Monday, February 10, 2003

Perspective: Ashcroft's worrisome spy plans. Called the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA), the legislation has not been formally introduced in Congress, and a representative for Ashcroft indicated on Friday that it's a work in progress. But the fact that the legislation is under consideration already, before we know the effects of its USA Patriot Act predecessor, should make us realize that the Bush administration thinks "homeland security" is the root password to the Constitution. [News.com] I can only hope that Congress sees through this power grab by Generalisimo John Ashcroft and his merry band of authoritarians and not only rejects this bill, but rolls back some of the more obscene provisions of the USA (Un)Patriot(ic) Act. Unfortunately, Congress' recent performance leaves little reason to have such hope. Mr. Ashcroft's Conservative cronies frequently harp about the fact that we "don't need new gun laws -- we need to enforce the laws that are already on the books." With evidence saying that September 11th likely could have been prevented had different government agencies done a better job of sharing information in the first place, why should this be any different? If we did a better job of using the existing laws to fight terror, there would be no need for new laws. It is troubling to think that in the end, Osama bin Laden may win by turning the United States into just another Police State.   2:44:53 PM

Muslim Cleric Warns on Enemies at Hajj. He said Saudis had tried in the past to spread Islam and God's word and were accused of being terrorists. "The nation is being targeted in its religion, morals and economy. It is being targeted in its education curriculum, and they claim that the curriculum calls for terrorism," al-Sheik said. The conservative kingdom has come under increasing criticism since Sept. 11 terror attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks were Saudis, and Saudi Arabia's curriculum, which includes religious textbooks that promote the kind of anti-Western sentiment espoused by Osama bin Laden, has been criticized as encouraging terrorism toward the West. [AP World News] Like the leaders of the Christian church in Germany in the 1930s, many of the leaders of the Muslim religion in the middle east (and around the world) are abdicating their moral responsibility and siding with those who seek not peace, but division, hatred, and death. Instead of pointing fingers and dividing, we must learn to listen and accept. Instead of reinforcing long-standing hatreds of other people, we must choose to love those who we would tend to reject. History has shown us repeatedly over the course of the past century (and indeed, throughout the history of the world) the consequences of religious and ethnic hatred. Why do we insist on repeating it?   2:03:07 PM

IsThatLegal?: I submit that it is impossible to read this chilling memorandum and maintain, as Representative Coble did, that the Japanese American internment had anything to do with protecting the safety of Japanese Americans.   8:47:13 AM