VICTORY!!!

Well freedom has had another victory. The Senate as voted and the American Patriot Act will not be continued. What a glorious day this is. It shows us that we can still trust our leaders, at least a little bit, with our freedom and we will come out on top.

Thank you to all who contacted your Senators and Congressman and let them know how you feel. And thank you to the Senate who showed once again why we have a two part Congress.

PATRIOT ACT TO BE EXTENDED....WHY?!?!?!

Well despite the obvious lack of checks and balances, and the clear disruption of civil liberties it seems as if the Patriot Act will be extended for another four years amid cries from both sides of the political spectrum to stop such actions.

I know that in the past I have harped on the horrible nature of the Patriot Act, but I think that now is a good time to recap why I say such things.

The Patriot Act signed into power in 2001 following the tragic events of 9/11 give the government far reaching powers to invade the privacy of citizens and further restrict civil liberties without due cause.

The most notable of these things include:

The ability to search financial, travel, phone, and even library records without any cause other than suspicion of terrorist activity.

The ability to tap phone lines without a warrant based on suspicion of terrorist activity. (The 4th Amendment protects against illegal search and seizure.)

The ability to search property without a warrant of even notification of the suspect without cause other than suspicion of terrorist activity. (The 4th Amendment protects against Illegal Search and Seizure.)

The ability to infiltrate and keep records on any group deemed to be a possible terrorist threat without evidence to back up the claim. (already been shown to be used against political groups which disagree with the war and the Bush Administration that have no ties to terrorism such as Peace Fresno, Green Peace, the NAACP, and others. (Breaks privacy act rights, as well as infringes on the right to free speech guaranteed in the 1st Amendment.)

The ability to hold a person indefinitely without charging them based solely on the suspicion of terrorist activity. (The six amendment guarantees a fair and SPEEDY trial, normally limited to holding an individual for a period of 72 hours without charging them of a crime. A good example of the misuse of this would be Jose Padilla, held for 3 years without being charged of a crime.)

The ability to freeze financial assets of an individual based on suspicion of terrorist activity.

Others which can be found within the Patriot Act

In addition to the very clear violations of Constitutional rights the bill is to broad. What is the definition of "terrorist activity". It is not outlined in the bill, so who decides. This gives the government the right to arrest and hold anyone for any reason by simply saying that they are "SUSPECTED" not proven, to be involved in terrorist activity.

Also the ability to infiltrate political groups and keep records on them is absurd. This could easily be used as a way to pressure groups which disagree with a political agenda. This is not to mention the multiple individuals who have complained that their rights have been violated when they spoke out about the government only to have an FBI agent harassing them about what they said.

Are we really becoming a nation that is okay with this kind of thing. That is willing to give up the freedoms that our ancestors fought and bled for, that our relatives and friends are fighting and bleeding for as we speak.

What happened to the nation that stood up in outrage and the idea of any rights being stripped away. We are supposed to be the "Land of the Free" not the "Land of the Scared and oppressed". But that is exactly what we are becoming. We have been so brainwashed by the administration into believing that if we don't give up these rights that we will be attacked by terrorist that we simply look the other way. Well look around you, even with them taking the rights away we have soldiers dyeing every day, terrorist attacks are frequently occurring around the world. Yes you can say that they are not happening here, but it is only a matter of time, no matter how many rights they take away. You can not secure freedom by taking it away, the only way to do it is to vamp up security, secure our borders, and bring our military home were it belongs, and of course quit pissing people off with extreme right wing, redneck crap that comes out of Bush's mouth.

Benjamin Franklin said "The man who gives up freedom for security deserves neither." I would take it one step further and say that he not only deserves neither, but he has neither.

Think about it, the thing that Bush and Cheney are contently saying that the terrorist hate is our freedom, so if we take that away ourselves aren't we giving them what they want? I guess that's one way to beat them, but I'm not to big on the "if you can't beat em' join em'" theory in this case, kinda defeats the purpose.

Thankfully I am not alone on this one, a group of Congressman from both sides of the political spectrum had this to say,:

"We still can, and must, make sure that our laws give law enforcement agents the tools they need while providing safeguards to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans."

