Posted December 14, 2002

Government Policies

Regarding "A Slight Detour on the Road to a Police State" by Alan Bock:

Quite a perceptive article, but nothing much was said about U.S. government policies that have created this terrorism. At the present time, it appears that possible greed over Iraq oil and Likud Party ambitions are the motivating factors for US imperialism in the Mideast (formerly Near-East). Fear of AIPAC appears to paralyze Congress.

We need to forget imperialism and all desire to make the world "democratic" while exporting our jobs and importing the world's jobless. But who cares. Very few seem to have any interest even in discussing what is happening.

I shall visit Backtalk for other insights.

~ Marion Lelong

Demise of Civil Liberties

Regarding "A Slight Detour on the Road to a Police State" by Alan Bock:

What concerns me even more about the war on terror and the demise of our civil liberties is the remaining bulwark against the erosion. Those of us who look to the Supreme Court to stem the tide may raise our hands.

~ Fred Snyder, New Orleans, Louisiana

Padilla and Gummint

Regarding "A Slight Detour on the Road to a Police State" by Alan Bock:

You've some good points in your piece. I'm not sure the handling of Padilla is one of them; he is an American citizen and subject to due process, but if investigation has shown any connection with a terrorist plot – and that can be as little as the coffee gopher – War Powers gives our "gummint" discretion as to whether habeas corpus should be suspended. HC has been suspended temporarily in the past during times of crisis, and I think the specter of falling, people-filled buildings constitutes crisis, wouldn't you agree? Suffice to say Mr. Padilla, or whatever the hell he wants to call himself, is getting better treatment from us than he would from the other side if he chose to actually defend the society that coddled him.

Now, as to this sudden interest from lefties in our Constitution ... my experience is that the left only hollers about constitutional stuff when the right is in power. The rest of the time, they're doing their level best to declare our most sacred document to be "living", i.e.: changeable, malleable, a work in progress – all of which equals "disappearing." So by all means, keep your finger on the pulse of Washington and do your constitutional duty. Just keep in mind what the Constitution really says....

~ Dennis Fishel, Mountlake Terrace, Washington

'D' Notice

Regarding "A Slight Detour on the Road to a Police State" by Alan Bock:

I enjoyed your article very much about erosion of civil liberties.

Yesterday in Yahoo Australia and New Zealand I read of Australian troops beating Arabic asylum-seekers at sea to unconsciousness with iron bars and electric prods. It made me sick to read this....

This news article was not mentioned in the daily press in Sydney so I assume it has been suppressed with a 'D' Notice. (A 'D' Notice allows the government to suppress news on defence matters.)

The holding of Afghanis in Cuba without recourse to writ of habeas corpus is a shocking thing and I don't know how any freedom-loving people can
support it.

~ An Oz (who doesn't want to be spied on)

Israeli Deception

Regarding "By Way of Deception" by Justin Raimondo:

Great to see an articulate writer with a set of balls for a change! Keep exposing this Israeli deception before the sh*t really hits the fan! Can't wait for the book! Hey, try and get on one of these nauseating cable news networks to wake the brain dead people in this country who are too lazy to read, would ya?

~ Frank L., New Jersey

Wishes

Regarding L. Grossman's letter of December 10:

[L. Grossman wrote:]

"As a Jew whose family lives in Israel, I wish the US would get its grubby paws off the land – would butt out and leave Israel to its own decision- and policy-making."

There are millions of people who would like to take L. Grossman up on his offer (provided Israel would give us our damned $1.3 trillion back). But thanks to AIPAC and the "amen corner," the US Congress will never let us. How about getting Israel's "grubby paws" off our political process?

~ Kevin Carson

War

I am 27 years old. I have not seen any consequences of war in my personal life that I know of. I am saddened to see so many people excited to go to war. War is a devastating act that destroys lives. I believe it should only be enacted as a last resort. Only after all else has been done. I just read from the acceptance speech of former President Jimmy Carter a statement that I wholly agree with: "War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good.''

~ Ian C.

Those in the Middle

...I believe people are waiting for Mr. (mad King George III) Bush, the younger or lessor, to step or go completely outside of all restraints. Of course, many people aren't waiting but are just going through their lives as best they can, also. Some others are forming something like the old Committees of Correspondence which ought to go through society like a wildfire (internet). But many of these people are on the extreme Left or leftists.

It is those who are in the middle about which I am concerned. You may believe that we will never rise up and I think you will be surprised at what happens. We are not the hotheaded, rash or stupid people you might wish us to be. And we may very well kick government in the ass, but first we want everyone, including the mildly retarded, to see the emperor really has no clothes.

~ Michael B., Idaho