End the War on Freedom

God Bless America is a picture I took yesterday on my way home from work. Click on link or image for location info and higher res images (135K).

Cast All Your Votes For Dancing

I know the voice of depression
Still calls to you.

I know those habits that can ruin your life
Still send their invitations.

But you are with the Friend now
And look so much stronger.

You can stay that way
And even bloom!

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter.

Keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From the sacred hands and glance of your Beloved
And, my dear,
From the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.

Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins
That may buy you just a moment of pleasure,
But then drag you for days
Like a broken man
Behind a farting camel.

You are with the Friend now.
Learn what actions of yours delight Him,
What actions of yours bring freedom
And Love.

Whenever you say God's name, dear pilgrim,
My ears wish my head was missing
So they could finally kiss each other
And applaud all your nourishing wisdom!

O keep squeezing drops of the Sun
From your prayers and work and music
And from your companions' beautiful laughter

And from the most insignificant movements
Of your own holy body.

Now, sweet one,
Be wise.
Cast all your votes for Dancing!

(I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

Mike Shelton at the Orange County Register - Freedom Attacked - cartoon commentary on the fed's approach to Black Tuesday. Hohohohohohohohoho.

Rainbow Farm has updated their site with a memorial to Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm, murdered by government agents on 3 & 4 September, 2001. They're requesting donations for defending the farm against attempts by government to steal it using the nazi asset forfeiture laws. [drugsense]

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. - Plato

Yum!

100 yards, sighted a little high

Michael Yuri at anti-state.com - Terror - a parable for our times. [anti-state]

Dan Mahony at LewRockwell.com - Gun Control and the WTC Tragedy - Airline carry. Now. [lew]

No one alive in 1970 could imagine a planeload of feminized and unarmed Americans sitting quietly by while 3-5 box-cutter wielding highjackers heads turned their plane into third world cruise missiles. Instead any of the handful of then legally armed Americans on a typical plane would have dispatched their tormentors quickly. These ordinary Americans may or may not have saved their plane, but surely they would have saved the World Trade Center and its thousands of innocent victims.

...

What is to be done? I propose the following easy and wholly voluntary experiment. Airlines should be allowed to offer two separate types of flights-"Second Amendment Right-to-Carry Flights" and "Weapons-Free Flights".

"Right-to-Carry" flights would not require carry on baggage inspection or intrusive and clumsy metal detectors at the gate. Citizens using these flights could drive to the airport swiftly embark and fly off.

Thomas L. Knapp at poli-sigh.com - Tilting at Windmills: Network Marketing - how defining the "enemy" as a network of terrorists allows the feds to grab more power. It's been working for years in the war on freedom, er... some drugs.

In fact, just about any network can be defined so broadly as to allow any action to be taken if the purported goal is to affect the network, and that has been a major factor in the perpetuation of the War on Drugs and in the damage it has caused to the fabric of American society.

It starts with a commitment to stop "drug dealers."

It ends up with the arrest of a manufacturer in New Jersey for making small plastic bottles that those dealers could conceivably use to store crack cocaine.

This "network of terrorists" which seems like such an obvious target at the moment consists of ... well, who knows? Ultimately, it will consist of anyone that our government sees advantage in taking down. It has not escaped my notice that Congress's first reaction to the attacks of September 11th was to remove the requirement of warrants for wiretapping Internet communications, and there is already talk of outlawing the use of strong encryption technology by American civilians

CNN - Transcript of President Bush's address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday night, September 20, 2001 - I heard only the second half of this, so I'm glad to see a transcript. The most ominous part of his speech was the announcement of the new "Office of Homeland Security". This may be a good idea in the short term, but in the long term it's gonna be America's gestapo . [mumble]

These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So tonight, I announce the creation of a Cabinet-level position reporting directly to me, the Office of Homeland Security.

And tonight, I also announce a distinguished American to lead this effort, to strengthen American security: a military veteran, an effective governor, a true patriot, a trusted friend, Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge. He will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attacks that may come.

These measures are essential. The only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it and destroy it where it grows.

