Liberals take note: statism doesn’t pay
This is what happens when you put a statist in power:
Kristina Clair, a 34-year old Linux administrator living in Philadelphia who provides free server space for Indymedia.us, said she was shocked to receive the Justice Department’s subpoena. (The Independent Media Center is a left-of-center amalgamation of journalists and advocates that – according to their principles of unity and mission statement – work toward “promoting social and economic justice” and “social change.”)
The subpoena (PDF) from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison in Indianapolis demanded “all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us” on June 25, 2008. It instructed Clair to “include IP addresses, times, and any other identifying information,” including e-mail addresses, physical addresses, registered accounts, and Indymedia readers’ Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and so on.
As much as Bush was unloved by the liberal media (and the feeling was probably mutual), he would never have tried such heavy-handed tactic. Even as a neocon, such overt exertion of government power (with no apparent compelling state interest) would have gotten him disowned by his own base.
But, as a statist, Obama administration doesn't have any problem with government control and government action—neither does he fear alienation of most of his base when he does something like this—because most of his supporters care far more about redistribution of wealth than liberty and freedom.
If there is any liberal left who gives a damn about freedom (never mind which freedom you cherish most—regardless of order and priority, there are some freedoms that we all care about deeply), take heed: statism is the wrong road to go down, for statism always leads to totalitarianism—and the day when totalitarianism is synonymous with liberalism is when Orwell's nightmare has come true.