|
"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of
men." - Abraham Lincoln
I used this quote on another page of mine, regarding the hideous
cruelty of cats and dogs being skinned alive for their fur. At the
time I had no idea that I'd be using it again to protest another horror
- that of our liberties being stripped away, leaving our country, like
the pets in the aforementioned article, naked and bleeding to die.
I remember as a child, being disgusted that year after year, we'd be
given the same subjects to study in history class. It would start with
a couple months on the explorers, then a month or two on the American
Revolution and the Constitution then we'd spend a brief week on the war
of 1812, another month on the Civil War, Lincoln's assassination and the
Reformation. If we were lucky, there'd be a day or so spent on WW1 and
another day on the stock market crash and then a couple weeks on Nazi
Germany and WW2. Then maybe a week on Kennedy's assassination. Somehow
we never got to current events. Never studied anything that actually happened
in my lifetime. (Other than Kennedy's death which happened about 5 months
after my birth.)
Next year the whole cycle would start again with Vasco de Gamma and Amerigo
Vespucci till I was vastly sick of the same-old.
Okay, maybe my school was not the norm. Maybe it was broke and couldn't
afford better textbooks. Maybe they couldn't afford new teachers with
new information. Granted I grew up in an inner-city school, where we were
lucky that the roofs didn't leak (often). It always ended before we got
to current events. (Fortunately my family was very politically active,
so what I couldn't get at school, I got at home.)
Thirty years later - crazy as it seems - I am grateful for the constant
repetition.
Why? Because it drummed the Constitution and our fight for American freedom
into my head.
Funny, until a short while ago I never concerned myself with those freedoms.
I hardly gave thought to the struggles of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan
B. Anthony, and my Mom's burning of bras during the 60's, I felt secure
in the rights that were mine from birth. The right to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. Never truly understanding how hard-won those
freedoms/rights were.
I was a child of the 70's and my political awakening began with Nixon's
impeachment. We listened to it every day on WBAI
radio. But even then, I had this fantasy that our press was free, that
our government process could deal with corruption and win the day.
Then came 9-11.
As a native New Yorker, I spent the day of the attacks at a blood bank
down here in Orlando, and the following weeks in fear and horror, as I
watched my city struck to it's core.
But the years following 9-11 I have taken note of a greater disaster.
Whether you believe that Al Qaeda masterminded the attacks, or that it
was the work of Al-CIA-duh (the Bush government in control of the alleged
terrorists) the object truth is that the government response to the attacks
was the stripping away of our fundamental rights and liberties.
The Patriot Act
Remember back in the old days when we had free speech? Here are a few
quotes from our presidents.
Thomas Jefferson, 1786
Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be
limited without being lost.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
Free speech, exercised both individually and through a free press,
is a necessity in any country where people are themselves free.
Calvin Coolidge, 1925
It is the ferment of ideas, the clash of disagreeing judgments, the
privilege of the individual to develop his own thought and shape his own
character which makes progress possible.
Herbert Hoover, 1929
Absolute freedom of the press to discuss public questions is a foundation
stone of American liberty.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1938
If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands,
they must be made brighter in our own. If in other lands the press and
books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts
here to keep them free. If in other lands the eternal truths of the past
are threatened by intolerance, we must provide a safe place for their
perpetuation.
Harry S Truman, 1950
There is no more fundamental axiom of American freedom than the familiar
statement: In a free country we punish men for crimes they commit but
never for the opinions they have.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
Don't join the burners. Don't be afraid to go to your library and read
every book, as long as any document does not offend your own ideas of
decency; that should be your only censorship.
John F. Kennedy, 1962
We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts,
foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation
that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open
market is afraid of its people.
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
Opinion and protest are the life breath of democracy - even when it
blows heavy.
Richard Nixon, 1973
It was the system that brought to light the facts [about Watergate]
and that will bring those guilty to justice - a system that in this case
included a determined grand jury, a courageous judge and a vigorous free
press.
Jimmy Carter, 1981
America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, human rights
invented America.
Ronald Reagan, 1985
There can be no greater good than the quest for peace, and no finer
purpose than the preservation of freedom.
George Bush 2001-forever(?)
If you're not with us then you're against us.
Under the Patriot Act, the government is allowed to make secretive searches
into what you and I are reading. Now, I'm not a terrorist. In fact I believe
in the value of human life above most else. And as such, I WANT to know
what sort of bombs and other vicious tactics any "terrorists"
might be using, and understand how to combat that. So if I go to my local
library and do some research, I could be branded as a terrorist.
"Section 802 creates a category of crime called 'domestic terrorism,'
penalizing activities that 'involve acts dangerous to human life that
are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States,'if the actor's
intent is to 'influence the policy of a government by intimidation or
coercion.'" A
Guide to the Patriot Act, Part 4: Should you be scared of the Patriot
Act?
Under Section 802, you can conceivably be branded as a terrorist for
an act as simple as jaywalking.