And Feingold, one of the six, went further stating,:

"I will do everything I can, including a filibuster," to block passage, said the Wisconsin Democrat, the lone senator to vote against the original legislation passed in 2001.

Of course this did not keep the traditional GOP Bush army from being supporting it and looking for political gain out of it, once again trying to make anybody who votes against the destruction of our rights look unpatriotic:

"We should unite in a bipartisan way to support the Patriot Act, to stand up for freedom, and against terror," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

Ah yes, let us all unite as a free country to get rid of our freedoms.

If you think this statement and this bill is as absurd as I do I urge you to contact you Congressman NOW, DON"T WAIT! If you do it might be to late. You can contact them HERE.

!!CIVIL LIBERTIES ALERT!!

ANOTHER ATTACK ON THE CIVIL LIBERTIES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Congress has passed another bill that will lower the rights of the America people to protect themselves in the court of law.

One of the fundamental rights of the citizens of this great country is to find refuge in the courts when they have in one way or another been hurt by others. Whether it be physically, emotionally, or finacially. One way that we can do this is to sue in the court of law in the event that we feel that we have been the victims of unjust.

This right is very close to being taken away. Already we have had caps put on the amounts of damages that can be handed down by the courts in medical malpractice cases. And now they are going to penalize attorneys who attempt to help those who have been the victims of unjust if it is deemed by some unseen person that it is a frivolous lawsuit.

First of all who decides that it is frivolous. Is it really frivolous if the person who is suing feels that it is necessary. And if in fact it is a "frivolous" lawsuit the person will not win and the lawyer will not be paid anything. This alone is the only check and balance system needed for this.

Secondly by pensalizing those who file frivolous lawsuits you also keep those who would file a legitimate lawsuit from doing so because of the fear of retribution.

This is not only clearly in violation of the states right to make laws regarding this situations of this nature, but it is a clear attempt by the Bush administration and the conservative congress to lower the ability of Citizens to have any kind of justice if it in any way hurts corporate America. Come on now we wouldn't want to hurt those nice large corporate profits in order to help regular americans now would we. This just makes me sick, and if it makes you sick to call your representatives and tell them what you feel and let them know that if you don't like what they are doing you will vote them out. That includes this idiotic bill.

I have come to a conclusion lately that one of the only thing that current politicians care about is reelection, and if we are going to get them to actually stand up for our rights we have to threaten the ability for them to get reelected, so call NOW!

Libby likely to face charges, Rove may be safe for now.

Tomorrow the hammer will drop and Patrick Fitzgerald will be forced to make a decision as to who, if anyone, will be charged with a crime in the outing of CIA Agent Valerie Plame. The deadline for the two year investigation is Friday October 28, 2005, tomorrow. If no one is charged by that time, no one will be.

All indications at this time seem to point to charges being leveled against Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of Staff, Lewis Libby. Charges to be raised could range from giving false information to outing a covert operative, and everything in between. Although the investigation has been very tight lipped sources near to it say that Bush's top adviser and chief of Staff, Karl Rove, may dodge the bullet this time, although he would not be out of the woods yet as the investigation into his participation in this crime would continue.

It is obvious that a crime has been committed here, and it is obvious that whoever committed those crimes deserves to be punished. The question I pose to you is do you really believe that anyone within the White House will have to face responsibility and secondly do you thing that if Rove or Libby are charged with the crime that Bush will live up to his word and fire them? Please feel free to leave you answers to these questions as well as any insights you may have regarding the case on this post.

I'm back and Miers is Gone.

Well I am making my return to blogging after a short break, and what a perfect time. Harriet Miers, Bush's most recent political hack to be nominated for a major governmental position, has withdrawn her name.

This comes as little surprise to me after seeing the recent attacks that she has been under by members of her own party. It is one thing for the opposite political party attack a nominee for the Supreme Court. It is another thing entirely for members of the your own political party to attack you for your stances as well has your judicial history. (well you lack of it anyway.)

This sent a clear cut message that she was not going to nominated and that she would be torn down in the process. She was set up to be the sacrificial lamb to the liberal, and she ended up being so to the Conservatives.

See the liberals saw that although she was obviously not a good choice for the Supreme Court due to her lack of experience and her extreme views on issues such as Abortion they also saw that not enough was known about these things to make a judgment as well as that they would not have to condemn her because she was going to be by her own. They chose their battles, and it was a wise chose.

