weekly post from October 22, 2006

Hello friends & loved ones,

Time and time again we hear that history repeats itself. Why don't we heed this message? Why must history actually repeat itself (again) before we realize how true the statement is? Here's a little repeat history for you: In 1798 under John Adams the Alien and Sedition Acts was passed. This said that anyone opposing or resisting any law of the US could be imprisoned. Also it was deemed illegal to write, print, utter, or publish anything that was critical of the President or Congress; The Espionage Act was passed under Woodrow Wilson in 1917. This said that anyone who conveys information to interfere with the success of the armed forces could be imprisoned. Also the publication of anything the President thought violated the act could be found guilty; Under Franklin D. Roosevelt with executive order 9066, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were imprisoned in internment camps for the remainder of WWII. 62% were American born; And just this past week with the Military Commissions Act was passed under George W. Bush. This gives Bush the power to basically imprison anyone deemed to be hostile toward the US. The following is taken from wikipedia (I've included a link to the site so you can read more about it). "The Act changes pre-existing law to explicitly disallow the invocation of the Geneva Conventions when executing the writ of habeas corpus or in other civil actions [Act sec. 5(a)]. This provision applies to all cases pending at the time the Act is enacted, as well as to all such future cases." Here is a link to read about the act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Commissions_Act_of_2006

Why aren't more people talking about this? Why is there a collective yawn across the country? People should be marching in the streets to protest this. This is akin to having a king, an uber-President. We as American citizens should be afraid of what this could potentially mean for any one of us. I despise the use of fear to get people to do something, however, we need to have a vigilance to ensure that our rights are maintained and not taken out from underneath us.

I read a book this past week that gives credence to the above statement. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice In A Small Town is a NON-FICTION John Grisham book that tells the TRUE story of Ron Williamson who was on death row for 11 years for a crime he did not commit. He is not the only tale in the book; several others were placed in prison for crimes they did not commit. False evidence, hasty prosecutors, sloppy investigating, coerced confessions and other outrageous crimes within the justice system detail how it all happened. This did not happen in another country but right here in the USA. It's time to wake up from our slumber and demand to be treated the way the Constitution says we should be treated.

paul