Ian S. Thompson – 2/5/06

This page was last updated on February 6, 2006.

No one is above the law; Ian S. Thompson; Beaver County Times; February 5, 2006.

As background, Mr. Thompson is/was a Penn State student whose fields of study are/were English and international politics. When he “signed” an anti-landmine “treaty” on the web, Mr. Thompson indicated he was a member of Amnesty International. If you’ve read Mr. Thompson’s letters since at least mid-2004, you know he’s a full-blown socialist who tends to resort to name-calling and unsupported talking points.

Mr. Thompson has been a busy writer lately. This is his fourth letter since January 1, 2006. This is his third objecting to the U.S. eavesdropping on terrorist communications to/from the U.S.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“The lying and spying that have come to dominate the Bush administration were once again on display in King George’s royal decree, oops, I mean State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. Yes, old George is hoping that the American people are either too ignorant or too lazy or perhaps both to call him out on his utter disregard of our Constitution and system of checks and balances.”

[RWC] Ah, the old liberal stand-by. If you disagree with Mr. Thompson, you “are either too ignorant or too lazy or perhaps both.”

Mr. Thompson failed to note the Bush administration briefed Congressional leaders from both parties about the program from the very beginning and the program is reviewed for renewal every 45 days. How is that “utter disregard of our Constitution and system of checks and balances?”

“This citizen isn’t having any of it.”

[RWC] What a shock! If President Bush stated the Sun rises from the east and sets to the west, Mr. Thompson would accuse Mr. Bush of lying.

“Do not be fooled by the cynical attempt at using fear to rename the NSA’s domestic spying dragnet ‘terrorist surveillance.’ Numerous reports have clearly shown that massive quantities of e-mail messages and telephone calls were swept up under this illegal and unconstitutional program.”

[RWC] Some history twisting here by Mr. Thompson, another liberal staple. The terrorist surveillance program was never referred to as “domestic spying” until folks sharing Mr. Thompson’s beliefs gave it that misleading label. Is a plane flight from Pittsburgh to London a domestic flight or an international flight?

“FBI officials have said that virtually all of these led to dead ends or to innocent Americans (a.k.a. me, you and everyone we know).”

[RWC] I haven’t seen this reported and it makes no sense. While I expect a very small number of intercepted communications to result in something actionable, the “innocent Americans” portion of Mr. Thompson’s comment makes no sense given that the foreign end of these communications are suspected terrorists. I expect some intercepts to lead to “innocent Americans” because nothing is perfect, but “virtually all” sounds like a fabrication.

“Constitutional liberties aside, this massive dragnet is a waste of precious resources. Chasing down dead ends and innocent Americans can hardly be the most effective means of protecting this country. It is essential to craft policies that keep this country both safe and free. What we have seen over the past four years does neither.”

[RWC] Mr. Thompson is now an expert in counterterrorism? Mr. Thompson failed to note the 9/11 terrorists participated in communications like those being intercepted by the NSA. Unfortunately, we didn’t know this until after the post-9/11 investigations.

Why didn’t Mr. Thompson describe his policies to “keep this country both safe and free?” If you’re going to claim something doesn’t work, you need to provide alternatives. Mr. Thompson’s contribution is simply to say, “You suck!”

“This is not an issue of whether to protect the American people or not. No one wants to see this country attacked or innocent people harmed. This is simply a matter of making sure no one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law. After all, we are a nation of laws and not of men right?”

[RWC] “No one wants to see this country attacked or innocent people harmed?” I attach the same credibility to this statement as I do to “I support the troops” when uttered by today’s so-called anti-war groups.

I’m sorry, after reading Mr. Thompson’s screeds for the past couple of years, I believe Mr. Thompson – and many of his fellow travelers – would like a successful terror attack on the U.S. just so he could say, “I told you so.” I hope I’m wrong, but Mr. Thompson is such a strong partisan it’s hard to believe he cares about the U.S. first and his political goals second.