Sell Not Virtue To Purchase Wealth, Nor Liberty To Purchase Power.

I wasn't going to post anything today, but after reading this, I had to put in my two cents. So Alberto, my grandparents might be illegal immigrants, Gonzales is now saying that reporters who publish leaks can be jailed.

(Reuters)"There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility," Gonzales said told ABC's "This Week," when asked if the government could prosecute journalists for publishing classified information.
……
Gonzales did not rule out prosecuting the Times or its reporters for publishing the leak.

"We are engaged now in an investigation about what would be the appropriate course of action in that particular case, so I'm not going to talk about it specifically," Gonzales said.

"But as we do in every case, it's a case-by-case evaluation about what the evidence shows us, our interpretation of the law. We have an obligation to enforce the law and to prosecute those who engage in criminal activity," he said.

Case by case? Does this mean they are going to prosecute only the ones that leak evidence that hurts them? It must be, otherwise Robert Novak should be the first case on the docket and not the Times or it's reporters.

Two ABC News reporters said on a network Web site that a top federal law enforcement official told ABC the government was tracking phone numbers that the journalists were dialing in a bid to identify confidential sources.

"I think there's misunderstanding about these activities. ... We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order," Gonzales said.

"I will say that I understand very much the role that the press plays in our society, the protection under the First Amendment we want to promote and respect, the right of the press. But it can't be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity," he said.

Violating our rights that are guaranteed under the Constitution, which Gonzales all but says they are doing in the name of "security", is a crime in itself. Isn't this the same thing as "renegade judges", something that this Administration and the right screamed about in 2004? While polls are starting to swing more to the majority of Americans being against spying, I am baffled that ALL Americans aren't against our rights being violated, and the people uncovering these crimes are going to be prosecuted.

Fear can be a powerful motivation for people to overlook their rights and say just protect me at any cost. "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." If they knew this in the 1700's, how can people still allow this to happen today? We need to wake up and realize that if we do nothing now, free speech and the rights that make us the greatest country on Earth, will be a thing of the past!!