Seery on the LA Times and the Fourth Amendment

My friend John Seery posted a blistering critique of an LA Times editorial on President Bush's effort to defend telephone companies who spy on Americans for the government.

Here is John's post, and I include the comment I made in response to it below:

Hi John:

This is one of those posts from you that leaves those of us who share your concerns with very little to add.

To me, the Times, like so many other individuals and groups, has lost the broader issue in the back and forth of the political bickering in Washington. Like campaign junkies who follow the campaign--the "race" for the White House--for the sport of it, many of our political commentators have become so caught up in process that they have lost an authentic sense of purpose.

One final thought, this is not a liberal or conservative issue. Our national commitment to the principles of the Fourth Amendment transcends party and ideological lines, which is what makes our current Congress's passivity particularly astonishing (and disheartening).

Comments

[darnaud]

I would like to know what to do, ah, ah!Just messing a bit....

[Sylvia Ramirez]

I want to have an online presence in my classroom because that's where my students are. My ESL students are online with their families in their country, with other immigrant students and exploring everything. To not use it, is to ignore how they communicate. I plan to use it to keep them engaged, help them communicate beyond language - which isn't always friendly to someone who is speaking a second language, and allow them to feel like an adult when their lack of language skills make them feel childlike, and because online is part of the jobs they will fine or have and part of participating in the communities they now live and work. (What a ridiculously long sentence.)

[jbutler]

Why? To make my courses more interesting and engaging.