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contributed to one of these organizations or
attended a meeting rounded up, stripped of their citizenship and deported.
Or this: A radical environmentalist attacks an oil tanker, and President John Ashcroft responds with similar tactics against Greenpeace or the Sierra Club. He denounces them as domestic terrorist organizations, freezes their bank accounts and starts arresting their members. Couldn't happen in America? It already has happened to several non-citizens arrested during the 9/11 investigation. But if Patriot II is approved, it could start happening to citizens as well. Other provisions of this legislation are just as chilling. For example, the government could create a database of DNA collected not just from suspected terrorists, but from non-citizens suspected of ordinary crimes, such as burglary and assault. In direct violation of the Fourth Amendment, prosecutors could conduct a wiretap for 15 days without a judge's approval, and monitor an individual's Internet behavior for two days without a warrant. The attorney general could deport any foreigner, even a permanent legal resident, by deeming their presence "inconsistent with national security." Local police departments could resume spying on political protesters, because the legislation overturns court decrees prohibiting such surveillance. Simply put, Patriot II would make America less of a free country and there's nothing patriotic about that. Geoffrey Neale is national chair of the Washington, DC-based Libertarian Party. Questions or other replies to this article should be directed to PressReleases@hq.LP.org. The Libertarian Party website: http://www.LP.org The URL to this article posted on the Libertarian Party website is: http://www.lp.org/press/op-eds.php?function=view&record=34 Libertarian Party Contact Information: THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037
Stray Thoughts
Notice
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Letters to the Editor
editor
Hi Sam, ... My hunch is that most of the young people who have joined the military did not research and think it through all that clearly. Most 18-20 year olds I know are a lot like I was at that age, more interested in the benefits than the responsibilities and not too practiced in critical thinking. So I would assume there is a lot of waking up going on over there for the bulk of our service men and women. One of the quotes I appreciate is from Victor Hugo "If a soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness." For me I see Bush & company & their sponsors, our Congress, the Opportunistic Media, and corporate America at the head of the class in causing darkness around this war. For me, it does not mean that the person who is left in the darkness, i.e. is ordered and does pull the trigger, is off the hook. He/she will have to live with the consequences of their actions (though committed in ignorance, still they are acts of soul transgression that scar them mentally/emotionally, psychically as well as physically) and sort it out with help if he/she is ever to have any peace. We have seen a lot of that in Vietnam Vets, many of whom committed suicide, lost their way or had to do hard and long therapy and personal work to find their way back. And those that are killed by these acts? We as a society owe them a great debt and responsibility to help make the loss of their lives have meaning as to constructive changes in society. Reverend W. Dale Blackford
strong4man@earthlink.net You have correctly perceived that the soldiers were ignorant. I refuse to concede that their ignorance excused them from responsibility for what they did. They weren't just playing ping pong. They were killing people. Before they did that, they had an obligation to educate themselves. I'm also disgusted at the praise heaped upon them by many observers for their restraint, since they didn't kill as many people as they might have. If somebody broke into a school and killed the kids but not the teachers, would we praise him for his restraint for not killing the teachers? Nonsense. Those soldiers are guilty every time they kill somebody. The ignorance of the soldiers leads to another point. Why should they have to educate themselves? They just finished a twelve year course in the schools. Why didn't they learn, there, about international law, the principles of liberty, and the dismal recent history of their nation? They came out of the schools ignorant. They went into the military ignorant. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that both the schools and the military are government institutions. The schools keep them ignorant so the military can more easily abuse them. editor
The next letter was hand-written. A few words were difficult to decipher. I hope that I got them right. If not, I apologize. editor
Sam Just got Apr '03. As usual, we are not in total agreement, but on track for the most part. First of all regarding "Personally Responsible", I do agree in part. Malice, or ignorance, it makes no difference, like you said. However since they seem to think that Iraq is partially responsible for 9-11 I say get 'em. ["Seem to think" doesn't justify killing people. There must be proof. editor] Mind you, if we had kept our noses out of the mid-east to begin with & let the Jews fight their own fight, this wouldn't have even happened. But since it happened, we need to handle it. Here in prison if I were to let someone just hit me & not do anything about it, I would be a punk. A punk gets treated like a punk no matter how big he is until he stands up & acts like a man. Then he is treated with respect. Do you remember the WTC bombing in the early 90's? or how about the numerous other terrorist attacks? Right, wrong, or indifferent, a punk is a punk. Period. America is full of punks. They need to stop crying things like "What about the children?" or "Those poor innocent refugees." What they need to do is stand up and do something about it. King George's reasons may not be the purest, but at least he is doing something about it. He is still a big fuck wipe, mind
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you, but he is not just standing by and letting
us get punked out. Granted, we have been interfering with their affairs
since 1946 when we told them to let the Jews have their ground. But
when dealing with predators, one has to be strong, if not a predator himself.
