Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Nat Hentoff against Patriot Act...and more
63 cities and towns have passed resolutions protecting the civil liberties of their 5,391,776 residents. Many more are in progress.Congratulations to this week's newest Safe Zones: Warren, Westminster, Athens, Dummerston, Guilford, Jamaica, Marlboro, Newfane, Putney, Windham, and Winhall, VERMONT; and Sonoma, CALIFORNIA!Brattleboro and Montpelier voters also approved resolution previously passed by their Selectboards.http://www.bordc.org Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Nat Hentoff BILL MOYERS: Welcome to NOW. My guest tonight is the most passionate defender of the Bill of Rights I know and the most ardent advocate of jazz. Nat Hentoff writes regularly for the VILLAGE VOICE. He's been writing there since 1957. He's been a columnist for the WASHINGTON POST and a reporter for the NEW YORKER. He now writes for the VILLAGE VOICE and the WASHINGTON TIMES. And his column is syndicated to over 250 papers around the country. His most recent book includes SPEAKING FREELY: A MEMOIR, LIVING THE BILL OF RIGHTS and the Nat Hentoff reader. He has a new book coming out this year on the Bill of Rights. Welcome, Nat Hentoff to NOW. NAT HENTOFF: Thank you sir. BILL MOYERS: Does the Constitution extend to terrorists who want to kill us? NAT HENTOFF: You know, I'm glad-- that leads right into my favorite Supreme Court decision. In 1866, after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, during the Civil War he suspended Habeas Corpus-- BILL MOYERS: Meaning? NAT HENTOFF: That is if the government puts you in prison, you have a right under Habeas Corpus to go to court and have them justify why you are there. It is the oldest English-speaking right. It goes back to the Magna Carta. He suspended it. He also set up military tribunals. And the military put into those tribunals editors, reporters, just plain dissenters to his policies. And he-- he arrested at least a quarter of the Maryland State Legislature because they disagreed with him. This was his time-- BILL MOYERS: Some would say that was a justified-- NAT HENTOFF: Well, Mr. Ashcroft might think so. But finally when the Supreme Court decided it was safe to say something about this. In a case called "Ex Parte Milligan" they declared what he had done was unconstitutional. He says-- they said the civilian courts were still open. And there's this wonderful phrase, "The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people equally in war and peace. And covers with the shield of it's protection all classes of men at all times and under all circumstances." So that's-- means that the Constitution applies to anybody. BILL MOYERS: Including terrorists who are trying to kill us? NAT HENTOFF: Suspected terrorists-- if you have somebody you believe is a terrorist under our system of law, you have to prove it. BILL MOYERS: But here's the issue. None of us have ever lived through the kind of war we are experiencing right now. The war against terrorism is not like any war we have ever fought. We don't know where the enemy is. You and I and every civilian in this country are targets. The threat doesn't go away. Secrecy is essential to fighting it. And it's possible we can never announce victory. Now what does this do to the Bill of Rights in a-- in a strange war like this? NAT HENTOFF: As soon as the President, the Secretary of State, everybody in the administration, including the Attorney General address this, told the nation about it. And repeatedly, every one of them said, "Whatever we do for security," and they mentioned everything you've said, "We will do within the bounds of the Constitution." That's a direct quote. Because what we are fighting to preserve in this war-- and Colin Powell said it was a war for civilization. What we are trying to preserve are our freedoms which they're trying to destroy. So how can you then say, despite all-- and then, true, we've never this sort of situation. That's when the Constitution, as the Supreme Court said, has to stand for all of us. BILL MOYERS: If you were in government now, what would you do about the mosques where you have some reason to believe extremist ideas are being encouraged? NAT HENTOFF: What I would do is what William Sessions, former head of the FBI, former head of the CIA said in criticizing the Attorney General's dragnet approach to this sort of thing. "You do what you always do. You investigate. You have a lead. And you follow the lead." "If you go in on the premise that everybody who is in a mosque or anybody-- everybody who is in a church is suspect, then we are all suspects. And this is not longer a Constitutional democracy." BILL MOYERS: But isn't there-- NAT HENTOFF: Because you-- the-- you know the Attorney General said, "There is no expectation of privacy in a public place like a church or a political gathering." But there is no expectation that the person next to you is an FBI agent recording what you're saying and the fact that you are there. BILL MOYERS: Isn't there some natural selectivity,
Car thieves...