Conservatives on the other hand saw that she was not going to be far enough to the right to ensure a vote against things such as Gay Marriage and Abortion. Hot topic issue that have been promised to be taken up in the Supreme Court to the right wing Christian base that got Bush elected.

What Bush does now will make a large difference in his popularity amongst those who elected him such as Dobson and Pat Robertson. He let them down by nominating someone who, while she has shown some disapproval for abortion, has also shown that she would not defiantly vote to outlaw it and has not made her position on Gay Marriage clear at all. In order to when their support back he would have to nominate a hard right candidate, something that would be extremely detrimental to the rights of American Citizens. I hope that Bush makes one of the first wise decisions of his term, but unfortunately I doubt that is what will happen. I guess now we just wait and see.

The Circus Begins!!!

Saddam Hussein's trial begins tomorrow and many believe that it will be adjourned just as quickly.

Regardless of how long it is delayed it will not be a trial but a dog and pony show in which Saddam Hussein will be given a "fair trial" which is obviously nothing more than a formality. While it is obvious that Saddam is guilty and should be punished for him many crimes against humanity it seems to me that if you are going to go through the works of pretending to give him a fair trial then you should give him just that.

Of course there is only one way to do that, have the trial somewhere other than Iraq and don't make the judges Iraqis who have been hand selected by the Bush administration which is openly for the downfall of Saddam Hussein.(not that I can blame them on that one.)

The simple fact is that the Bush Administration cannot allow that for one primary reason. By having Saddam tried by a court completely controlled by them and in a country were the only media that gets out is that which is okayed by the Bush Admin. they can make sure that Saddam doesn't say anything nasty about the U.S. You know, how we put him in power, or the fact that we supplied him with arms. Or the fact that we supplied him with chemical agents that he then used on his own people. Or the fact that during the first Gulf War we were guilty of using Chemical and Biological weapons has well (Gulf War syndrome ring a bell). We can't let these things get out now can we. I am all for frying his sick sadistic ass, but at least let the truth be heard.

Miers already showing signs of danger

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Meirs is already showing signs of being a very dangerous pick for the Supreme Court. Recent revelations show that she is firmly set against abortion and would most likely set the stage for the outlawing of abortion.

As I have stated many times before this is absolutely absurd and unconstitutional. The right for a women to choose is protected by the Constitution of the Unites States and should under no circumstances be infringed upon.

It is of course no surprise to me that the Personal Attorney for a man who is very outspoken in his disapproval of abortion would be against it. This is exactly why she was nominated and it is a mockery of the Judicial system. The sole reason she was nominated was because George W. knew that he could count on her to vote how he wanted her to. So much for impartial judges.

Civil Liberties Crown/Duncehat of the Week

The Crown this week is awarded to the State Of Oregon for their attempt to protect the rights of their citizens and the right of the State to make decisions regarding medical practices.

The right of a patient to take their own life in a dignified manner is exactly that, a right. It is a decision to be made by the patient and their family, not legislatures in Washington. No matter how much you may disagree with someone's decision in the end it is not you body and therefore not you choice.

Their decision to end, or not end, their life does not effect anyone else in any way and therefore is a personal decision and is protected under the Constitution. The same way as a women as the right to choose so does a terminally ill patient. I know that there will be those who try to use the argument that if that is the case should we not try to stop anyone who attempts to commit suicide.

That is an absurd argument simply because you are dealing with two separate issues here. In the case of someone who is depressed or for some reason feeling as if they have no reason to live and they feel the need to take their own life society has a responsibility to get that person the help they need to cope with their issues, and this is what we do, we don't arrest them we simply help them cope and get them past their urge to kill themselves. In this case the person is mentally unstable, even if just for the moment, and is not making a sound decision.

In the case of a terminally ill patient the person knows that they are going to die in a short period anyway and most likely are going to have to endure a slow, painful death. If they feel that they would like the death to be in a painless, dignified manner and would like to keep their families from having to endure seeing them slowly die and mounting medical bills then they have the right to do so. In order for someone to take part in the "right to die" they must be of sound mind and make the decision on their own. They cannot simply say one day, screw it I don't want to live. There must be evidence that they are terminally ill and of sound mind.

