I’m not persuaded by the Wall Street Journal’s editorial today on why all of Attorney General Ashcroft’s anti-terrorism measures are necessary. The case for military tribunals seems to me to be an easy one – it’s well precedented, better than the alternatives, and effective in dealing with terrorists caught red-handed at home or abroad. But I see no strong reason for the government to be able to eavesdrop on attorney-client conversations with terrorist suspects, even if the eavesdropping is announced in advance. The notion that this invasion of privacy is to prevent lawyers from communicating terrorist messages to others in al Qaeda seems a bit of a stretch – and too much of one to justify this infraction on a central part of our sense of justice. I also see no reason why the names and immigration infractions of over 500 detainees shouldn’t be made public. The government need not, so far as I can see, reveal which ones it truly suspects of terrorist activity, but a public accounting of these detentions seems to me to be perfectly fair and, in fact, important. I don’t buy the notion that Ashcroft is engaging in some kind of unprecedented witch-hunt. But it’s also a part of this war to affirm the clear superiority of the West’s system of justice to the lawless terrorism of the enemy. There’s no need to muddy this distinction unless we’re really risking mortal danger by maintaining these important restraints on government power. Neither Ashcroft nor Bush has yet made persuasive enough a case. It’s time for them to do so – or retreat.
XP HELL: A wonderful geek friend of mine helped me sort it all out. You may not be so lucky.
SAFIRE ON FIRE: Wise piece from Safire today warning against cosying up to Iran’s current leadership. Better to follow Michael Ledeen’s suggestion and foment a revolution.
MORE GAY EXTREMISM: James Taranto conceded yesterday he’d been too hasty in dismissing my worry about usQueers.com. In fact, the problem of some gay extremists violating basic norms of propriety in civil discourse is finally getting some attention. Two such activists were arrested today in San Francisco for “allegedly stalking and threatening newspaper reporters and Public Health Department workers.” I feel bad because one of them, Michael Petrelis, has done good work in the past, but appears to have gone completely off the edge in the past couple of months. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Newspaper employees said the men made dozens of obscene and threatening phone calls earlier this month to their homes and at work. A bomb threat also was made to the San Francisco Chronicle’s offices.” This isn’t new. Until you’ve been targeted by these extremists, you don’t know how vicious they can be: phone calls at all hours of the day and night, threats of violence, intimidating relatives and ex-boyfriends. They have no sense of decency. ACT-UP did many good things, but it also tolerated and fomented a fascistic approach to civil politics that has metastasized since. I’m glad this has come to a head. And I hope the mainstream gay groups like the Human Rights Campaign will finally denounce the tactics of violating privacy, threatening violence and general puerility that sadly infects much gay extreme left activism. So far, such mainstream groups have simply been silent or craven, terrified that they might be next on the list. It’s time for them to speak up in defense of privacy, decency and civility in the gay rights movement, and condemn thuggery in all its forms.
The Dish 