Electronic Freedom Foundation - The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 - This is what GW is asking, this time, of congress. Cryptome has an earlier draft archived here. It primarily expands wire-tapping powers. But it contains a few doozies. It's long and complicated and contains a huge number of references to parts of the U.S. code that it changes. It's amazing that they could have written this in only one week... My sense is that it defines terrorism very broadly. It mostly deals with aliens, but not entirely. [cryptome]

when the United States is engaged in armed hostilities or has been attacked by a foreign country or foreign nationals, confiscate any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, of any foreign person, foreign organization, or foreign country that he determines has planned, authorized, aided, or engaged in such hostilities or attacks against the United States; and all right, title, and interest in any property so confiscated shall vest, when, as, and upon the terms directed by the President, in such agency or person as the President may designate from time, and upon such terms and conditions as the President may prescribe, such interest or property shall be held, used, administered, liquidated, sold, or otherwise dealt with in the interest of and for the benefit of the United States, and such designated agency or person may perform any and all acts incident to the accomplishment or furtherance of these purposes.

...

Except as provided herein and notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, no court shall have jurisdiction to review, by habeas corpus petition or otherwise, any action taken, administrative proceeding brought, or determination made to detain an alien under section 202 of this Act; without regard to the place of detention, judicial review of the detention of such an alien is available only by habeas-corpus petition filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Libertarian Party Press Release - Warning: Proposed anti-terrorism law is grave threat to Americans' liberty - The LP's opinion of the "Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001".

Prosecuting the guilty and protecting the innocent are the twin pillars of the American justice system," he [Steve Dasbach] said. "If you remove either one, our system will collapse.

"The danger is that this new legislation will do little or nothing to actually catch foreign terrorists -- but will curtail the freedoms of ordinary Americans."

In response to the deadly terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Congress is now considering the "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001." The bill would allow the government to:

* Confiscate the assets of any foreign person, country, or organization accused of being linked to terrorist activity.

* Obtain student records from colleges and universities.

* Acquire credit card, phone call, computer use, and bank transaction records.

* Expand police wiretap authority.

* Install the "Carnivore" e-mail eavesdropping program for a limited time without a court order -- even though Congress and an angry public forced the FBI to abandon the initiative last year.

* Lock up foreigners deemed to be "terrorist suspects" for 48 hours -- then deport them without presenting any evidence of wrongdoing.

In addition, one politician -- U.S. Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA) -- has even suggested Americans may be forced to carry a national identity card or submit to mandatory fingerprinting.

...

"Congress should include a 90-day sunset provision in any legislation involving civil liberties or police power," he said. "That way, we can lessen the chance that a temporary crisis will lead to a permanent restriction on freedom."

InDefenseOfFreedom.org includes "more than 150 organizations, 300 law professors, and 40 computer scientists". They approved a declaration on Thursday, 20 September, which you can read on this page. It urges the government to preserve liberty. "To endorse In Defense of Freedom as an individual, send e-mail to endorse@indefenseoffreedom.org."

Stop World War 3.com - Know Your Rights - From the National Lawyers Guild. "Constitutional Rights Cannot Be Suspended -- Even During a State of Emergency or Wartime." Good advice for dealing with government agents, state of emergency or not.

Rex Curry at Laissez Faire City Times - End the FAA Killings - Calls for the complete privatization of the airline industry, a very good idea.

Private airports and airlines will provide better security and innovation by setting their own competitive security procedures. Some might reduce or even eliminate searching and disarming pilots, flight attendants, passengers or all.

Libertarian conditions already exist with private planes. It is hoped that the use and availability of private planes will increase, whether or not government decreases.

The Week Online with DRCNet - Michigan: Rainbow Farm Marijuana Activists Laid to Rest, Friends Not Resting - More details of the recent murders by drug warriors.

NORML via MassCann - Thousands Protest US Drug Policy, Mourn Terrorist Attacks at Boston Freedom Rally - 40,000 gathered last Saturday, September 14, in Boston. I had planned to go, but didn't have the stomach for driving three hours to the city after Black Tuesday.

All spoke of the horror of last week's tragedy, and many concluded that the nation would be better served if our law enforcement resources targeted terrorists and violent criminals rather than pot smokers.

Ariana Eunjung Cha at The Washington Post - To Attacks' Toll Add a Programmer's Grief - some misguided individuals are blaming PGP creator Phil Zimmerman for the terrorists' use of his encryption software. Nonsense. Slashdot discussion here. [/.]

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