Subject: Car thieves I don't know if this is true or not I am just passing it on just in case!! Just heard this from a friend. Apparently car thieves have yet again found a way around the system and steal your car or truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN number from the label on the dash, go into the local dealership for that car brand and request a duplicate key for it from the VIN number. Car dealerships make up a duplicate key from the VIN number, collect payment from the 'customer' who's really a would-be car thief for making up the duplicate key -- the car thief goes back to your vehicle, inserts the key they've just gotten and off they drive with your car or truck. They don't have to break in, don't have to damage the vehicle and draw no attention to themselves as all they have to do is to walk up to your car, insert the key and off they go to their chop shop with your vehicle!!! Can you believe it? To avoid this from happening to you, simply put opaque tape (like a strip of electrical tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN label located on the dash board. You can't remove the VIN number legally under most state laws, so cover it so that it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief. Anyway, feel free to forward this on before some other car thief steals another car or truck like this. Unbelievable!
The Willing Conscript by Tom Paxton
The Willing Conscript Oh Sergeant I'm a draftee and I've just arrived in camp.I've come to wear the uniform and join the martial tramp.And I want to do my duty, but one thing I do imploreYou must give me lessons, sergeant, for I've never killed before.To do my job obediently is my only desire.To learn my weapon thoroughly and how to aim and fire.To learn to kill the enemy and then to slaughter more,I'll need instruction, sergeant, for I've never killed before.Now there are several lessons that I haven't mastered yet.I haven't got the hang of how to use the bayonet.If he doesn't die at once am I to stick him with it more?Oh, I hope you will be patient, for I've never killed before.Oh, there are rumors in the camp about our enemy.They say that when you see him he looks just like you and me.But you deny it, Sergeant, and you are a man of war,So you must give me lessons, for I've never killed before.The hand grenade is something that I just don't understand.You've got to throw it quickly or you're apt to lose your hand.Does it blow a man to pieces with it's wicked, muffled roar?Oh, I've got so much to learn because I've never killed before.Oh, I want to thank you, Sergeant, for the help you've been to me.For you've taught me how to slaughter and to hate the enemy.And I know that I'll be ready when they march me off to war,And I know that it won't matter that I've never killed before.And I know that it won't matter that I've never killed before. Words and Music by Tom Paxton If musicians were only politicians, and politicians were musicians, we'd have a wonderful world with very bad music. <>
Blair to get a gas-proof armoured car
Give me a freakin' break. Blair to get gas-proof armoured car 09mar03BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair is to get a specially designed Jaguar car that would protect him in case of a poison gas attack, a London newspaper has reported. The armoured-plated car, costing STG200,000 ($523,080) will be fitted with a compressed air system, allowing those inside to breathe in the event of a such an attack, The Sunday Times said. The paper added that the government has ordered three of the vehicles from a car conversion specialist in central England. Each Jaguar has devices fitted to its wheels allowing the car to move at speed should the tyres be shot at. Britain, set to join the United States in any war against Iraq, has beefed up security in recent weeks following a major alert at London's Heathrow Airport. For a number of days last month, troops and police ringed the airport amid fears that terrorists might have exploited a Muslim holiday for an attack. The Sunday Times reported that the number of protection officers assigned to Blair and his family has more than trebled in recent weeks while bunker-style rooms situated under his official London residence have been upgraded.
