Foolish In The Extreme

by Turkana

I, too, would like to apologize for my inconsistent blogging. This will continue for another month or two. Meanwhile, your quote of the day comes from Sandy Levinson:

Today's New York Times editorial on "Pakistan Without Musharraff" includes the following sentence: "The presidency must also be stripped of the special dictatorial powers that Mr. Musharraf seized for himself, including the power to suspend civil liberties and rule by decree." I agree, but I would also apply the sentence, substituting only "George Bush" for "Mr. Musharraf," to the United States. To be sure, the Bush suspensions of civil liberties and rulings by decree may not be so extensive as were Mr. Musharraf's, but it is foolish in the extreme to refuse to recognize similar tendencies in the U.S (and perhaps in all modern governments, as Giorgo Agamben argues).

I would add that the word "tendencies" might be just a tad of an understatement.