Freedom of Kafka Act

Here's a warning for those who have previously read my business blogs. We're about to head in a slightly different direction here - a decidedly more political direction. I've been keeping up with all of the shenanigans of the Bush Administration and, though I have counted myself a life-long Republican, I have to speak out. Let me give you an example.

I suppose you have read that Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) claims to have reached a compromise with the Whitehouse on warrantless and illegal spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). You may recall that the NSA is eavesdropping on the phone calls of Americans without first obtaining the warrant that is required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and by that pesky little thing called the Fourth Amendment. When President Bush was caught violating the law, instead of being contrite he went on the offensive claiming that he had to violate our rights in order to protect our liberties. There’s a word for that kind of logic. It’s called Kafkaesque. It’s a strange, rarely used word, but somehow when describing the recent activities of the Bush Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress it’s hard to think of a better word. If you’re not familiar with the word, Kafkaesque is the quality that puts us in mind of the writings of Franz Kafka: the quality characterized by surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger.

Now Senator Specter has introduced his compromise bill, S.2453. In this bill the Whitehouse has been brought to its knees, agreeing to (drum roll please) continue to spy on Americans without a warrant. Ta-dah! Yes, that’s right. In this bizarre twist of legal logic, the Whitehouse will continue to do exactly what it was already doing, violating the Constitution. And what pound of flesh has Senator Specter extracted from the Bush Administration in exchange for this “compromise?” Well, this bill includes:

• Making the illegal spying program legal! That’ll show ‘em!


• A reduced role for the FISA court that is supposed to oversee the NSA's domestic spying, making review by FISA “optional.” I’m curious. If the President didn’t seek approval of the court when it was required by law, why would he ever seek their permission when it is an option?


• A new process which I consider unconstitutional. The law would set up a secret appeals court composed of judges hand-picked solely by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who just so happens to have been hand-picked by the President.


• The law would create an information blackout so that Congress and our courts (and of course the American people) will never know the names and number of Americans monitored by the spying program. Can you say “imbalance of power?”

Wow, the Bush Administration must really be stinging after giving-in like this. They probably haven’t hurt this much since Congress passed the USA Patriot Act!

Senator Specter seems to think that if we call up down and justice injustice, everything will be fine. Of course the Bush Administration has been masters of redefining terms such as “compassionate” (as in “compassionate conservative”), “uniter” and “freedom.” Kafka would be so proud!