I’m not going to speak about this as a Bush hating, tree hugging, liberal, but rather as a concerned citizen who is afraid a few core values in the Bill of Rights no longer apply in the country that invented such radical ideas as equal protections and freedom of speech. At a recent speech given by the POTUS three teachers where thrown out for wearing t-shirts saying “Protect our civil liberties”. The irony here is so thick I’d need a fucking chainsaw to cut through it.
My first question is: Why do I need a fucking ticket to see the POTUS speak? We pay his wages, we (well a little less than half of us) voted him in, we probably paid for his flight to the speech, but we can’t watch him speak? When you combine this with the “designated protestor areas” that both sides are using and, as far as I can tell, the following clauses in the Bill of Rights no longer apply to either sides:
- The right to freedom of assembly. Who the hell could ever think “designated protester areas” would be legal or acceptable? Well, they are. Both the Democrats and the Republicans used such devices at their conventions. The Democrats where especially offensive, literally fencing them in with barbed wire around the top.
- The right to freedom of speech. Clearly this went out of style years ago. A majority of Americans believe that freedom of speech is too far reaching. At this recent Bush speech these teachers were not allowed to silently express their opinions.
Look, this is exactly why I keep saying both sides aren’t all that great. Both the Democrats and Republicans will do just about anything to keep their portion of the power structure, even if this includes treading on our rights.
Who wrote, enacted and enforces the Patriot Act? What political party was in control of the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court and the Presidency for the last four years and when the Patriot Act was written? What political party is more interested in what happens in your bedroom than what happens in corporate boardrooms and shipping containers hat enter US ports?
For all the bluster and propaganda from Ashcroft’s Justice Dept., how many “terrorists” have been convicted of terrorist activites. 0
Which political party wants to restrict your wife and maybe your daughter’s right to choose?
What presidential candidate is in favor of never ending war?
Your belief that there is no difference between the major parties in naive at best and dangerous at worst.
I guess I should have been more specific. I was saying that on the subjects of limiting freedom of speech and the freedom to protest they appear to be in line with each other.
Pro choice, and the Patriot Act can be blamed on the Republicans, but don’t forget that the Democrats supported and voted for the Patriot Act. Also, I haven’t heard many Democrats denouncing or producing bills to repeal the Patriot Act.
So, Jerry, I suppose you won’t be voting for president this year because you can’t have a lollipop in your favorite color, even though they all rot your teeth.
Loser
Joe, I guess that if you were in office, you would have voted against the Patroit Act because it goes against your morals and ethics.
Pragmatism and politics don’t mix well and you can’t lead if you’r not in power. Just ask Nader.
Like any fool in Congress who’d vote against any law titled The Patroit Act, you’d be out of a job when your opponent turned that vote against you.
Grow up and smell the coffee
Rick,
The Patriot Act is a severe blow to YOUR Civil Liberties. I guess if you don’t care that the government is paying close attention to what you read at the library or the fact that just about any crime can be considered terrorism and therefore constitute stripping your right to due process then I guess my fellow citizens are more crazy than I thought.
Just because it was named “The PATRIOT Act” doesn’t mean that it’s good for the country. It’s a sad day in America when people believe what they are told on TV and, furthermore, they believe or even listen to the campaign ads on TV.
Oh, and I wouldn’t have voted for or against the PATRIOT since when it was introduced it was considered top secret, which meant that I wouldn’t have had the security clearance to even read the damn thing.
BTW, there ARE alternatives to the two candidates running. So your comment about lollipops is just dumb.