Al Gore


Fear vs freedom

Describing himself as a "recovering politician" Al Gore gave a speech Sunday that listed how the Bush administration has used the fear of terrorism to erode civil liberties and due process in the United States. He ended by calling for the repeal of the Patriot Act.

Here is the New York Times account.

I read a transcript of the speech on Steve Crandall's weblog tingilinde. Then I watched and listened to CSPAN's video coverage.

I've never been so impressed by Gore. It was a strong, detailed condemnation that gave one reason after another why the Bush tactics harm both civil rights and security.

In a related development the US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba are entitled to access civilian courts. Bush has claimed the authority to hold "enemy combatants" indefinitely without court review and his administration had even argued against the Supreme Court taking up the issue, saying it belonged solely to the executive branch of government.

Posted: Tue - November 11, 2003 at 12:57 PM          

©