one day enough people will finally be fed up enough that we will take our freedom back --- you don't have freedoms that you can't protect
On Jun 2, 11:00 am, Jonathan Ashley <[email protected]> wrote: > *The Patriot Act, Fox News, the TSA and Feeling Less Free* > 1 June 2011 by Szandor Blestman > > The Patriot Act, in my opinion, has been one of the most egregious, > liberty violating acts that has ever been passed by congress. It was a > knee jerk reaction to the 9/11 attacks. It is so huge and was passed so > quickly after that event that any thinking person must realize it had to > be written well before the attacks took place, was waiting for just such > an attack so it could be introduced, and could not have possibly been > read and its implications understood by anyone who voted for it. I doubt > very much that any congress critter has yet to read it in its entirety. > Here it is almost ten years later and it still sullies the political > landscape of this once great republic. > > It seems that most common folk don't fully understand what the Patriot > Act truly is. If the polls are to be believed (I personally don't trust > most polls) then they seem to think that the Patriot Act has somehow > made our nation more secure. They seem to believe the propaganda that is > spewed forth from corporate establishment media giants that the Patriot > Act has done its job and protected us. Yet it wasn't the Patriot Act > that stopped the shoe bomber or the underwear bomber, it was the > passengers themselves. And every time a plot is reported foiled, it is > later determined that the plot only occurred because some federal > security agency or another helped it along. So one might wonder, if the > Patriot Act has been doing its job, will they finally get rid of it if > it fails and another terrorist event occurs? I doubt that very much. > That's too much like hoping that once Osama Bin Laden is finally and > officially killed in some special forces raid that the wars of > occupation will end and our troops will come home. > > Recently, three of the most soviet like, Big Brother type provisions of > the Patriot Act were set to expire. Congress didn't want to deal with > them earlier in the year, likely because they were worried about > backlash. The Senate did what they so often do, put off the vote until > the last minute and then rushed the legislation through without proper > debate because they don't want the legislation scrutinized. They passed > a four year extension on this monstrosity complete with its most > controversial provisions because, in my humble opinion, they don't want > to give up power and they'd love to be able to arrest their political > adversaries should push come to shove. > > Rand Paul, the freshman senator from Kentucky, was the only one who > stood up to this abuse of power. He was the only one who questioned the > power of the party leadership, on both sides of the aisle. He merely > asked for a debate on introducing amendments meant to protect freedoms > we as Americans are supposed to enjoy. For all his efforts he was > excoriated by the establishment for not following like a sheep instead > of applauded for his stand and his most American individualist ideals. > > Now, I'm not one to watch corporate television news programs, but I came > across a Fox program with a bunch of talking heads discussing this > issue. I was appalled to hear them more or less condoning a police state > in our nation. They are taking a thousand years of struggle against > authoritarianism and throwing it away, defending a doctrine that allows > government agents to spy on people going about their daily business > without just cause. They are defending a doctrine that claims everyone > is guilty until they can prove themselves innocent. It was this kind of > tyranny that the founding fathers fought against. This kind of tyranny > led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. This kind of > tyranny was the reason they included the Bill of Rights in the > constitution. The Patriot Act is as un-American, fascist, soviet-esque > and unpatriotic as it gets. It violates the natural rights of > individuals in almost every way they can be violated and yet these men > continue to support it without so much as batting an eye, and then they > call Rand Paul extreme. To them, the senator from Kentucky is extreme > because he values the principles America was founded upon. One can only > assume they consider all individualists, constitutionalists, > libertarians and anyone who wants a smaller, more accountable federal > government as extreme. To them, an extremist is one who challenges the > supremacy of their corporate masters. > > One of the most remarkable statements came from Charles Krauthammer. He > claimed that all those warnings about America becoming a police state > didn't pan out. Has he been living under a rock for the last ten years? > He asked something along the line of is their anyone who thinks their > freedoms have been curtailed? He suggested that he hadn't heard of > anyone who felt that way. Well, I for one feel that way, Mr. > Krauthammer, so now you have heard of someone. > > How about all those people who are subjected to naked body scanners at > the airports and TSA gropings? Do you think they might feel a little > less free? I know that I'd like to feel like I could fly places, but I > don't want to subject myself to their intrusions. I seem to recall that > others have even protested against such measures. How could you call > that anything but a police state provision? It is the Patriot Act that > has given us the TSA, and now they're coming out of the airports and are > soon to be seen on a street, in a mall, or at a prom dance near you. > They needed to do more than just debate amendments to the Patriot Act, > they need to repeal the entire bill. > > How about the checkpoints that are popping up, especially in border > states? Do you think that the people who have to pass through them feel > less free? Do you think that they might start to have an inkling that > something has gone wrong and this is no longer the free nation it has > been claimed to be? How about all those people who want to drink raw > milk? Do you think they feel less free when the Feds tell them they > can't decide for themselves what to put in their own bodies? How about > the peaceful Amish, do you think they might feel less free when their > farms are raided by SWAT teams for selling the milk others ask for? How > about the dancers at the Jefferson Memorial? Do you think they might > feel a little less free as they were handcuffed for prancing around a > little or gently swaying in place? These are things that have all been > normalized because of the Patriot Act and similar legislation. It is the > federal government that has become extreme. It is they who are cracking > down on peaceful individuals and restricting normal human activity they > should have no business even caring about. > > Do you like the fact that FBI agents can now write their own warrants > without having to so much as show a judge probable cause, just like the > king's men were able to do in the 1700s? Do you like the fact that they > can break into anyone's home they want when no one's home and steal > whatever they wish without a warrant, simply on a suspicion, and not > have to be accountable to anyone? Do you think it's ok that they can > proclaim someone an enemy combatant at anytime they wish and hold them > indefinitely without a trial? Do you believe that I'm a little extreme > for mentioning such provisions and that your government would never do > such things? The Patriot Act grants government agents the legal > authority to take such actions, and when someone has such power it is > only a matter of time before that power is abused and some innocent > individuals suffer because of that abuse. Besides, just because you may > not have heard about such things happening doesn't mean such events > haven't already occurred. You certainly can't count on the corporate > media to inform you of such abuses when they do happen. > > There are plenty of people that feel their freedoms have been curtailed. > There are plenty of people who feel less safe because of government > intrusion, not more secure. Everyday more and more people become victims > of state agents. Everyday new police brutality videos come out. Everyday > stories of the police state grow more and more egregious. Everyday the > politicians show us they don't give a damn about individual rights and > care only about their own power. Everyday the corporate media shows its > true colors by defending collectivist doctrine and the agenda of the > power elite. I believe, however, that one day enough people will finally > be fed up enough that we will take our freedom back. On that day, it > will be remembered who supported natural individual rights and who > fought for the authoritarian collectivist agenda. > > http://fr33agents.net/2011/06/01/the-patriot-act-fox-news-the-tsa-and... > -- > > Freedom is always illegal! > > When we ask for freedom, we have already failed. It is only when we > declare freedom for ourselves and refuse to accept any less, that we > have any possibility of being free. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
