But Gore’s hypocrisy is not the point, here. The point is, out there are some very real threats to civilians, and it is the constitutional responsibility of the President of the United States, as Commander in Chief of our military, to defend us from those threats. The National Security Agency (NSA)was created for that purpose, and the greater part of their job is the continued gathering of intelligence on our enemies. The ACLU, Gore, and the Democrats who are ranting against this “domestic wiretapping scandal” are trying to say that our President lacks the right to do what is necessary -- and wholly legal -- to defend this country against future attacks. They’re saying, sure, President Bush is constitutionally required to defend us all, therefore Congress gave him the right to wage war -- but only a reactive one. He isn’t permitted to do what he can to prevent attacks, by having us listen in on telephone conversations from al Qaeda to its agents, unless the phone calls have absolutely zero ties to America. Even if all the calls do is go through American switchboards, the NSA isn’t supposed to be listening as the terrorists discuss how to most effectively blow up civilian “infidels”.

Why not just activate the self-destruct sequence on this starship and be done with it?

Four years ago, everybody was demanding answers to why our government didn’t “connect the dots” in order to prevent 9/11 from occurring. The dots are out there. Lots of dots are on cellphones the NSA had been monitoring. As one individual has said, online, “you have to collect the dots before you can connect the dots.” That’s the job of the NSA. And without the capability of doing that, not only can we not connect dots, but we won’t be able to use the military defense systems to save us. Good intelligence saves lives, but -- dots be hanged -- politically hamstringing the current president is a more important goal for some than is national security.

People like Al Gore, the ACLU, and CAIR seem determined to stop our government from doing its job, at any cost. If they succeed at even the smallest level, something must have gone horribly wrong with the holodeck.



Recommended reading: TigerHawk, CNN.com - Transcripts Max Boot, and, for fun, HappyFunPundit and The World of Star Trek
Update, Friday:Debbie Schlussel has some interesting things to offer on some of the litigants in the ACLU suit in Michigan. (HT: Michelle Malkin)