September 2, 2002

Too Much Benefit, Too Little Doubt

Nat Hentoff in The Village Voice says it's time to demand Ashcroft's resignation. His advocacy of internment camps for Americans he deems "enemy combatants" is a disgrace to America. This allows the maniac himself to singlehandedly deprive any American citizen of due process. What does he have against due process? It's worked well for centuries. Who is he to revoke it?

Hentoff borrows heavily from LA Times columnist Jonathan Turley in this article, quoting him a number of times, including the following quote: "Of course Ashcroft is not considering camps on the order of the internment camps used to incarcerate Japanese American citizens in World War II..."

In this case I would have to say that none of us are in a position to say what Ashcroft is considering. In basic journalistic terms it may be proper to say, "Ashcroft says he is not considering..." if he in fact ever said so. But in this case, I don't know of any such assurances from Ashcroft. We have no way of knowing what he plans or what he thinks. We have only his past behavior to go by. And that is not at all reassuring.

-- By David Cogswell

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