First his opposition to the Iraq action, now this. What's up with this guy? http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20021017/4542326s.htm Armey: Justice 'out of control,' violating rights By Mimi Hall USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, lashed out at the Justice Department Wednesday for what he called its ''lack of regard for personal civil liberties in America'' while combating terrorism. ''I told the president I thought his Justice Department was out of control,'' the retiring lawmaker told USA TODAY's editorial board. Armey has long expressed concerns about civil liberties violations in the name of fighting terrorism. He helped scuttle Bush's plan to set up a government hotline for delivery workers and others to report suspicious activity. ''Are we going to save ourselves from international terrorism in order to deny the fundamental liberties we protect to ourselves?'' he said. ''It doesn't make sense to me.'' Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said the actions have been ''well within the bounds of the Constitution and statutory authority provided by Congress.'' Armey's comments came as the American Civil Liberties Union launched a $3.5 million advertising and lobbying campaign accusing Attorney General John Ashcroft of eroding personal freedoms. The ACLU campaign is aimed at getting Congress to repeal portions of the year-old USA Patriot Act, passed in response to Sept. 11. The act gave the government broad powers to monitor citizens suspected of having ties to terrorists. The Justice Department has defended its new wiretapping authority and other surveillance as necessary to fight terrorism.
what makes me want to say, If Dick Armey turns into a card-carrying ACLU member, then the terrorists have won.
I know this is a tangent in another direction, but I cannot hear Dick Armey's name anymore without thinking about the SNL skit... "...Penis Navy...Wiener Air Force...Vagina Coast Guard...". That was a great skit! On topic, I, like most of the people I know, would be willing to give up certain liberties to help make America safer. Just be sensible about what liberties you are going to limit.
... why you are another newcomer with a moniker that makes one think of a runaway algorithm written by an evil computer genius, that's because ...? Seriously, how are we going to keep people straight around here if everybody just has a number? It's too much like THX1138. Know what I mean? Maybe I should give up and become BB-zero-B or translate that from hex into binary or something. If you at least chose 8675309, we could remember you.
I don't know how I forgot that Dick Armey's made a career of championing civil liberties and advising caution in military affairs... Whatever other posters may think of me, I will never stoop to the condescending rolleyes smiley. But you certainly did tempt me.
Thank you so much for sparing me the pain of seeing that viscious smiley! Dick Armey has a history of leaning towards libertarianism and viewing the constitution as a strict constructionist. I don't see his recent comments as being inconsistant at all.
I don't want to spend all my time telling callers that "Jennie doesn't live here, you have the wrong number".
He also has a history of being a rabidly loyal Republican. At the most sensitive possible times (when Bush is trying to garner support for action in Iraq and while the Patriot Act is being challenged), he is rowdily bucking the party. Not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth -- I appreciate the freedom his impending retirement has afforded him. Didn't mean disrespect with the smiley comment. But when Armey teams with Carter rather than Bush/Cheney and with the ACLU rather than Ashcroft, it merits mention. You seemed to be saying it didn't.
I, for one, have a huge problem with certain parts of the Patriot Act and the manner in which Ashcroft seeks to apply it. For instance...as an attorney I NEED to have privileged communications with my client so that I can get as candid a story from my client as possible. If Ashcroft gets his way then all they'll have to do is call my client a terrorist and BOOM...they'll be able to tape ALL my conversations with my client. This would make it impossible for me to do my job. Where does the definition of terrorist end? Are organized crime members "domestic terrorists?" Maybe not now...but I can see where they'd try to extend it later. It flies in the face of our criminal procedure laws and rules. Call me a bad Republican...but that's the way I feel. Other than that, I agree with boomboom...I am willing to give up some liberties in order to ensure safety. You just have to balance the trade-off and see that it is worth it.
Yeah, nevermind that they can be held indefinitely without charges, without visits from family and without even their names being released. Imagine if you had a wife who had been accused of terrorism because she worked for a business with ties to the Arab world. Maybe she had communications with someone who turned out to be a terrorist and she didn't even realize it. What they hell would you do? I remember reading the story of a kid in New York who was accused of terrorism and taken to jail. His family didn't even know where he was until nearly four months later. He was finally released six months after his arrest when it turns out they mistook him for an Arab man. Apparently, he was an American of mixed decent that included Pakistani. There is just too much power given to the justice department to blow past the laws of the constitution and we've handed it over because we are afraid.
Funny how their 'campaign' aimed at getting Congress to repeal the Patriot Act accuses ASHCROFT of eroding personal freedoms, when almost EVERY congressman voted in support of the act. Hmmmm.
