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With Mid Term elections just around the corner maybe it's time for us to start taking a harder look at what has happened to "OUR" civil liberties. What we once took for granted as the cornerstone of being an American would seem to be in the process of disappearing on an almost daily basis.

The White House got more than a little upset with the New York Times when it broke the news on their highly classified program of monitoring bank accounts. This story came just as the storm over "Wire Taps" had finally began to ease off. President Bush called them (the New York Times) disgraceful and said the story had caused "Great Harm" to America.

Can we or should we continue to allow "OUR" Presidents the right to use their constitutional responsibility for national security to trample over "OUR" civil liberties. Our First Amendment allows the press the freedom to question the government, Jefferson believed that democracy could easily descend into tyranny and a vigorous free press was necessary to prevent our future leaders from getting too full of themselves. We (the press) have not always got it right, but without us such matters as the Pentagon Pages, Watergate and the most recent tragedy at Haditha would never have seen the light of day.

In the coming months, we must listen closely to the debates on this subject. The government's assertion that we must leave it unhindered in how it uses its powers to protect our security could very well camouflage their desire to increase Executive Power. Justice Oliver Wendell Homes famously wrote, "The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market". They (our leaders) would do well to remember, we are the Judge it is us (the people) who are the makers of "OUR" government.

Let's look at a few of the issues we are facing at the moment. We have tens of thousands of Americans still displaced after last years storms, hundreds of thousands of our elderly going without food to pay for over priced medicine and a homeless problem that would put a third world country to shame. Surely it's time we (the people) STARTED to demand solutions from our leaders to these problems. How can we put the rest of the world to rights when we can't even put our own house in order.

There's an arrogance of incumbency that comes from a 98% re-election rate. These people (our leaders) will spend billions of dollars between then to get re-elected. I have never understood why we allow these people to spend this type of money to get elected. After all for the most part these jobs less than one hundred thousands dollars a year.

If they can raise these vast amounts of money for election campaigns WHY are we still living with the same old problems ? Have we issued one blank check too many!

Have an opinion or a question you would like me to answer, then write me! Http://www.CarlHampton.com

About the Author

Your" Money Matters By Carl Hampton Author of "From Credit Despair To Credit Millionaire" http://www.CarlHampton.com http://www.fcdtcm.com