Katzenbach is Terrified

Former AG under Johnson, Nicholas Katzenbach, is very disturbed by the NSA wiretapping story. This, from the man who advised tapping the phones of Martin Luther King Jr.:

Today we are again engaged in a debate over wiretapping for reasons of national security — the same kind of justification Hoover offered when he wanted to spy on King.

Well, there's the problem. Katzenbach isn't capable of understanding the difference between national security and an attempt to blackmail an unpredictable political force.

The problem, then as now, is not the invasion of privacy, although that can be a difficulty. But it fades in significance to the claim of unfettered authority in the name of "national security." There may be good and sufficient reasons for invasions of privacy. But those reasons cannot and should not be kept secret by those charged with enforcing the law. No one should have such power, and in our constitutional system of checks and balances, no one legitimately does.

Sing it with me now: Multiple briefings of relevent congressional authorities for the entire history of the program. Congressional leaders have known about the program and, with the exception of a buried memo from Rockefeller, have supported it all the way through.

In regards to the comparison between tapping MLK Jr. and the tapping of those communicating with al Qaeda, Scott Johnson delivers the line of the day:

One might think that Katzenbach would find the former less justifiable than the latter, but Katzenbach manages both to justify himself and impugn President Bush.

That's no lie. Katzenbach actually makes a case, albeit a pathetic one, that tapping MLK Jr. was the right choice. It was, apparently, for MLK Jr.'s own good. But surveilling phones and emails of people associating with known terrorists during a time of war is a big no-no.

Tapping MLK good. Tapping terrorist associates vewy scawy. Unbelievable.

UPDATE: Elsewhere in the land of the unhinged, Al Gore delivered his latest round of baseless fearmongering today. Kudo's to the Astute Blogger for having the energy to continue eating Gore's lunch. I read the speech and was exhausted. So much nonsense in one speech, I didn't even know where to begin.

UPDATE: Welcome MIdiot readers, and thanks for the...hit. By all means, send your hard-earned money to the ACLU, but be warned! The gullible are all they have left.