Terrorism

It's not a real war since there is no discernable enemy as such. There's no army. No generals. No troops. No chain of command. No political leadership. No spokesmen. No one to negotiate terms with.

"The leader of the Yearning For Zion Ranch says he doesn't understand how the government could sweep in and seize all their children based on an unproven allegation.

""This whole situation is abusive and out of hand," said Merril Jessop, a presiding elder in the FLDS Church. "The nearest thing I have ever seen comparable to this, even on the TV shows, is Nazi Germany."

""The only thing we ask of the governor and citizens of Texas," Jessop said, "is to give every man, woman and child due process and an attorney before they destroy their lives."

"Buried in documents filed in federal court, the CIA acknowledged in legal filings yesterday that their rendition program “will continue.” Terror suspects detained or "renditioned" by the United States are transferred to third party countries that allow torture which gives the US a legal loophole to allow harsh interrogation without being liable.

"Documents show they expected legal challenges from the start

"CIA has begun to lose, destroy documents"

"SAN ANGELO, Texas — The mothers of children removed [kidnapped] from a West Texas polygamist sect's ranch after an abuse allegation are appealing to Gov. Rick Perry for help."

And this comment sums the situation up nicely:

Tubal wrote:

Wow. Baptist ministers* rape teen girls too. Let's go take all the Baptist kids and lock them up. Then when their mothers want to come see them, lets tell them no. Then when the mothers that they rounded up too want to call their loved ones to tell them what's happening, lets take away their cell phones.

"A commuter was arrested at gunpoint and had his DNA and fingerprints taken simply for listening to his MP3 player while waiting for a bus."

from Associated Newspapers Limited: Arrested, caged and DNA tested - for using MP3

It has been over 6 years since the atrocities of September 11 were committed and there are still some very basic measures that need to be taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and make America safer. I have proposed legislation to help with these efforts and will continue to fight in Congress for the safety and security of the American people.

My legislation entitled The Marque and Reprisal Act of 2007 (HR 3216) makes the surgical strike option available to the President in our mission to capture Bin Laden. Our military has been pursuing him without result for far too long now, and it is high time ALL constitutional tools were utilized in the hunt for this dangerous madman. As an American it sickens me to know that Bin Laden and top leaders of al Qaeda remain at large and thumbing their noses at us, while we unravel the sacred fabric of our constitution out of fear. It is Osama Bin Laden and the perpetrators of terrorist attacks that ought to be afraid of us, not the other way around. The answers are found in the Constitution. We should boldly root out the perpetrators and not let them get away with their crimes against us. As the home of the brave we should use Letters of Marque and Reprisal to bring Bin Laden to justice.

I firmly believe that some folks, myself included, are beginning to suffer from national cognitive dissonance; rather than hoping for the future and our children's future and enjoying the fruits of our past labor, we find ourselves planning on how best to defend our homes and where to plant gardens if we live in areas that are non-agricultural or if the fruits of our past labor have not been sufficient enough to afford property ownership (such as it is).

If you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or any affiliation in between, go read this article. Not because of the feud and division Tom is starting between long time people who desire liberty, but because L. Neil Smith so eloquently states why everyone, who minds being unjustly jailed or killed, should gather behind Dr. Ron Paul's bandwagaon and push just as hard as you can, right now.

Madame Speaker, I regret that I was unavoidably out of town on October 23, 2007, when a vote was taken on HR 1955, the Violent Radicalization & Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted against this misguided and dangerous piece of legislation. This legislation focuses the weight of the US government inward toward its own citizens under the guise of protecting us against “violent radicalization.”

I would like to note that this legislation was brought to the floor for a vote under suspension of regular order. These so-called “suspension” bills are meant to be non-controversial, thereby negating the need for the more complete and open debate allowed under regular order. It is difficult for me to believe that none of my colleagues in Congress view HR 1955, with its troubling civil liberties implications, as “non-controversial.”

In the name of clamping down on "terrorist uprisings" in Pakistan, General Musharraf has declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law. The true motivations behind this action however, are astonishingly transparent, as the reports come in that mainly lawyers and opposition party members are being arrested and harassed. Supreme Court justices are held in house arrest after indicating some reluctance to certify the legitimacy of Musharraf's recent re-election.

Meanwhile, terrorist threats on US interests may be more likely to originate from Pakistan, a country to which we have sent $10 billion.

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a comprehensive piece of legislation to restore the American Constitution and to restore the liberties that have been sadly eroded over the past several years.

This legislation seeks to restore the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution by our Founding Fathers to prevent abuse of Americans by their government. This proposed legislation would repeal the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and re-establish the traditional practice that military commissions may be used to try war crimes in places of active hostility where a rapid trial is necessary to preserve evidence or prevent chaos.

Faced with dwindling support of the Iraq War, the warhawks are redoubling their efforts. They imply we are in Iraq attacking those who attacked us, and yet this is not the case. As we know, Saddam Hussein, though not a particularly savory character, had nothing to do with 9/11. The neo-cons claim surrender should not be an option. In the same breath they claim we were attacked because of our freedoms. Why then, are they so anxious to surrender our freedoms with legislation like the Patriot Act, a repeal of our 4th amendment rights, executive orders, and presidential signing statements? With politicians like these, who needs terrorists? Do they think if we destroy our freedoms for the terrorists they will no longer have a reason to attack us? This seems the epitome of cowardice coming from those who claim a monopoly on patriotic courage

One of my favorite parts of the movie A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is where the dolphins, being the more highly advanced species on the planet decide to boogie because the humans who, being underdeveloped can’t heed their wisdom or warnings concerning the imminent demise of Earth and who have persisted in trashing and destroying their home. The dolphins were smart enough to know that the shit was about to hit the proverbial fan – we humans were too busy watching Survivor or American Idol I suppose. Is life about to imitate art?

This is not a war on terrorism, it is a war on decency and human values.

If you can, go see it. It'll make you angry, disgusted, sad, and even feeling betrayed. And that's really the point, the 'American Government' is betraying its people. Not just in little, let's build a multi-million dollar bridge to nowhere pork projects, but in the grander scheme. It's betraying us in the “we'll kill or destroy anyone or anything we want, just to achieve whatever convoluted goals we've cooked up.” Honesty? Integrity? Forget that. We'll try to off you just for thinking of exposing us for the scum we are.