BUSH THREATENS TERRORITS THREAT, AGAIN

Bush surrounded by archetypal scary monsters

WASHINGTON (WPI) - Returning to the most consistent theme of his presidency, President Bush again invoked his own form of terrorist threat to defend his violation of civil liberties and menace the press for revealing it.

In his weekly radio address, unusually televised, Bush invoked the incessant threat of horrible things just about to happen to "innocent American citizens." Though time-worn, polls continue to show that scary stories about impending doom and devastation have consistently improved the president's approval ratings.

Most doubt however that this attack on the free press will influence the negative sentiment in congress toward renewing the onerous Patriot Act.

President Bush accused the New York Times of jeopardizing national security by revealing that he authorized wiretaps on U.S. citizens after September 11. According to leading members of congress, and the NSA agents involved, the wiretaps are illegal.

Bush said:

"As president, I took an oath to defend the Constitution, and I have no greater responsibility than to protect our people, our freedom, and our way of life."

"Yet in this first war of the 21st century, one of the most critical battlefronts is the home front. And since September the 11th, we've been on the offensive against the terrorists plotting within our borders."

"One of the first actions we took to protect America after our nation was attacked was to ask Congress to pass the Patriot Act."

"The Patriot Act has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do: It has protected American liberty and saved American lives."

"Yet a minority of senators filibustered to block the renewal of the Patriot Act when it came up for a vote yesterday. That decision is irresponsible, and it endangers the lives of our citizens."

"...I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people...This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies."

"Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country."

"The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I'm the president of the United States. BOO!"

Numerous Senators considering their vote on whether to renew controversial portions of the Patriot Act cited The New York Times' report as evidence that the government could not be trusted with the broad powers it lays out.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, referring to the illegal wiretapping said such behavior by the executive branch "can't be condoned," and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the report swayed his decision on the Patriot Act proposal.