Spying, Blackmail, High Crimes & Misdemeanors

From: Once Upon A Time

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under
Reagan, and he has held editorial positions at both the Wall
Street Journal and National Review. He has written a column
which points out what has become suspected. The Bush
administration is blackmailing opponents.

"Having eliminated internal opposition, the Bush administration
is now using blackmail obtained through illegal spying on American
citizens to silence the media and the opposition party."

"Before flinching at my assertion of blackmail, ask yourself why
President Bush refuses to obey the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act. The purpose of the FISA court is to ensure that administrations
do not spy for partisan political reasons. The warrant requirement
is to ensure that a panel of independent federal judges hears a
legitimate reason for the spying, thus protecting a president
from the temptation to abuse the powers of government. The only
reason for the Bush administration to evade the court is that
the Bush administration had no legitimate reasons for its spying.
This should be obvious even to a naif."

"The United States is undergoing a coup against the Constitution,
the Bill of Rights, civil liberties, and democracy itself. The
"liberal press" has been co-opted."

"The TV networks mimic Fox News' faux patriotism. Anyone who
depends on print, TV, or right-wing talk radio media is totally
misinformed. The Bush administration has achieved a de facto
Ministry of Propaganda."

"The years of illegal spying have given the Bush administration
power over the media and the opposition."

Roberts knows a lot of highly-placed people in government and
the media. I seriously doubt he would mention blackmail in this
manner unless he had strong reasons to believe in the accuracy
of what he was saying.
--Arthur Silber at Once Upon A Time

Go read the whole column:
Who Will Save America?