The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Monday, June 26, 2006
A Seven-count Indictment of the NYT; What happens next is up to US
Legal scholar Henry Mark Holzer, author of Keeper of the Flame, a superb book about the Supreme Court decisions of Justice Clarence Thomas, has written a Seven-count Indictment of the New York Times, including Treason. This indictment is Definitely worth the read (check out the entire Indictment here), however I could not help but be discouraged by the concluding paragraphs:
The Justice Department has already initiated a criminal investigation into the leak of the NSA program, focusing on which government employees may have broken the law. But the government is contending with hundreds of national-security leaks, and progress is uncertain at best. The real question that an intrepid prosecutor in the Justice Department should be asking is whether, in the aftermath of September 11, we as a nation can afford to permit the reporters and editors of a great newspaper to become the unelected authority that determines for all of us what is a legitimate secret and what is not. Like the Constitution itself, the First Amendment’s protections of freedom of the press are not a suicide pact. The laws governing what the Times have done are perfectly clear; will they be enforced?
I fear not—unless there is a hue and cry from American patriots loud enough to make President George W. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales remember the solemn oaths of office they took. Perhaps then those like Jane Fonda and The New York Times, who self righteously wrap themselves in the flag while contributing to the destruction of what it represents, will deservedly have to defend charges under the treason and espionage statutes of the United States of America.
I cannot help but agree with this assessment. For whatever reason, this President--the same man who stood on that pile of rubble; the man who told the world "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists"; who then proceeded to take ACTION on those words; who served notice in Afghanistan and Iraq that the United States will no longer go quietly into that good night--this man who stood up to the entire world, against the current of the UN lackeys and world press suddenly seems to be terrified of taking on the one enemy who has done as much damage to our country than has all of the intelligence efforts of Al Qaeda combined: the New York Times and the leakers in his own government. If the President and Attorney General won't step up to the plate for our men and women whose lives are on the line, who will? Who knows, riding on this decision could be the difference between losing soldiers, or more innocents, or entire population centers. And for what? The New York Times? For a bunch of seditious journalists and the leakers who betrayed their solemn oath to protect our country? Not if I--and you--can help it.
It is time to apply pressure: Write to the President and encourage him to be strong and face this challenge head on. Same for the Attormey General. Flood the Congress with email and letter, call in to talk shows, write letter to the editors of newspapers; and BLOG: to get the President to move it may take a blogswarm of epic proportions--I'm talking about Rathergate, Swift Boats proportions. We can do this folks. It is time to pump up the volume--and LOUD--until these traitors are locked up for good. These are real-life Enemies of the State. We will lose many more casualties--and possibly even the War itself--unless the leaks are stopped now. I fear it is up to us.
The Justice Department has already initiated a criminal investigation into the leak of the NSA program, focusing on which government employees may have broken the law. But the government is contending with hundreds of national-security leaks, and progress is uncertain at best. The real question that an intrepid prosecutor in the Justice Department should be asking is whether, in the aftermath of September 11, we as a nation can afford to permit the reporters and editors of a great newspaper to become the unelected authority that determines for all of us what is a legitimate secret and what is not. Like the Constitution itself, the First Amendment’s protections of freedom of the press are not a suicide pact. The laws governing what the Times have done are perfectly clear; will they be enforced?
I fear not—unless there is a hue and cry from American patriots loud enough to make President George W. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales remember the solemn oaths of office they took. Perhaps then those like Jane Fonda and The New York Times, who self righteously wrap themselves in the flag while contributing to the destruction of what it represents, will deservedly have to defend charges under the treason and espionage statutes of the United States of America.
I cannot help but agree with this assessment. For whatever reason, this President--the same man who stood on that pile of rubble; the man who told the world "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists"; who then proceeded to take ACTION on those words; who served notice in Afghanistan and Iraq that the United States will no longer go quietly into that good night--this man who stood up to the entire world, against the current of the UN lackeys and world press suddenly seems to be terrified of taking on the one enemy who has done as much damage to our country than has all of the intelligence efforts of Al Qaeda combined: the New York Times and the leakers in his own government. If the President and Attorney General won't step up to the plate for our men and women whose lives are on the line, who will? Who knows, riding on this decision could be the difference between losing soldiers, or more innocents, or entire population centers. And for what? The New York Times? For a bunch of seditious journalists and the leakers who betrayed their solemn oath to protect our country? Not if I--and you--can help it.
It is time to apply pressure: Write to the President and encourage him to be strong and face this challenge head on. Same for the Attormey General. Flood the Congress with email and letter, call in to talk shows, write letter to the editors of newspapers; and BLOG: to get the President to move it may take a blogswarm of epic proportions--I'm talking about Rathergate, Swift Boats proportions. We can do this folks. It is time to pump up the volume--and LOUD--until these traitors are locked up for good. These are real-life Enemies of the State. We will lose many more casualties--and possibly even the War itself--unless the leaks are stopped now. I fear it is up to us.
