-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
CONGRESS ACTION: January 27, 2002 ================= WESTERN RESOLVE: During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a quintessential and life-long Bolshevik hater, was once asked how he could justify aligning himself and England with Stalin and the Soviet Union in the fight to defeat Hitler's Germany. Weren't they both equally bad, he was asked? To which Churchill replied, "I have only one purpose, the destruction of Hitler, and my life is much simplified thereby. If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least make a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons." Many today lack such clarity of vision and purpose. Spurred on by the international "rights" community, much of the western media and many governments are ranting about the treatment of the al Qaeda terrorists in custody at the American military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Initial reports in London newspapers claimed those prisoners were being subjected to "sensory deprivation" that could result in "permanent psychological damage", to the great shock and consternation of international gadflies. Britain "wanted an explanation from the United States about published photographs showing Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners kneeling and tightly manacled." As opposed, perhaps, to being loosely manacled? Human Rights Watch complained, "The United States should not be transporting detainees to Cuba until it can provide decent shelter." But judging from their "World Report 2002", Human Rights Watch considers the United States hardly distinguishable from the Taliban anyway, for human rights violations "including police brutality, unjustified racial disparities in incarceration, abusive conditions of confinement, use of the death penalty.violations of immigrants' rights, workers' rights (including those of migrant workers), harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth in schools, and of gay and lesbian members of the armed forces"; and America's "unilateralist line" regarding international arms control agreements and "blatantly obstructionist approach" to the U.N. Conference on Small Arms (how dare the U.S. object to a treaty, just because it's useless, stupid, dangerous, and unconstitutional?). The International Red Cross and the United Nations are investigating. Amnesty International scolded, "When the security of a State and the safety of its people are at risk, it is vital that human rights standards and the rule of law are upheld." Or, as a London paper put it, "Let justice be done, though the world perish." Amnesty International recognizes that "Baseless allegations against civil society are an open invitation to attack them", and decried the "contemptible twisting of facts" contained in various allegations made against it in connection with another unrelated conflict -- but is oblivious to whether its own baseless allegations and contemptible twisting of facts could serve as open invitations to global terrorists to launch renewed attacks against American civil society. The London Times had the good sense to realize that "the effect -- perhaps the intent -- of much coverage [of the prisoners] was mischievous", and that it only "enraged Middle Eastern allies and brewed up angry urban myths among young Muslims." Words of unusual candor, but sadly lost amid the "rights" frenzy. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and "civil rights advocates" filed a writ of habeas corpus in Los Angeles federal court on behalf of the prisoners, alleging violations of their rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Convention. How Clark believes al Qaeda terrorists, non-U.S. citizens captured by the U.S. military during warfare in Afghanistan and detained in Cuba, obtained rights under the U.S. Constitution, is unknown; but Clark obviously thinks that the entire population of the world (with the exception of American gun owners, of course) have rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. As for rights under the Geneva Convention, by specifically targeting civilians and violating other aspects of the "laws and customs of war", the al Qaeda terrorists are unlawful combatants under the Hague Conventions and have forfeited all rights under the Geneva Convention. One British newspaper recounted by way of practical instruction -- what Henry Kissinger might call "Realpolitik" -- the story a rebellion by a sect of fanatics in India during British rule over a century ago, a rebellion to which the local British military command responded with the summary execution (by cannon fire) of fifty prisoners. The British political establishment and public of the time were shocked. The general in charge was sacked in disgrace. However, the story noted, the rebellion abruptly ended and the fanatical sect was never heard from again. But we need not return to the nineteenth century to learn the lesson that it is usually more effective to fight fire with fire than with empty-headed platitudes. Recall the international terrorist threat posed by Libya's Muammar Qaddafi in the 1980s. There was evidence that Qaddafi was responsible for a terrorist bombing in 1986 in Germany, in which several American servicemen were killed. In response to that incident, President Reagan ordered an air attack against Libya, narrowly missing Qaddafi himself. The international rights community was atwitter with rage at such a war-like and uncivilized act by the United States. However, Qaddafi has barely been heard from since. Once the facts were brought out by a British government fact-finding mission, the British press, to their credit, modified their stance and criticism of the treatment of al Qaeda prisoners subsided. The British media's behavior is in sharp contrast to the normal behavior of American media, in which facts are irrelevant to politically motivated scandal-mongering, even if they have to invent a scandal out of thin air. It turned out that the alleged "sensory deprivation" -- goggles and earmuffs -- were for security and warmth during transport and were removed as soon as the prisoners were put in their cells. The British fact-finders determined that the prisoners are being well treated, well fed, given medical treatment, and are allowed to contact relatives and to pray regularly. Even the prisoners who are British citizens, when interviewed by representatives of their own government, had no complaints about their treatment. But the damage from the hasty, ill-informed, inaccurate, and hence irresponsible, initial hysteria of the "rights" community and the extremist left, for whom ignorance of the facts is never a reason to withhold rushing to judgment, has already been done. From Saudi Arabia, "The United States is adopting the principles of the 'Struggle of Nations' without publicly declaring it. This is a state of