posted on November 15, 2003 07:59:04 AM new
Usually you can look back as the expression implies and see a defining moment a TV show went down hill.
With nations you can often see the same. With Germany it was after the night of the long knives and Hitler said he had no apology for saving the rebublic by acting outside the law. After that it was a strong man's government instead of the rule of law.
What was it - or will it be with the US?
When citizens could be stripped of their citizenship and held indefinately?
I will know the shark has been jumped for certain when I see people defecting from the US like they used to from communist countries.
The beginning was the Project for the New American Century, (PNAC) which led to the anointment of George W. Bush and the appointment of John Ashcroft and ultimately to the one that you suggested..."When citizens could be stripped of their citizenship and held indefinitely", marking an era in which our constitution is considered an obstacle rather than our nation's greatest document.
Among so many unfortunate defining moments it's difficult to choose only one.
posted on November 15, 2003 09:55:10 PM new
The "Patriot" Act
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In this world of sin and sorrow, there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. -- H.L. Mencken
posted on November 16, 2003 01:16:38 AM new
Lord Acton, in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
