Today there are reasons to criticize the actions of the governor and president.
First on Gov. Bill Richardson: The Albuquerque Journal revealed today that
It appears likely that a U.S. Smokeless Tobacco jet flew
I and others have already criticized
More important are the answers given by officials when asked about the travel.
The association files reports that list travel donations, and has to file its next report at the end of June, but, in the past, it has refused to link the donations to specific trips.
The association refused to tell the Journal who flew
Leaving us to wonder:
Did
Why doesn’t he come clean about it? It sure makes me wonder.
Openness is the first step. I realize that most of the time there isn’t actual impropriety. By not being open,
On to President Bush: The New York Times reported today about a secret Bush Administration program, initiated weeks after Sept. 11, allowing counterterrorism officials to access financial records of thousands of Americans.
Of course, government officials said they’re only tracking transactions of people suspected of being tied to Al Qaeda.
That’s what they always say.
What’s highly unusual is that, like with other secret programs, they’re doing all this without first obtaining warrants. The last time I checked, you still needed search warrants to invade the private lives of suspects.
That darned Constitution. It must be so bothersome for counterterrorism officials.
Here’s how you get around it: The program “is grounded in part on the president’s emergency economic powers,” the Times quoted an undersecretary at the Treasury Department as saying.
How long can we keep living in an emergency state? The so-called “war on terrorism” will never end. As long as Americans allow this, there is potential for abuse.
Which ties the Richardson and Bush incidents together. The underlying message is, “Trust us. We’re you’re leaders.”
That goes against the very fabric that holds together our nation’s government. Checks and balances, freedom of speech and of the press, privacy rights, rights of the accused and other safeguards encourage us to question and our leaders to be open.
Questioning and open responses, not blind trust, is how we are supposed to judge our leaders.
Right now, they’re not earning my trust. For all I know, the feds are watching my bank accounts and listening to my phone calls. And