The Duncehat this week goes to good old President George W. "let's deceive the American people one more time" Bush. Yet again he has attempted to shove lies down our throat with his staged conversation with American soldiers in Iraq.

This is actually not as bad as many of the things that he has done and he gets the prize not only for this but for his long litany of deceit. Lets recap what he has done:

-Post 9/11 he declares that he will do whatever is necessary to capture those who are responsible and then simply lets Osama bin Ladin slip off the radar after having him surrounded at Torah Bora.

-Using 9/11 as a reason Bush signs into law the Patriot Act which strips Americans of rights provided in the U.S. Constitution including Amendments 1, 4, and 6.

-Bush declared war on Saddam Hussein using a wide array of reasons none of which have proven to be true, the most popular and most used of which was the notorious WMD's that have yet to be found.

-In his rush to war Bush not only lied to the American people about the reason for the war but he destroyed our relationship with many allies who he turned his back on when he attacked Iraq against U.N. wishes and without any solid reason for war.

-He continues to push for a Constitutional Amendment against Gay marriage.

-He continues to push for a Constitutional Amendment against Abortion.

-He continues to attempt to blur the line between religion and government.

-He continues to attempt to weaken the judicial branch of the Unites States of America

I could go on all night but I think I will keep it at that. Bush is a disgrace to the Office of the President of the United States. Local talk show host Pamela Furr has challenged my respect for the Office on more than one occasion, the simple truth is I respect the office, but I cannot respect the man holding the office.

Appearing on the Mike Wilson Show.

This coming Wednesday I will be on the Mike Wilson Show on Hot Talk 970 WMAY, along with other bloggers from the Springfield area around 5 pm. I am really looking forward to this and I hope that everyone can tune in. I will post a follow up to this regarding what happens.

Scripted Conversation with Troops: Not Surprised Here.

Last Saturday Bush had what was supposed to be just a simple conversation with troops on the ground in Iraq. It turns out that that is not quite the truth. The truth is that is was a group of hand picked soldiers, five of whom were officers, who were coached on what to do and say.

Paul Rieckhoff, director of the New York-based Operation Truth, an advocacy group for U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan' denounced the event as a "carefully scripted publicity stunt." Five of the 10 U.S. troops involved were officers, he said.

"If he wants the real opinions of the troops, he can't do it in a nationally televised teleconference," Rieckhoff said. "He needs to be talking to the boots on the ground and that's not a bunch of captains."

When I first read this article by the Associated Press I was both outraged and surprised that Bush would lie to the American people and use U.S. Soldiers to further his cause, then it struck me, what am I surprised about.

Bush has a long history of hand picking those at his so called "town hall" meetings and has exploited anyone he needs to, including the victims of 9/11, killed soldiers, and the families of soldiers to further his war in Iraq, so whats the surprise.

I recall one story, from back in my original blogging days when I blogged at americanpatriotlegion.blogspot.com (I can't get into that account now for some reason) in which three law abiding citizens were forcefully removed from a Bush ass kissing sess...oh I'm sorry I meant to say town hall meeting because they had a bumper sticker on their car that was anti-Iraq war. I guess we shouldn't be surprised anymore when we hear more lies and deciet coming from the Bush Administration.

Wishing luck to those is Pakistan

I would like to take a moment to wish the best of luck to those affected by the earthquake that hit in Pakistan early this week.

They are estimating over a million people left homeless by this catastrophe, many at the base of the Himalaya mountains right as winter is about to hit. The original quake was a tremendous disaster leveling towns, but this is a disaster in of it self.

The U.N. is working hard to try and get to these people who have at this point spent 6 days nights in the cold as they are cut off from aid due to the extensive damage done by this killer quake.

At a time like this it is essential for the people of this country and all around the world to do whatever we can to help the victims of this natural disaster. If you would like to help please visit Network for Good: South Asia Quake where you can see what is needed most.

Back In the Saddle Again

Well after a couple weeks off due to family issues I am back and better than ever. Keep an eye out over the next couple days for some hard hitting post. I am sorry for the shortage of post has of late, but will be up and running from this point forward.

