Declan McCullagh on the Politicization of Security
Good essay:
Politicians of both major parties wield this as the ultimate political threat. Its invocation typically predicts that if a certain piece of legislation is passed (or not passed) Americans will die. Variations may warn that children will die or troops will die. Any version is difficult for the target to combat.
This leads me to propose McCullagh’s Law of Politics:
As the certainty that legislation violates the U.S. Constitution increases, so does the probability of predictions that severe harm or death will come to Americans if the proposal is not swiftly enacted.
McCullagh’s Law describes a promise of political violence. It goes like this: “If you, my esteemed political adversary, are insufficiently wise as to heed my advice, I will direct my staff and members of my political apparatus to unearth examples of dead {Americans|women|children|troops} so I can later accuse you of responsibility for their deaths.”
aikimark • October 22, 2007 1:32 PM
Also, everyone should read Naomi Wolfe’s new book and the “Terror Presidency”