Progressives on the internet discover the danger of the "thought crimes" bill


...once this ill-begotten monstrosity is signed into law, thought crime is literally whatever the commission says it is.
Well, liberals and progressives are discovering what libertarians already found out.

I mentioned the libertarian article very briefly here.

This is frightening, and not just because of who "thought crime" legislation might be used against first. Checking the text of the bill, you'll notice that there is much more spent on the salary and retirement benefits of the commissioners then putting limits on what the commission can and can not investigate.

In fact, there don't appear to be any limits on the scope of the commission and what it can investigate.

Translation, once this ill-begotten monstrosity is signed into law, thought crime is literally whatever the commission says it is. And that can change overnight.

Right now, the concern is how the Bush Administration would use the law. But I have heard Democrats say that Republicans and independents should not be allowed to vote. And I remember the Clinton Administration and how it used Federal agencies to harass it's political enemies.

At least those without the power to fight back.

Once the power exists and is enshrined into law, government will use it no matter who calls the shots. That is as certain as death and taxes.

At the Slate site, Dahilia Lithwick looks at the proposal. She's not quite as alarmed, her article does a good roundup.

Hat tip to Sunfell for the NewsTarget.com link, and to Radley Balko at The Agitator for the Slate link.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - November 30, 2007 at 05:53 AM  Tag


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