I just watched United 93. It took me back to that horrifically surreal morning. I then thought back to the last episode of "24". In that episode, the FBI raided the office of an Islamic organization, and seized their files and records. The issue of Ethnic Profiling vs. Civil Liberties was quickly thrown into the spotlight by the Islamic organization's Attorney, who also happens to be the U.S. President's sister. Keep in mind that this raid took place 20 minutes before a nuclear device destroyed half of LA County.
So...what is my point? Well, the entire episode was built around a barrage of terrorist attacks plaguing the nation coast to coast. So my point is that, surrendering to the fears of a political backlash during a time of crisis will only breed a greater crisis.
Yes, yes. I know. Some will argue that infringing on civil liberties is exactly what the terrorists want. WRONG!!!!! What they want is to destroy everything in their path. What they want is to dominate the world with their stupid, pointless, Satanic interpretation of Islam.
I am all for Civil Liberties. I support Gay Rights. I support a woman's right to an abortion. I support extreme, almost Socialistic health care reform. I support the right to practice peaceful and diverse religion. I support the right to free and unedited speech. I support the right to publicly protest the infringement of any of these rights.
There is another right that I support which dwarfs all other rights.....that is the right to LIVE!!! A society, innocent in its majority, deserves the right to live a peaceful existence. I don't mind giving up a little liberty for greater security. I have nothing to hide under a wiretap or surveillance. I don't think the Feds will be scoping me out for smoking a joint or cheating on my taxes.
If you are that afraid of unwarranted wiretaps, then you MUST be involved in some seriously illegal shit. That's your problem, not mine. ACLU Lawyers will bitch and moan about the Constitution...until their children are blown to pieces. Tragedy has a way of magically changing one's perception of reality.
I voted for Bill Clinton. Twice. Had I known that he would be pointing the wrong gun at the wrong person (Monica) I may have voted differently. He had 8 years, since the first WTC bombing, to go after Bin Laden. He didn't. Too late for hindsight now.
I don't think the jerk off we have in the White House now is much better. How do you invade a country without an exit strategy. Why does it take 4 years to realize that you may have underestimated the troop levels needed?
Here's an idea, albeit in retrospect, Mr. President. You had your eyes on Iran long before your re-election. If you would've sent in DOUBLE the amount of troops into Iraq, from the beginning, and secured the Iranian side border, wouldn't the current nuclear standoff have been a little easier to manage today?
You fight fire with water, not marshmallows. in 2004 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country), the Muslim population in the US was only 2%. TWO PERCENT!!!!! I don't care how badly Bush did in school, any idiot can see that sacrificing the comforts of 2 people is a no-brainer if it secures the comforts of the other 98. For all of Bush's tough talk, he's still afraid of full political backlash. Profile, Georgie, Profile.
We need ethnic profiling, and we need it bad. We need it now. Maybe it's cause I'm not Arab, Pakistani, Indonesian, or Muslim. But you know what? I don't care. If I were one of them, I would be pissed but I would understand. And if I were one of the extremists that they are seeking through ethnic profiling, then I would deserve it.
Russia is going to hell, and France is following right along (primarily because they don't have any other world power to follow now.) America as a whole really needs to wake up. I thank that thing in the air that some people call God almost everyday for the gift of being in America. Now, the same Freedoms this country was founded on may be contributing to its demise.
I may regret this tomorrow, or I may not. But let's get the Jews and moderates out of there, and blow the entire Middle East off the fucking map.