Spouse of 7203 Convict: "No Answers - No Taxes - No Food"
3-08-03 Spouse of 7203 Convict: "No Answers - No Taxes - No Food" WTP Takes a Stand in Bogus Michigan Tax Conviction Bob Schulz is on his way to Michigan where he has pledged the support of We The People to save the life of Rose Lear and to affect the release of her husband William Wallace Lear following his recent questionable conviction following a 26 USC 7203, Willful Failure to File indictment. Rose Lear of Muskegon, Michigan is now in the fourth day of a hunger fast. Mirroring the words of Schulz from July 2001, she announced that she will not eat again until she dies or until the federal government agrees to meet with the experts from the tax honesty movement in a recorded, public forum to address the evidence and answer the questions about the fraudulent income tax system. She said she "will only eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus Christ during her fast," (meaning she will only receive communion). She just recently notified Schulz of her situation, telling Schulz that she will not talk to the press and has directed all press inquiries to Schulz. Lears husband William Wallace Lear must surrender himself to the Federal prison in Duluth, Minnesota before midnight on Monday, March 10, 2003, where he is scheduled to begin serving a one year sentence for the conviction. Schulz has scheduled three press conferences and meetings on Monday, March 10th. The first will be at 10 AM in Muskegon, Michigan at the Muskegon Harbor Holiday Inn, 939 Third Street (231-722-0100). The second will be at 6:30 PM in Minneapolis at the Holiday Inn, I-494, Exit 3 (12th Ave and Portland Ave) 814 East 79th St, Bloomington, Minnesota (952-854-5558). The third will be at 11:00 PM outside the gates of the Federal prison in Duluth, Minnesota, 6902 Airport Road. (218-722-8634). A film crew will film these events so that the nation can witness firsthand the destruction of an honest American family caught in the thrasher of a unlawful tax prosecution and a corrupt judicial machine. Bob spent all of last week working with William Lear and various WTP attorneys, examining records of the trial, Lears experience with the IRS and the "justice" system and the legal issues surrounding both his indictment and Lears denial of due process. In a nutshell: in 2001, the IRS told William he was under investigation for failing to file a tax return for 1995 and 1996 and that if William filed the return and paid the tax for any one of the two years the IRS would forget about the other year. Lear refused based on his beliefs that no law required him to file a return and that a substantial and credible body of evidence showed the income tax to be fraudulent in its origin and illegal in its operation. Without hearing from Lear, a grand jury handed down an indictment charging William Lear with two counts of failure to file under 26 USC 7203 (the indictment did not include any other charges or statutes). The court-appointed attorney immediately told William he did not share Williams beliefs and would only help William if William plead guilty and plea bargained (William refused based on his beliefs that no law required him to file a return and that the income tax was fraudulent in its origin and illegal in its operation). The judge instructed the court-appointed attorney to sit in the back of the room while Lear was forced to represent himself. The judge would only allow the jury to hear about Williams beliefs regarding his obligation to file a tax return as long as Williams testimony remained within the meaning and confines of the Internal Revenue Code itself. Lear was not allowed to present his beliefs regarding the constitutionality and/or the validity of the tax law that allegedly compelled him to file a tax return. On the record, William Lear asked four prosecution witnesses (IRS employees) a total of 17 times to identify the specific law that required him to file a return the IRS employees refused to do so. Off the record William raised the jurisdiction issue. During jury instructions, and critical to the Section 7203s legal prong that requires "willfullness" to obtain a conviction, District Court Judge Quist characterized Lears beliefs about his obligations under the law as being "unreasonable". Bob and the WTP organization have decided to do all they can to save the life of Rose Lear and to get William Wallace Lear out of prison. The meetings in Muskegon and Minneapolis will be followed by a series of large regional meetings the We The People Congress has decided to schedule around the country during the next five weeks. Bob will speak at each of the meetings and is making arrangements with leading credentialed professionals and former IRS agents to attend and speak. The first of these meetings has been scheduled for Sunday, March 16, 2003 in Nashua, New Hampshire, near Boston. Thus continues We The Peoples national "REDRESS BEFORE TAXES" campaign to earnestly appeal to companies, workers, retirees and the self-employed to stop
Terrified Iraqi soldiers try to surrender
