Civil liberties further threatened or Bush paranoia?

A Princeton prof of noted repute in constitutional law was labeled a terrorist when attempting to board a plane. He was delayed and ultimately his luggage was "lost."  Is this paranoia or a true incident.

Hard to tell because of the source.

The issue, aside from the political issue and civil rights issue, is one of the credibility and reliability of the internet. We are being provided with more information than ever before. The cost is low (if not free!). With sites such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and www.citizendium.com, we are facing information overload. That’s o.k. when we need the information. But, it’s not o.k. when the provided information is wrong, as it often is!   "Reader beware!" Who can we trust? "If written, it must be true." Or so that’s what we were taught when using the Encyclopedia Britannica. But, that no longer is necessarily so.

The conclusion, then, is that the internet may be less useful than intended and hoped for. And the need to think, not just rely on others, is even more critical than ever before. Yet, in our fast-paced world, we often have too little time to do the original or verifying research we need in order to be accurate and confident in our assertions.

Was that (the need for a speedy decision) why Congress went along with Pres. Bush in approving the invasion of Iraq?  Was that why the American people overwhelmingly approved his performance in office for so long? That, despite later revelations that the information provided us to sustain the President’s position was flawed, if not downright erroneous.

And, I suppose the bottom line issue, for us as citizens as well as for us as business people running a law practice, where do we get reliable information, not merely someone’s "spin," that will enable us to make intelligent choices?

Categorized in: Personal Thoughts