Neither a Champion of Freedom at Home or Abroad

To expect President Bush like Fred Hiatt or Jim Hoagland to be the champion of freedom, is to expect Easter and Christmas to fall on the same day. He has neither shown a full commitment to freedom at home or abroad. His talk of bringing freedom is just that: talk. In the US, freedom has been undermined from wiretapping, spying, secret investigations, arrests without warrant, the Patriot Act, and an almost enigmatic justification, the now almost mythic September 11th and abroad the US has cooperated with countries that have not shown any inclination to freedom, from Russia to Saudi Arabia, while castigating others such as North Korea or Cuba and even attacking and forcing regime change in Iraq where the ultimate outcome remains unclear. Iraq may yet become a theocracy much like its neighbor Iran.

Democracy is a great thing and it needs to be protected. I really hope that the American Congress will finally step in to preserve American democracy from the dictatorial rule of executive privilige and make it clear that the Constitution intended a balance of power. Those powers not specified within the Constitution should be defined by Congress and not the President. And to make it clear: Only Congress has the right to declare war and therefore only Congress should be able to decide whether the President can use war time powers or not!

Pres. Bush's Admission He Allowed Eavesdropping Warrants Impeachment

President Bush's admission today that he authorized eavesdropping of average Americans warrants impeachement because it violates the basic principle of democracy in America. How can the average American be protected from a government that is willing to limit the freedom of everyone. The CIA was set up with the express prohibition of spying on Americans. How can a president dare to challenge the right of every American to privacy (even if not mentioned in the Constitution) and the right to a fair trial.

The Washington Post writes that Bush allowed the eavesdropping of people suspected to be connected to al Qaeda.

He defended his decision to sign the secret order, calling the program a "vital tool in our war against terrorists" and "critical to saving American lives."

However, what would prevent the president to employ this measure to political enemies as well? Especially if he labels them traitors?

If we want to secure our democracy we cannot allow al Qaeda to win. Bush, however, is doing just that by destroying basic American principles!

Hopeful Signs China Is Changing!

In a surprise move, the Chinese government arrested the police commander for the shooting of villagers in Dongzhou, 125 miles northwest of Hong Kong.

The Washington Post reports:

The main official newspapers in the provincial capital of Guangzhou said that "the commander at the scene dealt with the situation improperly and brought about mistaken deaths and accidental injuries," and that he has been detained by local prosecutors as part of a criminal investigation.

This is a huge step into the future and hopefully only the beginning of a sea change in the way Chinese authorities deal with the rising protests that trouble the country.

Richard Cohen is Right: Rumsfeld Should Be Sacked

Richard Cohen writes one of the most stinging rebuke of Donald Rumsfeld. I totally agree with him and I think it is already overdue that Rumsfeld is sacked. But with one of the most incapable White Houses in American history, it will take some time before mistakes will be corrected. Unfortunately these mistakes are huge!

Yet the man who has had prime responsibility for Iraq, for planning for the war, waging it and then occupying the country, remains precisely what he has been all this time -- the head of the American military, the secretary of defense, the very honorable (but not very capable) Donald Rumsfeld. His mistakes, miscalculations and arrogant dismissal of dissent have cost American (and Iraqi) lives and prolonged the conflict. If there has been a worse secretary of defense, it could only be Robert McNamara. History has hung Vietnam around his neck like a noose.

(emphasis added)

That's the McCain I Like!

After becoming quite submissive to the Bush administration, McCain returns to his principles. The Washington Post writes: McCain Will Not Bend On Detainee Treatment.

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press," in light of his current discussions with national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, whether he would accept any compromise, McCain, answered, "No . . . I won't. We won't." McCain was tortured while a prisoner of the North Vietnamese.

That's the McCain I like!

"We are not anti-China. We are here to fight for the rights we should have as citizens!"

On Sunday, thousands went on the street in Hong Kong to protest for greater political representation. Can Hong Kong become the key to solving many of the problems China is facing today?

The Washington Post writes:

Tens of thousands of people marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to protest the slow pace of democratic reform in this former British colony, but the territory's Beijing-backed leader again rejected demands to set a timetable for achieving universal suffrage.

It will be a torturous road still for the city-state. But if Hong Kong does not move toward greater political freedom, it will lose out to other large Chinese cities like Shanghai.