Constitution

Freedom?

This entry was posted in Constitution Iraq Libertarianism on by

I wonder how soon we can expect this form of freedom in the US?

BAGHDAD, Nov. 11 � American soldiers handcuffed and firmly wrapped masking tape around an Iraqi man’s mouth as they arrested him on Tuesday for speaking out against occupation troops.
Asked why the man had been arrested and put into the back of a Humvee vehicle on Tahrir Square, the commanding officer told Reuters at the scene: ”This man has been detained for making anti-coalition statements.”
He refused to say what the man said.

Via Electrolite.

Patriot Act in Action?

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Libertarianism Patriot Act on by

Looks like the feds are using the Patriot Act to watch and evaluate you in many ways:

When Rebecca Foster offered to serve on the board of her homeowners association, she figured the biggest sacrifice involved her time.
But because of the requirements of the Patriot Act, the Las Vegas resident feels her volunteerism could come with a steeper price — her privacy.
Foster first became perturbed two months ago when her association’s new bank sent each board member a letter. Community Association Banc, a division of First National Bank of Nevada, had requested the dates of birth and Social Security and driver’s license numbers for any board members with check-signing privileges on the account.
The personal information was necessary, the bank said in the Aug. 27 letter, “to look for any derogatory banking information” and “to check them against the government’s terrorist list.”

Just say no and use cash.
Via Hit and Run.

Interview with the Patriot Act

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Humor Libertarianism Patriot Act US Politics War on Terrorism on by

Dong Resin interviews the Patriot Act:

DR: Right, yeah. Now, I thought your name was an attempt to sell you as, you know, “good for American citizens”, yet another big pander from the current administration, as in”no child left behind.” Not the case?
PA: Yeah, a lot of people have taken it that way, but really, if you think about it for even half a second… exactly who needed to be sold? Where was the big scary resistance that I had to push through?
Face it, I could have been named “The Let’s Knife-Rape Dakota Fanning For Satan Act”, and no one would have twitched. I passed though congress like greased shit through a goose with nary a peep. Nobody really had the stones to open their cry-holes after 9/11, did they.

There is more. Laugh or cry as it suits.
Via Gregory Harris at Planet Swank.

Questions to be Answered

This entry was posted in bush Constitution Democracy Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Law US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

Mark Kleiman asks a couple questions that I’d also like to see some good answers to. First:

I don’t really want to see Rush Limbaugh spend the next twenty-five years of his life in prison, which is what would happen if the laws of the State of Florida were enforced. But I really do want to see the politicians and pundits who support both Limbaugh and the drug war explain why that particular law shouldn’t be enforced in this case, and why it shouldn’t be repealed.

Second:

Now that George W. Bush has expressed his support for democracy in the Middle East, can we expect some indication of concern on his part about the evident intention of his friend Pooty-Poot to put an end to it in Russia?

There is more context for both questions in Mark’s posts.