Domestic Terrorism

This is what the US is fighting for???

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Government Libertarianism War on Terrorism on by

The Bush administration is drawing up a long-term plan for al-Qa’eda suspects at Guantanamo Bay, including building a prison where they could be held for the rest of their lives without ever appearing in a court of law.

This makes me more than nauseous so I’ll let Zombyboy speak for me:
The plan by the Bush administration to jail al-Qa’eda suspects for life without ever submitting them to a court is wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.
I have no doubt that these are Bad People who have done Bad Things and harbor nothing but Ill Intent toward the people of the West. I understand that the last thing we want is to have these people back in the world plotting the next attack against the citizens of–well, anywhere from New York to London, Paris, or Rome, for instance. I even realize that the people who are drawing up this plan believe that the actions they take will help protect the rest of the world.
While the plan may be protected legally inasmuch as the terrorists are not protected by the Geneva Convention, the plan isn’t a moral one
Read the rest.

Dissent

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Federal Government Libertarianism US History on by

Geof Stone, author of Perilous Times, is guest blogging at Lawrence Lessig’s place.
Start here:

Can we learn the lessons of history? Can we avoid repeating the mistakes of the past? Given the pressures and fears of war, can we discipline ourselves both as individuals and as a nation to respect civil liberties even in a time of war? And is it even sensible to talk seriously about civil liberties in wartime? What do you think?
Then go back to the main blog page to pick up subsequent entries.
What do I think? In brief: our servants shall not infringe on our freedom.
I am, though, going to follow this thread closely and may have more to say as it progresses. And, I added Stone’s book to my Amazon Wish List (I’ll probably buy it when I place my last xmas order).

Government Failure

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Law Enforcement Libertarianism on by

Via Avedon I learned that John Perry Barlow is going to court, is doing battle for our freedom:

Apparently, everyone else who has been arrested as a consequences of these inspections, and there have been many, has pled guilty rather than face the cost and trouble of mounting a constitutional defense.
I might have done so myself had it not been for Gilmore’s willingness to support the handsome cost of my defense. That, and the recognition that unconstitutional behavior by the authorities is constrained only by the peoples’ willingness to contest them.
That his defense has a handsome cost, that people plead guilty rather than face the cost and trouble of contesting in court tells me that we no longer have a system of justice for the people of this country. People must be able to challenge the behavior of government, business, and other people in a timely fashion and at a reasonable cost. The backlogged courts and monopoly cost of legal assistance are significant failures of federal, state, and city governments in the US.

Raich v Ashcroft

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Law Enforcement Libertarianism Regulation on by

This is what you should be paying attention to today! Drug War Rant has a detailed guide on the issues and links to the supporting documents.
Though I do not have high expectations that the Supremes will do the right thing Lawrence v Texas does give me a bit of hope. Heck, maybe they will go just a bit extreme and just whack Commerce Clause legislation back to its foundations: the feds only business in regulating interstate commerce is to make sure the states do not establish laws that discriminate against the citizens of other states.

Making the Drug Thugs Useful

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Law Enforcement Libertarianism on by

The DEA is about as useful as an appendix. It and the rest of the thugs participating in the so called war on drugs do much more harm than good to the citizens of the US and its dependent countries.
They could, if we must allow them to continue to exist, make themselves a little more useful if they focused their efforts on a real problem. Something that kills 5 million people a year world wide.