Today Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, marked the third anniversary of the signing into law of the USA PATRIOT Act, and lauded the Administration of President George W. Bush for its commitment to strengthening our nation's security at home, and winning the war on terror abroad.No further commentary needed...
"Three years ago today, President Bush launched a major effort to strengthen homeland security," Canterbury said. "In drafting the USA PATRIOT Act, the Administration reached out to the F.O.P. and other members of the law enforcement community to see what new enforcement tools were needed to increase our ability to disrupt future attacks before they occur. The law has proved to be a tremendous asset in the fight against terrorism."
Canterbury explained that the USA PATRIOT Act removed the legal barriers that prevented the law enforcement and intelligence communities from sharing critical information about terrorist activity. The law also updated anti-terrorism laws to meet the challenges of modern technology and travel and ensured that law enforcement investigators can use the same tools in terrorism cases that they have used for decades in drug, fraud, and racketeering cases.
Canterbury also criticized presidential candidate John Kerry for continuing to demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding about how to tackle the homeland security challenges we face. Specifically, Canterbury cited an assertion the Senator made today in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in which he described America's mayors as being on the "front lines of the fight to secure America" and that they "know better than anyone the challenges we face to keep our cities prepared."
"If Senator Kerry honestly believes that mayors have a better grasp on the security issues facing their cities than the first responders who actually work on the 'front lines,' how could we trust him with delivering the equipment and funding we need to do our jobs more safely and more effectively?" Canterbury said. "After all, aren't the same people that he is praising so highly the first to cut police services when their budgets get tight, and consistently fail to retain these vital public servants by providing them with a decent wage?"
"To suggest that the war on terrorism here at home will be won by elected city officials rather than our public safety officers is the most troublesome example of his disconnect on the issues of importance to these brave men and women in his campaign for the White House," Canterbury said.
The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 318,000 members.
Mark's Remarks
WHAT?!?!?!?!??! A first responder organization is LAUDING Bush? This must be a conspiracy, it must be a dirty trick by the Republicans...wait, you didn't hear anything about this, did you? Therefore, it must be the truth, since all the 'mainstream' (read partisan propaganda) press does these days is report falsified memos and bogus stories from a disgruntled and useless UN official.
