Don't Tattle

I'm a Canadian, and as such am sometimes disturbed by the actions of Prime Minister Harper. His decision to limit freedom of the press in the House seems to me to be a limitation on the rights of Canadians. However, every time Harper does something I find hard to stomach all I have to do is look south and be glad he's not George W. Bush.

On Thursday, June 22nd the New York Times revealed that the Bush administration is not only tapping peoples phones and going through their phone records without a warrant, they are also examining their financial transactions. This doesn't surprise me; once a man or an administration proves itself to be willing to break the document on which his country was founded that document ceases to be sacred. What does surprise me is that in reaction to this Bush is continuing his assertion that by telling the American people that he is trampling on their rights to privacy and therefore hurting the American people, they are in fact inviting the terrorists to come back and hurt the American people.

I'm not certain what effect telling the terrorists that the American Government knows that an American tourist needed to wire money to a sex shop in Japan so he could buy... something embarrassing, will have on the war on terror. Although I imagine it won't make anyone who has family or has been abroad since 9-11 very happy. It is doubtful that the terrorists will be using banks or stores or credit cards to buy weapons of mass distruction; although I did see a good deal on weapons grade plutonium on eBay.

I have family in the U.S. so I visit there a lot, and think I would know if the country ceased to exist. Last I checked, and I admit this was before June 22nd, the United States was still there, and had not suffered from any further terrorist attacks. Can I be certain of this without going next door and checking on the neighbours? No. But I'm at least as certain of the existence of the United States as I am that the article printed by the New York Times does not contain an open invitation to terrorist groups to attack the land of stars and stripes.

To read the New York Times article click below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/washington/23intel.html?ei=5065&en=8b8acbe63f34dad9&ex=1151640000&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print