'Political and Ideological' Acts Put U.S. Credibility at Risk (O
Globo, Brazil)
"Suddenly, the White House is obliged to explain a series
of assaults on civil rights. The question is: was this the way it was the whole
time and we only found out now; or did the administration take a dangerous
turn? What went public in recent days is enough to chill the blood of those who
see the U.S. as a paradigm of democracy and liberty, which, in fact, it is."
President Obama is shielded from the rain by a U.S. Marine, at a press conference last week with Turkey Prime Minister Recep Erdogan. With the onset of scandal, the image has been parodied by cartoonists across the world.
Ask
yourself what is going on with the Barack Obama Administration at the beginning
of his second term. Suddenly, the White House is obliged to explain a series of
assaults on civil rights. The question is: was this the way it was the whole
time and we only found out now; or did the administration take a dangerous
turn? What went public in recent days is enough to chill the blood of those who
see the U.S. as a paradigm of democracy and liberty, which, in fact, it is.
Therefore, it is necessary for Obama and his government act quickly and effectively
to repair the damage and ensure no recurrence.
Called
to testify before the House of Representatives, Lois Lerner, head of the tax-exempt
division of the Internal Revenue Service, invoked the Fifth
Amendment so as not to answer lawmakers’ questions. They wanted to know why
the IRS targeted conservative groups using screening programs that detect words
like “Tea Party” or “Patriot,” for example. Simply put: the Democratic
government's fiscal machine was hunting conservative groups linked to the opposition
Republican Party. Something that violates, among other things, the principle
that all are equal before the law. Or that tax authorities cannot discriminate
against taxpayers for political or ideological reasons.
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
What
worries defenders of freedom of the press, and freedom in general, is information
that the
FBI spied on the telephones of several journalists at the Associated Press (AP) news agency in
order to investigate the source of leaked information on a thwarted terrorist
plot launched in Yemen. It didn’t take long for another case came to light,
this time involving a reporter from Murdoch’s conservative TV channel Fox News, which criticizes Democrats and
frequently defends views expressed by the Republican Party. James
Rosen, head of the Washington bureau of Fox
News, reported in 2009 that North Korea planned to launch a missile in
response to U.N. Security Council condemnation of North Korea's nuclear tests.
The Justice Department began an investigation into a leak of “confidential
information” which led to a State Department employee. But it didn’t stop there:
it classified Rosen as a “co-conspirator” and asked the courts for access to his
e-mails.
With
this, the Obama government has gone too far, beginning to threaten the
fundamental right of the press to collect and disseminate information. The
measures promised by the president so far - investigations by the government agencies
themselves - are incapable of reassuring those that want to be sure that they
won’t suffer discriminatory treatment from the government. As this is the start
of his second term, the president has time to ensure that this doesn't happen.
His legacy is at risk.