Totalitarianism." From Egypt, "inhumane measures"; from both Bahrain and Tunisia, "the law of the jungle". From the usual European leftists, "increase the worldwide concern over America's unilateral policy"; "the consequences of America's incoherence"; "below the dignity of a cultured nation"; "The Wild West methods so dear to the Bush Administration continue to create embarrassment among allies all over the world". The fight against terrorism is not the parlor game that "rights" complainers seem to think it is. The twisted caricature of America that has been presented over the years by the hate-America left in this country has already been adopted by radicals around the world as an accurate portrait of this country, and used by them as a justification for trying to destroy us. More baseless allegations and contemptible twisting of facts only adds fuel to the fire. ILLEGAL ALIEN VICTIM COMPENSATION: From the Senator Hillary Clinton website: "In a legal memorandum to the Attorney General and the Special Master [of the Victim Compensation Fund], Senator Clinton recommended the following changes to the Interim Final Rule of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund: . 6) The rule does not clearly protect the families of undocumented workers who died on September 11 from deportation if they apply for compensation from the fund. Such people may have suffered among the most grievous of economic losses on that tragic day, yet fear of reprisal might prevent them from taking action to protect their families' financial future." Translation -- Not only does Senator Hillary want compensation paid to victims of the September 11 attack who are illegal aliens (the traditional designation for the politically correct phrase "undocumented workers") -- by definition, criminals who have flaunted United States law to get here or stay here -- but Senator Hillary also wants to be sure that those illegal aliens will be exempt from American law, and will not be deported when they apply for the money. And just coincidentally, according to a Fox News analysis of the 2000 Census, the number of illegal aliens in the United States more than doubled during the 1990's -- during the decade of the presidency of that other Clinton -- to approximately 8.7 million. Many of those illegal aliens have since decamped for foreign shores due to the economic decline and the rising public anger following September 11. But Senator Hillary wants to give some of the rest an incentive to stick around, in the form of money courtesy of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, and wants them to be exempt from having to obey our laws. To close the loop, recall that it is a major agenda item of left-wing democrats that even convicted criminals should be allowed to exercise the right to vote; and it is another article of faith among radical leftists that the assimilation of immigrants into American society is to be avoided (the multicultural left wants immigrants to retain their own cultural traditions and values, which are often antithetical to, if not downright hostile to, American traditions and values). Senator Hillary wants to pay them, and wants them to stay here, even if they are here illegally. What can we expect next -- granting illegal aliens the right to vote? The multiculturalist war against America, aimed at the destruction of American traditions, values, and culture, continues. MEDIA CONTROL OVER ELECTIONS: The media are ecstatic -- they believe they are about to assume unfettered control over who gets elected to office in this country. The discharge petition for the House's version of the so-called campaign reform bill (H.R. 2356, Shays-Meehan) has received enough signatures to force it to a vote. The Senate's version (S.27, McCain-Feingold) has already passed. If this travesty ever becomes law, the only people with an unfettered right to comment on candidates will be members of the media. If that happens, who do you think candidates and politicians will listen to when debating and establishing public policy -- voluntary organizations of ordinary citizens, whose members and officers risk going to jail if the group says anything publicly about a politician within sixty days of an election; or media editorialists, who can say anything they want, about whoever they want, whenever they want, with complete impunity? You think you have little influence over the electoral process now? Just wait. The most pervasive and pernicious special interest group in the country -- the media -- is about to gain even more power. WHO PAYS TAXES: The class warfare of democrat Senator Ted Kennedy was put into perspective by new figures released this month by the Tax Foundation, analyzing IRS income tax data for 1998. Kennedy proposes to eliminate the already-enacted tax cut for those earning above $130,000 per year, in order to fund additional social spending. A household earning above $121,000 per year puts them into the top 5% of all income earners, and for 1998 there were approximately 6.3 million of those taxpayers who filed returns. They earned 34% of the nations total adjusted gross income, and paid 55.5% of the nations income taxes (about $486 billion of the total $877 billion in income taxes paid that year). The social programs Kennedy and his leftist buddies are so fond of primarily benefit those on the lower end of the income scale. For 1998, half of all taxpayers earned less than $26,000, earning 13.3% of the total adjusted gross income, but they paid only 4% of the income taxes paid that year. Those evil "rich", the top 5% of all taxpayers, the ones who Kennedy wants to pay even more taxes, already pay nearly fourteen times more in taxes than the entire bottom half of all taxpayers. Some call that "progressive". Others more properly call it enslavement of society's highest producers in servitude to the vast majority of those who pay very little, and who take the most from the welfare state. FOR MORE INFORMATION. ======================== Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm The Hague Conventions respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague02.htm http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague04.htm Illegal Alien Victim Compensation: http://clinton.senate.gov/news/2002/01/2002114653.html Tax Foundation income tax analysis: http://www.taxfoundation.org/prtopincometable.html Welfare spending analysis: http://www.heritage.org/library/testimony/test080101.html Shays-Meehan discharge petition: http://clerkweb.house.gov/107/lrc/pd/Petitions/Dis3.htm Senate Roll Call Votes: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/legis_act_rollcall.html House Roll Call Votes: http://clerkweb.house.gov/evs/index.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mr. Kim Weissman [EMAIL PROTECTED] *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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