Under the Patriot Act the mere fact that I write these words could brand
me as a "terrorist". But if I keep my silence, what is the cost?
And lets not forget that it gives them the ability to cart you away without
letting anyone know you were gone, and without access to a lawyer, a jury
or even to know what charges have been filed against you.
Patriot
Act May Pose New Threats To Civil Liberties
USA
Patriot Act from the Ethical Athiest
The
Other War: The Bush Administration and the End of Civil Liberties
The Hate Law
S.1145, soon to be most likely passed into law, sounds like a good idea
at first glance. After all, if someone attacks me just because I'm a witch,
or attacks my friend because he's gay, I certainly would like the law
to take that into account. That's great if we're physically attacked.
And in that case I do feel that this should be treated as a hate crime.
However this bill is slippery enough that it could potentially be used
to attack freedom of speech. It defines a Hate Crime as "In this
Act, the term 'hate crime' has the same 3 meaning as in section 280003(a)
of the Violent Crime 4 Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (28 U.S.C.
5 994 note)." Which states that:
(2) such violence disrupts the tranquility and safety of communities
and is deeply divisive.
(4) such violence affects interstate commerce in many ways, including--
(A) by impeding the movement of members of targeted groups and forcing
such members to move across State lines to escape the incidence or risk
of such violence; and
(B) by preventing members of targeted groups from purchasing goods
and services, obtaining or sustaining employment or participating in
other commercial activity;
So in other words, if someone told their friends not to purchase a Celtic
necklace from me because I was a witch, and thus "evil" they would potentially
be in violation of this act. Now, much as I don't prefer that someone
does this, it's their right of free speech. Grandpa used to be fond of
quoting Evelyn Beatrice Hall (frequently attributed to Voltaire) "I
disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right
to say it."
By desiring to limit someone else's free speech I limit my own.
Don't
Be Hoodwinked By 'Anti-Hate' Bill S.1145
Posse Comitatus
Now Bush is talking about the imposition of martial law in the event
of bird flu, the next hurricane, etc. All ostensibly with the purpose
of letting our military "help" in the event of a natural disaster,
pandemic disease or "terrorist"
attack.
Posse Comitatus was passed shortly after the Civil War with the intent
of barring the Federal military from taking police actions in our states,
without prior permission from the governors. Remember that our police
are supposed to be "peace officers" who create safety for our
communities. And in fact I'm old enough to remember the days when the
local beat cop was someone you trusted to send the kids playing hookey
back to school, give you directions, rescue kittens from trees and threaten
to tell your mother (a far more terrifying authority than the criminal
system) if you were bad.
But now our police system has changed. We don't know our local cops,
and our police have increasingly been taught to distance themselves from
their citizens.
Now the government wants to bring troops trained in Faluja (i.e. shoot
before you're shot) to quarantine and police our cities and suburbs.
If the Bird Flu (which many sources claim is over-hyped) were to come
to America, could we not focus on voluntary quarantines? I personally
would be happy to stay away from carriers. Do we need the military to
enforce mandatory quarantines? Can't our police and National Guard (answerable
to the governor not the Resident) do that? (Oh yeah, I forgot our National
Guard is in Iraq.)
The idea of having trained-to-kill troops in our streets, is horrifying.
Not to mention that there are reports of police/military joint exercises
in which the cops and troops are faced with people saying "I'm an
American, I have rights!" and being trained to ignore those rights.
Is that what you want? Your Constitutional rights as an American Citizen
ignored?
Torture
photo
from Senators Who Voted For Torture
This is the issue that finally shook me up enough to get me to write
this rant.
I am horrified at the increasing allegations of torture - seemingly US
policy now - coming out of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. And I'm very proud
of our Congress for adding a no-torture stipulation to the latest military
spending bill.
What amazes me is that the Resident of the White House actually has the
gall to suggest that he will veto it.
Oh, well we NEED to torture people to get information on terrorism, he
suggests.
As witches, I think most of us know our history of the Burning Times.
Precisely what kind of accurate information do we expect to get with torture?
Can we even imagine that we get anything but lies and false confessions
designed only to stop the pain?
"I soured the milk." "I seduced Goodman Rove." "I
caused Goodman Roberts' pigs to die." "I slept with the Devil."
"Who is my accomplice? Who met with me under the full moon to worship
the Lord of Flies? It was her -- Goody Miers!!"
WTF??
As we've seen the majority of the people in Guantanamo (those who have
finally received due process) have eventually been found innocent. And
in general, when they've been found guilty it's mostly been because they
were tortured into "confession" of crimes that they most likely
did not commit. In the past few days I've read of one man being blinded
by guards sticking their fingers into his eyes. Another man crippled and
in a wheelchair because they took a bat to his spine. Another man subjected
to frequent and continual surgical scalpel cuts to his penis.
Not only is torture useless in getting accurate information, and just
plain EVIL as well. It additionally puts our troops - our families
who serve - in danger. If we don't follow the Geneva convention, then
our "enemies" won't either.