This report states that the 'war' hasn't started, so therefore the British troops sent the Iraqi 'soldiers' back across the border, but some reports over here state that we've been bombing strategic sites for several weeks now. Wonder who's got their facts straight?? Hmmm Paula SADDAM'S SOLDIERS SURRENDER Mar 9 2003 Mike Hamilton reports from Camp Coyote in Kuwait TERRIFIED Iraqi soldiers have crossed the Kuwait border and tried to surrender to British forces - because they thought the war had already started. The motley band of a dozen troops waved the white flag as British paratroopers tested their weapons during a routine exercise. The stunned Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade were forced to tell the Iraqis they were not firing at them, and ordered them back to their home country telling them it was too early to surrender. The drama unfolded last Monday as the Para batallion tested mortars and artillery weapons to make sure they were working properly. The Iraqis found a way across the fortified border, which is sealed off with barbed-wire fencing, watchtowers and huge trenches. TESTING TIME: British Marines are preparing for war A British Army source in Kuwait contacted me to explain how the extraordinary surrender bid unfolded. The source said: "The British guys on the front-line could not believe what was happening. They were on pre-war exercises when all of a sudden these Iraqis turned up out of nowhere, with their hands in the air, saying they wanted to surrender. "They had heard firing and thought it was the start of the war. "The Paras are a tough, battle-hardened lot but were moved by the plight of the Iraqis. There was nothing they could do other than send them back. "They were a motley bunch and you could barely describe them as soldiers - they were poorly equipped and didn't even have proper boots. Their physical condition was dreadful and they had obviously not had a square meal for ages. No one has ever known a group of so-called soldiers surrender before a shot has been fired in anger." Last night the Ministry of Defence officially denied the incident had taken place, but the story was corroborated by an intelligence source. Meanwhile Saddam Hussein has ordered thousands of troops back to Baghdad as he turns the city into a fortress. It is believed that two rings of steel are being established around Baghdad. The outer one consists of regular Iraqi army soldiers and the inner one is made up of Republican Guard fighters - thought to be the only troops that will put up fierce resistance. http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/news/page.cfm?objectid=12715943&method=full&siteid=106694
Guard loses job in T-shirt flap
Guard says he lost job in T-shirt flap Guilderland -- Security officer reports Crossgates owner fired him after arrest of protester By BRUCE A. SCRUTON, Staff writer First published: Saturday, March 8, 2003 The security officer at Crossgates Mall who signed a trespassing complaint against a war protester was fired Friday. Robert Williams said he was called into the mall security office about four hours into his shift and told he was fired because of Monday's incident and for signing the complaint against Steve Downs, 60, of Selkirk. Downs' arrest brought Crossgates national notoriety and sparked a protest march against the facility's policies. He was arrested for trespassing when mall officials told him to leave or remove an anti-war T-shirt he had purchased there. On Wednesday, amid a protest over Downs' arrest, officials from Pyramid Management Group, which operates the mall, said they would drop the charge against Downs. Williams, who has worked in security at the mall for more than nine years, said he signed the complaint on the orders of his boss, assistant director of security Fred Tallman. Those orders came after Tallman told the Guilderland police officer working the case that he (Tallman) was too busy to come to the police station and that Williams represented the company and should sign. "I just followed directions of management of that mall to the letter," Williams said Friday evening. "And I get fired for doing my job." Mall officials did not return phone calls Friday evening seeking comment. Guilderland Police Chief James Murley also did not respond to a request for comment. Williams said it was Tallman who made the decision on Monday to have Downs arrested if he and his son, Roger Downs, 31, refused to take off T-shirts that bore peace slogans. Williams said security had received a call from Macy's security that there had been a confrontation with two men wearing anti-war T-shirts. Williams said he spotted the men near the food court and that about the same time, a Guilderland police officer showed up. "We had not called them (town police), but the two of us talked to them," he said. Over a period of time, it became clear, Williams said, that the elder Downs was not going to take off the T-shirt or leave the mall. Williams said he received orders over the mall's radio that if they refused, they were to be charged with trespassing. When Steve Downs was taken to the police substation in the mall, the paperwork was written up. Tallman was contacted by the officer, Williams said, and told the officer to have Williams sign the complaint because "he represents the company so he can sign." News of the arrest sparked a protest Wednesday by anti-war demonstrators, most of whom wore T-shirts. Mall officials did not meet with the protesters but announced later that day that they would drop charges against Downs. Williams has been honored by the town for his service at the mall and on two occasions, after leaving for other work that fell through, the mall rehired him for security posts. "My work record speaks for itself," Williams said in his own defense. "And I've already been told they're not going to pay unemployment so I shouldn't even file." He said that after he was fired, he was handed paperwork, known as "write-ups," to sign, but he refused. The write-ups were in relation to Monday's incident. Williams said he had been verbally reprimanded this week over a Saturday incident in which he tried keep out a man who previously had been banned from the mall. He said there also was a court order banning him from the mall. But Williams was told to let the man in because he had been hired as a maintenance worker. "Because of that, I was just going to follow orders," he said about the Monday arrest. "I guess that when it comes down to it," he added, "It's the people who sign the paperwork who get the blame, not the people who told you to do it." http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=113433&category=REGION&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=3/8/2003
