Where Have We Heard That Before?

PimpingFear
IsNotACanadianValueVille


"We are a target because of who we are and how we live, our society, our diversity and our values - values such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law. The values that make Canada great, values that Canadians cherish."

Stephen Harper, June 3rd, 2006

"Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber - a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms - our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."

George W. Bush, Sept 21, 2001

Listen.

The police and CSIS arrested a bunch of people yesterday who, if the charges are true, were up to no good.

They did this without security certificates, or renditions, or black holes of any kind. It was good old fashioned police work that was integrated with some targetted surveillance by the security service that has apparently been going on since 2004. That is the way things are supposed to work. Furthermore, the suspects will be tried in open court, not in front of a secret tribunal.

This is all as it should be.

And what is important now is that we do not succumb to fear and hysteria, but rather that we rise above it and carry on with our lives because, as Glenn Greenwald notes in his fantastic new book called 'How Would A Patriot Act'*:

Once we choose to assuage our fears rather than protect our liberties, the type of fear being promoted by the administration and its supporters compels us to relinquish our freedoms, endorse government excesses, and sacrifice everything that distinguishes America and has made it great and worth fighting for. Attempting to persuade Americans to adopt this fear-driven mentality has become the first priority of the administration.


The emphasis in the quote above is mine. And a big question is, are we the Canuckistani people ourselves now supporters of the Bush administration's policies?

I most certainly hope not.

Unfortunately, it is becoming clearer and clearer that Mr. Harper and his 'new government of Canada', would certainly like us to be just that.

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*Which, as an independent publication, just debuted on the NYT bestseller list at #11. There is great discussion of the book, with the author, going on at Firedoglake.

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