The administration is well aware of the illegality of this. According
to a January, 2005 memo from Alberto Gonzales he advised Bush not to arbitrarily
decide that Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters be exempt from the provisions
of the Geneva Convention. Under the 1996 War Crimes Act, Americans are
banned from committing war crimes—defined in part as "grave
breaches" of the Geneva Conventions. Noting that the law applies
to "U.S. officials" and that punishments for violators "include
the death penalty," Memos
Reveal War Crimes Warnings
Guess
Who's Afraid of the Geneva Convention
Torture
and the Geneva Convention
Concentration Camps and Forced Labor
Okay now I'm going to violate Godwin's
Law, which basically states that the first person to bring up the
Nazis in an argument loses the agreement. But guess what? The Nazi's really
existed, the Burning Times really existed, and people WERE tortured, killed
and . . . sent into work camps and concentration camps.
My grandmother came here from Poland at the end of WW2, and she personally
lived on work camps for several years before that. I grew up with stories
of the abuses there. She was forced to work for endless hours, had to
steal food just so that her children could eat, and at one point was forced
to stand in icy water in a well house for 3 days as punishment. (The Nazi
superiors had shown up saying "we are going to bring culture to the
Poles," and she answered with, "never mind culture, how about
some soap?")
It's an amazing thing she got out of there alive. And just as an amusing
aside, shortly after she was finally freed, the Allies "just happened"
to bomb the farm of the woman who mistreated her, leaving the farm of
a neighbor who had been kind completely untouched. She never admitted
to being a witch of course. :)
But that was over 60 years ago, right? So why do I bring it up now?
Because in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, once again - right here
in America - we have concentration/work camps.
Inmates held at Camp Amtrak are given only a blanket to protect them
from the cold and mosquitoes that arrive with the New Orleans night.
Jailers keep them in chain-link pens and refuse them access to legal
representation and any contact with the outside world.
Michael Resovsky was one of several men outside the jail yesterday
waiting to be picked up for a shift of what the sheriff’s department
calls "community service." He recalled the night he spent
inside: "They threw you a blanket and they gave you those MREs
– you know, those meals in a bag – and they take the heater
part out of it and the little bottle of hot sauce so you have to eat
it cold. And you sleep on the concrete with a blanket, and the smell
is not too nice. Abuse,
Forced Labor Rampant in New Orleans Justice System
This is America???
It's not bad enough that these people were left trapped on their roofs,
starving and without food or water for days. It's not bad enough that
they were abandoned by their government. (No matter which part of the
government you blame - frankly, New Orleans is a federalized city - the
federal government is in charge of it, and was well before Katrina, so
my personal angst is against the federal government and the Commander
in Grief.)
Now we're rounding them up on trumped up charges (come ON! in New Orleans,
public intoxication was the NORM for years, and no one harassed people
over it - this is a city where a few months ago it was legal to walk around
town with your drink, and bars sold alcohol out of walk-up windows!) letting
them sleep on concrete, in the open with toxic mosquitos who have been
exposed to gods-knows-what. And they're being forced to work as well.
How is this different from Nazi gulags?
Shouldn't there be a law?
There is one. It's called the Constitution. A brilliant masterwork created
by some of the most intelligent minds in the history of our country.
It defends our free speech, our safety from illegal search and seizure,
our right to protect ourselves from a government gone insane.
Our forefathers bled so that we could instate these
fundamental freedoms.
They knew that the laws they created were there to allow us to speak
up, stand up and defend ourselves, should our government attempt to take
away our rights, our freedoms . . . our "inalienable" Gods given
right to the "pursuit of life, liberty and happiness."
And without these basic freedoms, we bare ourselves to being stripped
of our rights and our lives, like the carcasses of dogs and cats, skinned
and left to die.
Never again the Burning.
Unless you let it happen . . . .
May the light of Freedom shine,
Blessings,
Lionrhod
I am presently compiling a list of senators and house members who are
actually fighting for truth, justice and the American Way. Please remember
that this is not about Republican vs. Democrat. There are wonderful people
on either "side" and there are crooks on either side as well.
Please stay informed. Please speak up. And recall the words of Pastor
Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was
not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I
was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because
I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
I will hopefully be adding to this list as I find them. I ask
that you please contact them, offer them your support and your love.
Russ Feingold
John Conyers
Cynthia McKinney
Ron Paul
Barbara Boxer
Ken Salazar
Joeseph Biden
Although my general rule on copying my articles is to ask that you link
rather than copy, I hereby grant permission to any and all to copy this
particular article and spread it wide. In the case of this article, I
feel the importance of the issue far outweighs my need for copyright.
I do ask that you link to me if possible.
Please be aware that the links from this article may go dead at any time.
Just yesterday the link to the ACLU
was not working, and there have been frequent attacks on the Alex
Jones websites, by Time
Warner/AOL. Please help support free speech in any way you can. Your
liberty depends on it.
|
