When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Is privacy making a comeback? Declan McCullagh writes for CNet that it appears Congress is having second thoughts (finally!) about the sweeping powers granted to the President and his boys by the Patriot Act.
Ashcroft, 12-07-01: " We need honest, reasoned debate, and not fear-mongering. To those . . . who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of goodwill to remain silent in the face of evil."
But as we know, if we've been paying attention, the very opposite is true: Bush and Ashcroft have been doing all they can to dampen dissent; they are the face of evil.
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
Privacy backlash
Is privacy making a comeback? Declan McCullagh writes for CNet that it appears Congress is having second thoughts (finally!) about the sweeping powers granted to the President and his boys by the Patriot Act.
By a 309 to 118 vote last Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that would essentially block part of the USA Patriot Act that permitted police to seek a court order that let them surreptitiously enter a home or business.This is quite a turn-around from the sad, bad days of late 2001, when AG John Ashcroft likened criticism by press or civil libertarians to treason while pretending to favor open debate.
Ashcroft, 12-07-01: " We need honest, reasoned debate, and not fear-mongering. To those . . . who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of goodwill to remain silent in the face of evil."
But as we know, if we've been paying attention, the very opposite is true: Bush and Ashcroft have been doing all they can to dampen dissent; they are the face of evil.
Palema
5:17 PM
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Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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