Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Morgan Bowen on the Issues: Defending our Constitutional Liberties and FISA

Here are a few words on my dad's opinion of FISA and retro-active immunity.

Benjamin Franklin said “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

As a candidate for the United States Congress, I oppose granting retro-active immunity to telecommunications companies - who willingly broke the law, when so many others refused to do so - and the illegal wiretapping of American's on the notion that no entity or body of government is above the law, according to our Constitution. While we do face serious threats to our national security, I believe it is possible to combat these threats without the erosion of our most basic liberties, and the protection from an invasive government body that the founding fathers made great efforts to include when drafting the Bill of Rights. This administration's and our current congressman’s thinly masked agenda to grant retro-active immunity and remove oversight from the surveillance process is not so much about protecting American's from realistic threats, but rather protecting this administration, and the representatives who supported them from accountability and their sworn duty to uphold our constitutional rights as American citizens.


Thomas Jefferson wisely said: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."


It is time for our Utah values of respect for the United States Constitution, liberty, and a just and free America are defended once again.










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