We have handed a blank check drawn against our freedom to a man who may now, if he so decides, declare not merely any non-American citizens "Unlawful Enemy Combatants" and ship them somewhere - anywhere - but may now, if he so decides, declare you an "Unlawful Enemy Combatant" and ship you somewhere - anywhere.
And if you think this hyperbole or hysteria... ask the newspaper editors when John Adams was President, or the pacifists when Woodrow Wilson was President, or the Japanese at Manzanar when Franklin Roosevelt was President.
And if you somehow think Habeas Corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: if you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an "unlawful enemy combatant" -- exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this Attorney General is going to help you?
This President now has his blank check. He lied to get it. He lied as he received it. Is there any reason to even hope, he has not lied about how he intends to use it, nor who he intends to use it against?
i praise the fact that your lj is one of the, if not the, most read, as it will hopefully open people's eyes to what is going on in our country. I never thought of you as a political lightening rod, but if you can awaken one more goth/rivet/electro/club kid/techie/geek/nerd/etc.. to what is going on in our country, then more power to you...
I should have a link to the video of tonights comment by tomorrow and will post it on mine...
The problem is that the people who read his journal already know, but are a tiny minority compared to the millions of drooling idiots who are too busy watching TV and getting so fat they need a scooter to get around, to stop and vote, or do anything at all.
I LOVE TO GENERALIZE EVERYTHING
EVERYONE EXCEPT ME AND MY FRIENDS IS STUPID!!!
You've seen who they've been voting for, right?
Have you been to the mall lately?
I don't intentionally stick my hands into meat grinders and I don't go to the mall.
Such a horrible generalization about malls. :(
Heh. You're seriously trying to defend these people? Get fucked.
Hey, think of all the kj of energy stored up in that fat!
We're gonna need it after peak oil...
Soylent petrol is people.
i'd hate to differ with you, but even if they already know it doesnt mean that they are doing anyhting about it, and unfortunately sometimes a vote is not enough...
Yes, if only the goths would stop supporting Bush, everything would be fine...
Great. Now I have a mental image of a Morbid Elephant party that supports free trade, elective war, and mascara.
Do you have any idea how much Saudi oil goes into that mascara per annum? It makes a Hummer look like a hummer!
Its not that I think that thei vote for him or even that they vote republican, its that I think they are.apathetic and even if informed lack the motivation and effort to make a change/difference.
In all honesty, think of how many people whose number one concern is their image and social status thatactually are politically active,hell even truly aware.
FWOOOSH
um... most of my friends in the club scene are actually pretty politically aware, at the very least, and very liberal.
somehow, i don't think it's the goths and scenesters in SF that are pulling this country closer to fascism every day.
While I agree with you, apathy and non action can be just as damaging as doing the deed oneself. I am not saying club kids are causing our move towards a totalitarian state, in fact it is people blinded by peesonal religious and economic motivations to see what their votes and dollars are doing
Unfortunately, it is usually the most repressed groups - non-whites, poor people, and liberals in general - that fail to show up at the polls (looks at jwz), while the religious and the conservative tend to show up in record numbers when there's a decisive issue on the ballots. These are the very people, who, if they ever decided to be non-apathetic, could actually help change things by voting.
A friend has a .sig file that reads, "I love my country - it's my government that terrifies me."
Make sure your passport is current; you may need it at a moment's notice.
From whom will you obtain an exit visa?
We'll always have Netscape.
Heh heh heh! You must remember this, a browser is just a browser...
besides, where would you go? Things aren't really shaping up any better in the rest of the world. Britain is more of a totalatarian/police state than we are right now, most of Europe and Asia and for that matter the rest of the world have worse human/civil rights records than we do, and well, Canada even with its Universal Health Care has its own issues...
Let's see, considering Canada; which of the following are criminal, stupid things that Canada could conceivably do, given the current political system there:
1. Start an illegal, offensive war against a distant country based on lies. Have its populace endorse such a war from the beginning.
2. Routinely and unashamedly ignore the Geneva conventions. According to opinion polls, have its populace endorse this from the beginning.
3. SUSPEND HABEAS CORPUS.
4. Ship weapons to another country that has started a separate illegal, offensive, objectiveless war, and endorse its actions on the UN security council.
What's that? None of the above? Right. That means that, while Canada may have its issues, it's still far and away more trustworthy, saner and generally better than the US. Anyway, if you're really worried about being on the same continent as Cheney, Sweden isn't going anywhere.
Do you really think Canada is the best place to live given the current political situation? My boyfriend and I (Canadians) have been itching to get further away from the US.
Well, Sweden is on another continent, and exports very little lumber to the US, consequently dealing less with its politics and politicians. But I suspect your Swedish isn't up to much, and learning it in Sweden is hard, because sounding like an idiot is no fun and everyone else's English is so good that you won't have to ... until you have to get a job.
Well, my husband and I put everything in storage and are traveling around South America right now to figure out where we're going to live for the next 2-3 years. Currently, we're in Venezuela and we've been to Ecuador and Peru. We're going to visit Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia as well - so far Venezuela is winning hands down. The free software movement here is HUGE and the community is very active. It's awesome.
My impression is that Canada's recently-installed Conservative government only lacks a large enough majority to do these things. Maybe they could have won more seats if they'd fielded an inarticulate sockpuppet as party leader.
What George W. Bush lacks in intelligence, Stephen Harper makes up for with his warm demeanor and people skills.
What a duo!
As far as the Habeas Corpus thing, it's probably worth noting that Canada also ran internment camps for the Japanese during WW2, so there is some precedent. (Oh, and they also ran similar camps for Ukrainians during WW1.)
Most of Europe? We in Spain might have our own issues (like with the recent EU-wide data retention directive) but, just for an example, gay marriage has been fully legal here since last year.
I hate to say this, but judging from your words, you still seem to be trapped in that "USA is number one!" mindset that brought you guys to your current situation in the first place.
Who says leaving is the reason you'll need it, and not a cop asking to see your papers?
even with papers, you can still be swept up, taken, and when you say "I have papers" they can say you don't and you will have no way to defend yourself. Now this statement I just made is very, very, very not likely to happen, but if you listen to what Olbermann said, and at our own history, we have rounded up citizens before...
I remember when the movie THE SIEGE came out, and how shocking the actions/events in the movie were, and well, we are getting closer and closer to it every day...
The only thing US Citizens have going for them in the scenario you describe is that their family or friends or employers or neighbors or someone is likely to ask questions if they disappear.
Right after American Idle wraps up the next season.
Ah, apathy. It serves tyrants better than complicity, it does, because unlike the latter, it leaves no trace.
and the history books blame hilter for the holocaust...it wouldn't have happened if not for the complacency of everyone else...all of us.
and the cycle repeats.
I love Mr. Olberman. LOVE him.
To be spoken for in mass media feels really nice, you know?
I'd no idea MSNBC would provide a forum for such blunt (ie direct and honest without that Act As If You Respect For He Is Powerful drapery) speech. Incredible. And it's great to see a guy who looks like a middle-aged corporate VP delivering the message (since that seems to make a lot of difference in viewers willingness to listen). And acknowledging the culpability of Roosevelt in the Japanese-American concentration camps was bold...so often the camps go unmentioned when the Roosevelt presidency is applauded, as if they were some sort of Act Of God.
I'm not seeing much of this story here, isn't there any protest against all this?