Bush Pushes for More Police Power

[Joanne98]

by Nat Hentoff

In his last months, President Bush is working to ensure that his successor will have the greatly expanded power of the executive branch - unprecedented in American history - that Bush instituted after 9/11. His chief enabler in this ever-increasing surveillance of American citizens is Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and ranking minority member Arlen Specter are aware of Mukasey's plan for new FBI guidelines that could begin national security and criminal investigations of racial and ethnic groups without any evidence of wrongdoing. They have asked Mukasey to delay implementation until Congress can review the changes. Mukasey agreed but wants the expanded surveillance to begin Oct. 1.

Four Democratic senators - with the lamentable absence of their leader, Harry Reid - also have reminded the attorney general of his oath to protect the Constitution. Russ Feingold, Richard Durbin, Edward Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse warn not only Mukasey but also the rest of us that the new rules "might permit an innocent American to be subjected to such intrusive surveillance based in part on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or on protected First Amendment activities."

As Lara Jakes Jordan of The Associated Press (Aug. 18) pointed out: "The new policy, law enforcement officials said, would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence (including tips from informants) to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious." There would be no evidence of criminal activity.

Such "traits" could include a person's race or ethnicity.

Continued>>>
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/03-4

[C_U_L8R]

1. Can you imagine?

More police power in Sarah Palin's hands ????

Holy fucking dominion over us all !!!!!!

[rubberducky]

2. I truely do not believe that "they" will allow this power to fall to the hands of the dems.

[screembloodymurder]

5. Good point.

They must be sure of the election results or this wouldn't be considered.

[bain_sidhe]

3. October 1st? Like, the month before the election? THAT Oct. 1st?

No ulterior motives here, huh?

[Chisox08]

4. This is disturbing

The "suspicious" traits includes a person race or ethnicity. I think that the are not only trying to steal another election they are trying to turn the US into China.