BIG DADDY BOYS

RANDOM JACK: DISSEMINATE FREELY.
What Have You Got to Hide?

We all remember the Big Daddy Boys, the ones who always supported their government, the ones who christened such memorable phrases as “My Country, Right or Wrong!” and “America: Love it or Leave it!”

We remember the days when the military was welcome on college campuses and no one laughed when someone said, “He’s still the president.”

Remember what the Big Daddy Boys always used to say, whether the inquiry was about registering for the draft, marijuana or jay walking: “All you need to know is: It’s the law.”

They don’t say that any more.

They used to say you could never trust a man who looks you straight in the eyes and lies through his teeth.

They don’t say that any more.

When Ronnie Reagan, J. Edgar Hoover and Tricky Dick Nixon wanted to keep dossiers on everyone in America, the Big Daddy Boys chimed in harmony: “What have you got to hide?”

Time to turn it around: If the NSA has only spied on Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda associates and Al Qaeda affiliates, what was the problem in getting a warrant from the FISA court? I am no expert on intelligence gathering but I would guess it takes all of thirty seconds to get a warrant to listen in on an Al Qaeda member talking to someone in the USA.

How often are we expected to believe Al Qaeda calls someone in this country: Every day, a thousand times a day?

As for affiliates and associates, those are concepts that go a long way: All subscribers to Al Jazeera, anyone who tapped the news service, all who read an email from an imam in Spain, and all who tapped the website that posted it.

It is no great leap to see that the NSA warrantless domestic spying program can be used to spy on virtually anyone.

Mark it, post and save: This White House has a political enemies list and is using the NSA to destroy anyone who gets in the way. If not, what have they got to hide? Open the books. Let’s have a peek at who you’re spying on.

THERE IS NO FREEDOM WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO DISSENT.