Progressive Minds

The Department of Homeland Security recently updated it's threat level to include Secretary Michael Chertoff's "gut."

In an interview yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he had a "gut feeling" about an increased risk of a terror attack here in the United States during the summer.

There's just one (MAJOR) catch.  Chertoff's dire warning wasn't based on any new intelligence.  He based his comments on his view that al Qaeda likes the summertime!  He said "Summertime seems to be appealing to them. We worry that they are rebuilding their activities."

Perhaps before Mr. Chertoff goes trying to scare the American people out of their witts, warning of attacks, he should come with some actual intelligence.

This does nothing but reinforce for me (and many others, I'm sure) that this Administration wants to keep the American public in a perpetual state of fear and paranoia.  And by extension, begin supporting this baseless war in Iraq.

Homeland Chief: "Gut Feeling" About Attack

 

So after listening to Sara Taylor appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, the most telling thing, for me, was this exchange between her and Sen. Patrick Leahy.

Taylor: "I took an oath and I take that oath to the president very seriously."

Sen. Leahy responded by giving Ms. Taylor a lesson from Civics 101. He reminded her that she took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States; not to uphold George W. Bush. He said: "Your oath is not to uphold the president."

We've seen this same pattern in people like Alberto Gonzales and Harriet Miers. Their loyalty for George W. Bush trumps their sense of loyalty to their country. Gonzales can't seem to remember that he no longer represents George W. Bush as his personal lawyer, but that he represents the American people now.

I have no problem with a President asking people they feel they can trust, to serve in their Administration. The problem arises when that person can't separate the personal from the professional, and remember that their obligation, first and foremost, is to the American public, not the President of the United States.

That's the problem when a bright-eyed, bushy-taled 32-year old like Sara Taylor comes to Washington to serve in a political position. They're so eager to please and prove themselves as true believers and loyalists, that sometimes they end up tossing the constitution and our nation's laws aside.