Swift Bank Organization For Truth

The disclosure last Thursday by the New York Times that the Bush Administration has secretly been using the bank transaction data from the finance industry cooperative, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), is hardly shocking or revelatory. It is not surprising that the Bush Administration is acting like reporting this is tantamount to treason. An administration so obsessed with its own secrecy seems not to have forgotten that it regularly broadcast its intentions to track and cut off the financing of terrorist individuals and organizations. Those engaged in terrorism would have to be rather clueless not to imagine that inter-bank financial transfers have the potential to be monitored.

What is most striking is not that the Bush Administration asked for access to information held by SWIFT, but that they have been gathering such information for close to five years and apparently have not sought the eventual approval and authorization of congress. Some extreme measures immediately following the 9/11 attacks were clearly justified, but what makes little sense is why the administration did not seek a congressional mandate for such a program, something congress surely would have granted.

The Bush Administration seems not to understand the value of working with the legislative branch of our government. The administration's blatant and arrogant disregard for congress--a Republican-controlled one, no less--seem dangerous, yet consistent with past excesses, the domestic warrantless wiretapping program. This latter program has the added bonus of illustrating an even greater disrespect for the judicial branch. Who needs FISA court oversight just because it's mandated by law?

Americans must demand greater accountability from the administration. No official, not even the president, is above the law. The "war on terror" does not mean American citizens should willing give up on our democracy, and the balance of powers as enshrined in the constitution.

The original NY Times article is viewable at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/washington/23intel.html

The president's reaction is viewable here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/washington/26cnd-prexy.html

UCSC Loses a Chancellor

Last week I signed up for a UC-Santa Cruz alumni gathering in downtown Los Angeles. The idea was to have a wine-and-dine for alumni to meet the new chancellor, Denice D. Denton, who joined UCSC last year. Yesterday I heard she tragically plunged to her death from the 42nd floor of the Paramount building in San Francisco in an apparent suicide. Understandably, the Alumni Association cancelled the meeting with Los Angeles alumni. I have to say, I've never had a meeting cancelled due to such circumstances.

Denton seemed like a great catch for UCSC when she was appointed in February 2005. I had been particularly impressed with her advocacy of women and minorities in the sciences. While not one with a track record of supporting the humanities, Denton still seemed like a candidate with a strong administrative background and an asset for UCSC. More information about Chancellor Denton can be found at UCSC's Chancellor Page. I first read about the news of her death in the LA Times, but found more comprehensive coverage at the SF Chronicle's web site.

My sympathies go out to Chancellor Denton's family and friends.