"This will make him a fine, useful animal"
Threats to civil liberties take many forms in Herb Block's cartoons, as exemplified by his sleek, lunging "Wiretapping beast," later described by Block as "the illegal and unlicensed pet of supposed law enforcement officers." With his depiction of the uncaged panther, Block warned against the Kennedy administration's expression of support in July of 1961 for legislative proposals to permit federal wiretapping related to threats to national security, kidnapping, and serious federal crimes.
Threats to civil liberties take many forms in Herb Block's cartoons, as exemplified by his sleek, lunging "Wiretapping beast," later described by Block as "the illegal and unlicensed pet of supposed law enforcement officers." With his depiction of the uncaged panther, Block warned against the Kennedy administration's expression of support in July of 1961 for legislative proposals to permit federal wiretapping related to threats to national security, kidnapping, and serious federal crimes.