FREE TIBET!

For a large portion of my life I have worked to ensure the civil liberties of my fellow Americans and I have in the last couple of months attempted to shed some light to you on the issues we have here in this country regarding our civil liberties.

I label myself a patriot because I truly believe that perusing liberty is a patriotic act, but I feel I have fallen short by not bringing up one major issue. This issue does not have anything to do with this country directly, and it would be easy for us as Americans to simply turn a blind eye has we have done for many many years. But I believe that as humans it is our duty to help those who cannot help themselves when we have the opportunity.

What I am talking about is the Chinese occupation of Tibet, a once free and sovereign nation, which was forced into Chinese control in 1950, since an estimated 1.2 Million Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese government, with an unknown amount more being tortured on a regular basis.

Although I am Buddhist I have long kept quite about this issue because I have been more focused on the issues here at home, but it is time that we, and the rest of the world take action. Before I go on I would like to make one thing clear, I am not talking about the invasion of another country as I am still staunchly opposed to the use of U.S. Military force to try and control the way other countries operate, I am however talking about the U.S. Government putting real pressure on the Chinese government to get out of Tibet.

My friend over at American Patriot & Liberal convinced me to step up to the plate and do something about what has become a genocide in Tibet (by any standard 1.2 Mil people in 50 years is a genocide, do the math that's 240,000 people a year at the hands of their oppressors.)

For those of you who do not know to much about this situation a brief history of what has occurred in Tibet is available at www.friends-of-tibet.org another great place to find information is www.freetibet.org they have great information on many of the current issues surrounding Tibet including Genocide, Education and propaganda, religious Freedom, etc.

In the end the fact is that Tibet is a sovereign nation that continues to be occupied by China and has been refused help by the American government as well as every other major government in the world. Why is it that we can be so damned ideological in one hand and attack countries like Iraq based on Saddam oppressing his people but we cannot even so much as put pressure on China to get out of a free country.

From this point forward I will be dedicating every Monday to updates on my new mission to help free Tibet. This blog will also continue to serve as an avenue for local and national issues, but it is long past due that serious discussion take place on this matter.

Civil Liberties Crown/Duncehat

This week the dunce hat was basically laid in my lap, although the crown was a little harder to figure out.

Thus, this weeks winner are....

The Crown this week goes not to somebody in the news, but somebody who I feel is doing a wonderful job of spreading knowledge of civil liberties and is giving people a real way of finding out about their rights, activism, their leaders, etc. That group is about.com who host the page http://civilliberty.about.com/ This site is completely dedicated to furthering Americans knowledge of Civil Liberties and how to make a difference if they feel something is important. Please visit their site and learn about the rights that are our most important asset in this country.

The Duncehat was an easy pick this week and I am sure that many of you figured it out already, it is none other than radio talk show host and former Education secretary Bill "if you abort black babies you will get rid of crime" Bennet. On his show "Morning in America" Bennet had this to say:

"But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."

This is an absolutely absurd and down right racist comment. Even looking past the stupidity of in any way propagating the genocide of an entire race of people ( I look past this because he did go on to say that it was "morally apprehensible" to do this.) There is still the issue of the fact that he is insinuating that if you get rid of blacks you will get rid of crime. This is a blanket statement about African Americans which is in essence saying that they are all criminals. Not only is it not true, but it is a very hateful and ignorant thing to say. It is true that crime rates are higher among African Americans, both committed and victimized, but this has more to do with socioeconomic issues than race. Furthermore if you were to go by stats alone then all males 18-25 should be locked away, as they are the most dangerous people in the country. Thus our winner for the largest Duncehat yet is Bill Bennet.

Roberts Confirmed as Chief Justice

Well it is done. John Roberts is the 17th Chief Justice of the United States of America. While I am still worried that Roberts may not be the best person for the job, and I am still leary of the fact that he refused to answer many of the questions that were asked. I concede that he was nominated and confirmed in the correct manner for what seem to be the correct reasons and therefore I support his nomination. I will not support him personally as a justice until I see what he does with his new post.

I truly hope that he stands up for the Constitution and for the rights of the American people. If this is the case then I will praise him as I have many judges conservative and liberal. However if he does not I will be the first to condemn him. At this point we must just wait and see.

