The One With Aldacron

As much as Bush harps on freedom and democracy, you would think that America is a model of both. Yet, once again, two American courts have turned a blind eye on one case that is a violation of human rights and another that is an abuse of government power.

In one case, the Washington Supreme Court failed to strike down a state ban on same-sex marriages. Six of the 10 justices voted in support of the ban. How is it that men who are in a position to protect the freedom and human rights of American citizens can choose not to do so? In what twisted, sick world is it okay to legalize discrimination of any kind? My wife and I have no children yet, but when we do it will be difficult for me to teach them about trusting government if this sort of nonsense continues. I keep thinking that common sense will eventually win out over ignorance and stupidity, but I also once believed that America were the good guys.

The other blow to freedom comes from a US District Court judge in Chicago who tossed out the ACLU lawsuit against AT&T. The ACLU had sued the telco for violating the rights of American citizens in handing over phone records as part of the government’s seceret spying program. The most ridiculous part of the case is that the judge made his decision based upon the government’s argument that continuing the case would harm the government in the war on terror:

“The court is persuaded that requiring AT&T to confirm or deny whether it has disclosed large quantities of telephone records to the federal government could give adversaries of this country valuable insight into the government’s intelligence activities,”…

How silly is that? What is it the terrorists don’t already know about a case that has been reported in the media for months now? The ACLU released a statement criticisizing both the judge and the government:

We respectfully disagree with the court.   A private company – AT&T – should not be able to escape accountability for violating a federal statute and the privacy of their customers on the basis that a program widely discussed in public is secret.   Members of Congress publicly discussed the program of gathering data from telephone companies without lawful authorization in violation of existing federal law. 
 
We believe that innocent Americans – including our clients in this case – should have a venue through the courts for vindicating their rights against the abuses and overreach of the executive branch.   We are consulting with our clients and will consider our options for future actions.

At least there is a bright spot on this front: a US District Court judge in San Francisco refused to throw out the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s lawsuit against the Bush government, a suit brought on as a direct challenge to the domestic spying program. In his decision, he took the oppoiste view of the idiot in Chicago:

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said the warrantless eavesdropping
has been so widely reported that there appears to be no danger of
spilling secrets.

“The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one,”
Walker said. “But dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice
liberty for no apparent enhancement of security.”

Finally, a federal judge with some common sense.

Technorati Tags: gay marriage, domestic spying, Bush amdinistration, AT&T