June 27, 2006
NYT Announces Formation of Shadow Government
Heh:
In a move experts said was expected for months, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller today announced the formation of a shadow government for the US, effective immediately."The power that we have taken is not something to be taken lightly," said Keller. "The responsibility of it weighs most heavily on us and is among the most agonizing decisions I've faced as an editor."
Times' publisher "Pinch" Sulzberger was named shadow President, but was said to be disappointed that he wasn't named shadow Prime Minister.
From perusing other threads, it is clear most folks here at CY see the expansion of presidential authority and secrecy regarding national security as essential to fighting terrorists.
An honest question: are you in any way concerned about how the precedent of enlarged presidential authority and secrecy will give cover to future presidents using such powers improperly?
For instance, what is to keep a president Hillary from citing the need to combat homegrown terrorism as justification for increasing surveilance of gun ownership, perhaps even going so far as to detain without trial certain questionable individuals with many guns and anti-Hillary political views? What she decides to detain pro-life activists under flimsy evidence? What if she uses information from tapped phone calls and financial transactions to to smear political opponents? Bush has perhaps given her the cover to do all this in secrecy.
I'm not saying any of this will happen, or is likely to. But these kinds of things have happened many times in American history, and they can happen again.
Posted by: Nate at June 27, 2006 12:24 PMGuess no one is worried about Hillary. Her move to the center appears to have paid off.
Posted by: Nate at June 28, 2006 12:02 AM
