I deliberately stay away from politics here, but I see this as a non-partisan issue.This is the sort of policy and lack of transparency, combined with the public’s complacency, and indifference that bodes ill for our country’s future, much less our economy.
From the NYTimes (bolding mine)-
A Justice Department plan would loosen restrictions on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to allow agents to open a national security or criminal investigation against someone without any clear basis for suspicion, Democratic lawmakers briefed on the details said Wednesday.
The plan, which could be made public next month, has already generated intense interest and speculation. Little is known about its precise language, but civil liberties advocates say they fear it could give the government even broader license to open terrorism investigations.
Lewis Black perhaps said it best –
And why would we try to sell democracy to anyone when we don’t even like it ourselves? When almost half your country doesn’t go to the voting booth, what are you selling? What are you saying? You’re saying, “Well, you’re going to love democracy because you don’t have to do it.”
and –
AVC: When the founding fathers made us a democracy, they didn’t put in the Constitution that we’re supposed to make everyone else a democracy too.
LB: If everybody in this country voted, I’d be like, “Okay, we love democracy.” But a lot of people don’t vote—we’re one of the countries that votes the least, for all of our breast-beating about being a “leading democracy.”