Update on Jose Padilla Case

I have yet to hear any further reporting on this on any major network, although I must commend Mike Wilson of WMAY 970 AM who discussed this issue at length on his show.

I have made multiple calls to Congressman and have yet to have any calls returned (every time I call on this issue they are out of the office.) So I will continue to try and get some answers and will keep you up to date on what is happening. If anyone else would like to contact their elected officials on this important civil liberties issue please visit www.congress.org and search for you congressman and senator.

Delay's Finally Getting His Come Uppens

Well it took long enough but Tom Delay (R, Texas), the House Majority Leader, has finally been charged with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, along with two associates. In response to the charges Delay has been forced to temporarily step down from his post has Majority Leader.

This is a good sign as it shows that law and order still have control over the country and that the whims the right cannot control government completely. For a while I was afraid that nobody in the Bush White House would ever be held accountable for anything. This is a good sign however tat people like Karl Rove will have to face the music for their involvement in illegal activities.

I will continue to follow up with this case as closely as possible.

Who Lying Davlin or Dewith-Anderson?

Once again here in Springfield the race issue has come up. And once again people on both sides are playing the he said she said game. So who is telling the truth? It is hard to tell in a situation like this who is being trustworthy and who is lying. But does it really matter? In the end does it matter if he said those few words?

Think about it, if the city administration is being run in such a way as to give a feeling of racism. If they continue to not hire African Americans. If they continue to allow race relation issues to go on unabated does it really matter if he said he would only meet with 3 African Americans or "I don't understand your people."

Now don't get me wrong, if in fact he did say these absurd things then he should pay the price and should not be in office. My point is not that these statements shouldn't be addressed but more that if the administration continues to show that they are in fact subtly racist then whether he said these things or not there is a problem, and it needs to be addressed.

Now everything that this issue comes up a few people come out and say things like "oh there's no race issue here in Springfield, that's just them Blacks wanting something for nothing" or "I have never seen any race issues."

The first of these of course is very racist in itself, it assumes the the African Americans must not really have a case, they just want to freeload. The second is based in ignorance. I sincerely believe that many people in this town are content in closing their eyes to the obvious race issue. Well it is time for all of us to open our eyes and let the city know that we won't stand for it.

It is ridiculous that in the 21st century there are still people who would refuse a person a job because of the color of there damned skin. WHO CARES! I thought we got over this in the 60's and 70's I guess I was wrong and people aren't as smart as I gave them credit for.

Brown refuses to take any blame at all.

Okay okay, I know that everybody is tired of the "blame game" but this is absurd and has to be discussed. Ex Fema director Mike Brown said yesterday:

"My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional,"

"I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences and work together. I just couldn't pull that off."

WHAT?! That was his biggest mistake in his mind. What about not having a plan? Or not getting the supplies needed to the proper locations on time. Or the slow response. Or any of the other short comings.

Brown blamed the Mayor, Governor, White House, and anybody else he could other than himself. Everyone else who was involved has had the guts to stand up and admit that they made mistakes. They have publicly announced there apologies and admitted to their wrong doings. So why isn't Brown doing that?

I will say once again what I have said all along, I am not saying that it was all his fault, or all Bush's or anyone else's fault. But he definitely has some blame to take and he needs to step up and admit it.

Fair Justice For All

We are told from the time that we are very young that Equal Justice is available to all. It is in the Constitution, etched into the door frame of the courthouse, and is supposed to happen in the courthouse.

However in the real world it is obvious that justice goes to those that can afford it. True if you are in the bottom 10% you are appointed a lawyer by the courts, but for the rest of us we are stuck trying to figure out if we can afford a lawyer at $200.00+ an hour. Many times because of this we either a) get screwed or b) give up on the issue because it is just not worth it.

Yesterday I was approached by my insurance agent with something that I found quite interesting and in all reality a great idea. It is called Pre Paid Legal and it gives you access to a lawyer for $26.00 a month. I really don't know that much about it yet, I just signed up, but I thought that I would let you guys know about it because I believe that it makes our right to equal justice a reality.

If you want to hear more about it you can go to the PrePaid Legal Website were there is a wealth of information.