In short I don't believe for a second that we are over there to get chemical
weapons out of there. We shouldn't be over there to begin with, but
since we are over there we need to acquire some new oil wells, & show
the world that we do, in fact, have some balls. [That's like breaking
into somebody's house in the middle of the night and then deciding, heck,
since I'm here anyway, I guess it's OK to go ahead and steal something.
editor] I don't want history to remember us like it does the
French in WW2. [France was invaded by Germany. We were not
invaded by Iraq. editor]
Miss Kitty Hawk was an interesting situation. Simple, but interesting. If she wanted it, leave them be. If she didn't, he is a rapist and should be allowed to swim home. [I contend that seduction is every bit as coercive as rape and more likely to be premeditated. Maybe she should swim home. Regarding rape, see my article "Dark Reflections", March 1996. editor] So was Title of Nobility. Why should I be taxed again to drive on a road that my income taxes pay for? Or do they? Hmmm. [I'm not objecting to a driver's license on the basis of taxation. I'm objecting to it on the basis of access to privilege. editor] On to the Augusta National Golf Club. Very simple. Why would someone want to be in a clique that obviously doesn't want them? Malice is the only reason that I can think of. There are girl clubs, black clubs, Mexican clubs, etc. Let a white male try that & he is guaranteed a lawsuit that he will lose. More of that freedom & justice, huh? Hydrogen Power was also interesting. Hydrogen releases a great deal of energy when burned. Just ask anyone who was aboard the Hindenburg. Electricity is used to separate Hydrogen & Oxygen from water, which is burned. H & O are used together as a rocket fuel. I don't deny that it takes energy to make energy but even if it does lose a little, surely clean water for exhaust is better than the other things that petroleum releases. One power plant to produce power to release H & O from water for cars is surely better than one power plant & 10,000 cars. At least to the atmosphere. The two weapon articles were pretty good, also. To hell with Lebanon. [I was trying to be funny. Maybe it didn't work. editor] Let them worry about the chemical & bio weapons that Saddam may or may not have. If something doesn't effect us, we need to stay out of it. If something does effect us, like 9-11, we need to kill the offending party. [I disagree. Every time we kill an offending party, we create 10 more of them. After 9-11, I advocated that Colin Powell should go talk to Osama bin Laden, to find out why they were mad at us. I still think I was right. editor] I can guarantee that if a person & I have a disagreement & I kill him over it, he will NEVER disagree with me again. [I just disagreed with you. Should I fear for my life? editor] On to Iraq. I have been saying that we should let the people over there worry about their own dictator, and we ours for quite some time. That is what pissed me off about 9-11. I am an American citizen. Damn proud to be one. [U.S. citizen. There's no such thing as an American citizen. editor] This is MY government. Not theirs. Me & my people will decide when & if it should be overthrown, & how. Not some bastard who doesn't even have a green card. [I hope you won't take this too hard, but I'm completely undocumented not even a green card. editor] They effected us, we need to kill them for it. Period. [Question mark. editor] Well, I guess that's all of it. I hope all of this makes it into print so some nit-wit in California can say that I'm a nut-job, or like the last one, that I want attention. You may send him my address here, or better yet publish it so he can give me the attention that I apparently so deeply and ardently need. Seeya Sam. Brian
I'll provide his address upon request. editor
Dear Sir, I am an indigent prisoner in Colorado, 23 years old. By chance I came across the April '03 issue of 'Frontiersman' and it seems to me you have some intelligent things to say and a more enlightened point of view. The sarcasm is great too. If you can afford it, I'd love to receive your newsletter as my young mind is always hungry for input that is not contrived, artificial crap manufactured for unthinking masses. I feel I am more or less sensitive to your intent (by the production of Frontiersman) and sympathize greatly. Respectfully, [a new subscriber]
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Lady Helen the Gracious One of my most generous supporters, Lady Helen the Gracious, died on Friday, April 11, 2003. Her contributions were too numerous to mention but she always contributed when there was a need, even if it was a hardship for her. Shortly before she died, she answered my request for funding for the April issue of this newsletter with sufficient funds to publish that issue as well as this one. I hope that, while she was alive, I made her sufficiently aware of my gratitude. editor
editor
Tired Of It
Actual Funny Court Transcripts
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