A Bill of Rights is a Terrible Thing to Lose

Societas via Billmon:

Karl Rove, for political revenge and to buttress a false case for war with Iraq, betrayed not merely the CIA but the American people. Whether Rove can be found technically guilty as a criminal under one narrowly defined law is besides the point. His actions amount to treason.

John Roberts, who might serve on the Supreme Court for the next thirty years, could roll back progress on concerns from women’s reproductive rights to corporate accountability. His nomination demands exacting scruntity.

But let’s have a moment of harsh honesty here...

This, as the saying goes, is a limited opportunity. Congress will vote to renew and possibly expand the Patriot Act today, tomorrow or early next week. This will all be over long before Roberts has a hearing, before Fitzgerald finishes his investigation.

If Congress renews or expands Section 215, as they seem intent on doing, you can kiss the 4th Amendment good-bye. (More details here and here). What two World Wars and a Civil War could not accomplish, al-Qaeda and the cowardly leadership of George Bush will.

Please e-mail and/or call Congress. Please spread the word. Protect the 4th Amendment and your other rights. We are in the final hours for the Patriot Act. Take a brief break from the Rove-Roberts controversies, just a few hours, and defend your rights as American citizens.