Bloggers Are Terrorists? What?

Yeah, the title might sound silly to many (including myself), but as a recent article points out, President Bush "Tags Bloggers As Terrorists."

So, why in the world would he see bloggers as terrorists? Under what circumstances? What would need to be typed for Bush to see them as a terrorist?

In this February 13th article by the Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, it reads, “Participants confirmed parts of the worldwide simulation challenged government officials and industry executives to respond to deliberate misinformation campaigns and activist calls by Internet bloggers, online diarists whose "Web logs" include political rantings and musings about current events.”

In other words, if a blogger is critical of or dissents against the Bush Administration, he or she may be considered a "terrorist."

As it elaborates in the article:

"(1) In what may have been a precursor to US bloggers, the US military and government apparently were not offended (at least did not take any publicly disclosed action to free the blogger) when an Iraqi blogger was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned for the crime of reading comments on another blogger’s website at a public café:
“Then finally I understood why I was there, after few hours. Security guards at the university had printed out all the websites I was reading while I was online there. They were accusing me of “reading terrorism sites” and “having communications with foreign terrorists”.“Do you know what these pages are?”
I looked at them and figured out they were the comment section of Raed (sic) in the Middle!!
I opened the comments section while browsing in the university, read some comments, and didn’t even post anything. But these people don’t seem to know what the internet is, and they don’t speak English, so I was a major suspect of being an assistant of al Zarqawi maybe! Or that I have a terrorist group of my own, with foreign connections!
I was accused of terrorism, and sent to jail after they decided that I’m not helping myself because I am not helping them!!!

(2) US plans to data mine blogs for stated purpose of finding terrorist information to connect the dots to prevent a terrorist attack:
“The U.S. government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.”

(3) “The CIA is quietly funding federal research into surveillance of Internet chat rooms as part of an effort to identify possible terrorists, newly released documents reveal.”

(4) American Internet providers have assisted foreign countries to jail bloggers for substantive content posted on their blogs:
“Last December, Microsoft shut down the Web site of a dissident Chinese blogger. A few months earlier, Yahoo gave Beijing the name of a dissident Chinese journalist. He got ten years in jail for his Web postings. Ironically, Google's Chinese kowtow comes as the company is resisting efforts by the U.S. government for access to its records.”

(5) Indymedia was a subject of a secret, international terrorism investigation in which US government seized its hard drives. A Texas Internet company turned over hard drives pursuant to a court order under an international treaty governing crimes of terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering.

(6) The MSM has shown its willingness to paint bloggers and any lefty journalists as the domestic evil axis of treasonists so that the American people will understand the need to arrest bloggers to make this country safe from terrorists.

(7) The CIA now has its own bloggers and a government website that are part of a revised CIA office for monitoring, translating and analyzing publicly available information. It is good news that the CIA is evaluating publicly available information in the fight against terrorism. The problem is we now know that when our government says “monitoring,” it’s not just al-Qaeda.

(8) The Bush administration refused to turn over control of the Internet to an international body, preferring to maintain unilateral control over the Internet. The fear is that “policy decisions could at a stroke make all Web sites ending in a specific suffix essentially unreachable.”
It should be noted that some of these indicators on their face are equivocal, but perhaps should be considered in the context of actions and policies of this administration. In this context, the Bush wagons are circling bloggers. And, once the perception is created that bloggers are a danger to national security, that perception is hard to unravel. The danger is that the American people will continue to follow Bush’s lead like sheep frightened by the terrorist wolf."

Why does Bush claim intented on spreading freedom and democracy overseas when it seems he doesn't want freedom and democracy at home? Why does he claim to believe in freedom and democracy at all? Why does he give brave U.S Soldiers the illusion that they are protecting America's freedoms and democracy when he doesn't believe in those freedoms and that democracy he claims they're protecting? As American Journalist Edward R. Murrow stated, "We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."

Just following the disaster that was 9/11, Bush and his administration had more control than they could possibly have ever imagined. Because of the fear that was implanted in the minds and hearts of Americans, Bush and company got away with sacrificing citizens' liberties and freedoms for what they claimed was greater security. But, as time has lapsed since the attacks, and no other major terrorist attacks have occurred on American soil, the American people have become more cognizant of what it was they were truly sacrificing. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Bush and his administration attempted using false dilemmas to slyly persuade the public to agree with them. "You're either with us or against us. You're either with us or with the terrorists." That was said right at the onset of what is termed the "war on terrorism." But, as time has gone on, more critics and skeptics of the administration and the war have appeared. Whether one talks about it to a friend, writes a blog, or writes a letter to a senator showing a voice of dissent against a decision made by the president, that does not make them a "terrorist." It is very ironic how Bush claims he believes in democracy and that the "enemy" fears our freedoms, yet, at the same time, it's obvious that he fears those very freedoms, because he will not deal with any criticism or dissent from anyone. Bush is for free speech, so long as the opinions expressed coincide with his and show no discontent toward anything he has said or done in the past. Dissent is what made America the place it is. America did not get to where it is by allowing one voice to speak and decide. But, that's the America Bush wants. Only he and his followers can openly express their thoughts and opinions. Anyone else, is not a true loyal American. But, I'm sorry George, as usual, you're wrong (that's what the W stands for). I think the before-mentioned Edward R. Murrow summed it up beautifully, when he said, "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."

You can read this and label me anything you want to George. All I and many others are doing is standing up for our rights that you so claim to fight for. Are we bloggers "terrorists?" No, we're Americans loyal to the Constitution, making the most of our freedoms. Check your approval rating buddy. It's at 39%. Does that make 61% of the country "terrorists?" No. Get over it, before that number dips even further.

Link
http://www.infowars.com/articles/media/bush_tags_bloggers_as_terrorists.htm