Freepmail or ping me on the thread to be added to the John Armor for Congress ping list.
Posted on 03/19/2008 1:14:00 PM PDT by MitchellC
Mumpower Misunderstands FISA Issues, Misquotes Ben Franklin
Carl Mumpower, Republican candidate for Congress from the 11th District, has put out a press release saying that the efforts in the US House to extend the FISA Act “demonstrate sharp differences between him and the other candidates.” He is right, but has the wrong conclusion, based on a gross misunderstanding of the subject.
FISA stands for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The ACLU (the American Civil Liberties Union) is using American civil courts in an effort to gut-shoot the government’s efforts to stay ahead of the terrorists seeking to kill Americans in America. It seems that Carl Mumpower has not done his homework before taking a position on this subject.
The quote that Carl Mumpower uses in the name of Benjamin Franklin in his latest News Release is a false quote, although with an ancient pedigree. Mumpower quotes Franklin as writing: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” This comes from the title page of An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania (1759).
However, anyone with a little skill in using an Internet search engine, like Google, can quickly find that the accurate Franklin quote is: “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” It is both better written, and has a different meaning, than the bad quote used by candidate Mumpower.
“More importantly, Carl Mumpower seems blissfully unaware of what brought about the immunity provisions in the original FISA Act,” said John Armor. He pointed out that lawyers for the ACLU had filed several damage claims against several telecom companies, seeking damages for their cooperation with international security searches as sought by the federal government.
Mumpower breaks from GOP on bill
Mumpower Accuses Shuler, Armor, and Campbell of Pandering on FISA
NC ping
Go John!
‘Of interest’ ping
Is John running again?
Yep.
Freepmail or ping me on the thread to be added to the John Armor for Congress ping list.
I’d vote for Billy Bob....if I were in his district. As it is, I’m stuck casting the usual protest vote against David Price.
I’m thankful my districts congress critter is Peter King
Is he actually going to run this time or just continue to solicit money?
John, well put, but another problem with the Franklin sentiment is that Ben was simply wrong in suggesting that there is no trade-off between liberty (including convenience, lack of hassle) and safety. Anyone who’s ever groused about pre-flight searches BUT who’s realized they’re necessary has digested this.
My thought exactly, I’ve thought it was kind of an odd quote coming from Franklin of all people. And of course the quote is abused mercilessly by every liberal and libertarian on the internet.
In WA state, the same leftists who are opposing the “loss of privacy” in the FISA case, want to put chips in our cars to track the amount of driving we do. The circular logic of these people is astounding.
Do you really feel safer after going through the TSA airport security circus?
Thanks for the ping.
Somewhat safer, yes. Would you rather fly on a plane whose passengers had gone unscreened? Air ACLU? I’ll take El Al, thanks.
All of which is beside my point: there is a tradeoff between security and liberty.
The 11th District of North Carolina is highly rural and very large. It contains 14 and 2/3rds counties, and I have been to all of them, an average of three times. That often involves up to six hours a day driving to and from home, since the roads are mostly two-lane, winding ones.
I "actually ran" last time as well. Anyone who wants to join me on the campaign trail is welcome to do so, and see if they can keep up. Running for office is a highly demanding activity on the candidate and his/her family.
Congressman Billybob
The false quote was on the frontispiece of a book that Franklin published, but did not write. That's where the error came in, which has acquired a life of its own.
John / Billybob
Western NC PING
Wait till you get to go through backscatter. You'll feel really safe knowing the TSA folks get to check you out in your birthday suit.
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