Saturday, June 04, 2005
Needed: Deep Throat II
Colbert King explains the role "Deep Throat" Mark Felt played in one of the other scandals of the Nixon administration -- the FBI's illegal covert actions against Americans under the bureau's COINTELPRO program -- in his column "Deep Throat's Other Legacy." It's a helpful reminder that the crimes and misdemeanors of the Nixon administration went far beyond a second-rate burglary.
Nowadays, such spying on Americans, infiltrating opposition groups, and generally ignoring constitutional protections in the name of national security is commonplace, mainly justified under the broad-sweeping "Patriot Act." It's amazing how much an administration can get away with, using the rationalization of permanent war (now against terror, then against comunism), without the citizenry rising up in outrage. Deep Throat II, where are you when we need you?
Nowadays, such spying on Americans, infiltrating opposition groups, and generally ignoring constitutional protections in the name of national security is commonplace, mainly justified under the broad-sweeping "Patriot Act." It's amazing how much an administration can get away with, using the rationalization of permanent war (now against terror, then against comunism), without the citizenry rising up in outrage. Deep Throat II, where are you when we need you?
