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Hi Ya'll, sorry I've been gone so much lately but I *have* been running a company; however, I also spent the past few weeks with virtually every spare minute used to research our current political situation and administration, and its been a troubling few weeks indeed.

First, a quick comment on the revolt: if you want to win, you must win -- they need to be crushed, period. Unfortunately we may be losing a more important battle here at home:

May Cobra forgive me, but I'm abandoning Bush and his war.

What changed my mind?

I've decided I'm more afraid of my government than I am of the terrorists.

For starters my snot-nosed commie pinko little brother sent me some info about an alleged Oregon state senate bill 742, which it turned out was a fairly easy read -- *thats* a first -- and redefines downloading MP3s illegally, prostitution, and a fair number of similarly non violent crimes as terrorism (and then mixes some truely vile behaviour in as well, but again, they are crimes that are not terroristic.) It then goes on to provide a twenty five year sentance -- no parole -- which can be worked off in a "Forest Work Camp." Among the biggest contributors to the senator (a republican I think) who wrote the bill is a forestry company. The bill was narrowly defeated, but is up for a vote again.

After that little revelation I actually sat down and read large parts of the Patriot Act. I *strongly* suggest everyone do the same, and do so now. My assessment is that Stalin would approve. I'm serious people, read this thing for yourselves -- and Patriot II is worse.

In the course of studying Bush's record to date, I learned he has rejoined UNESCO -- an organization who has stated publically, and proudly, that the family is, "... a disease." and that it must be abolished. We voted ourselves out of UNESCO for that very reason, why would Bush rejoin it unless he agrees with them?

His educational policies are horrible -- even I've been a critic of this since he was governor -- prepping for standardized tests equals an education?  Pu-leez! More suited for pliable worker bees, I would say (perhaps forest worker bees?)

In the last two weeks two wicked decisions came down from our higher courts: the first is a 5th circuit court ruling that the police no longer need search warrants to search your house so long as the search is "cursory", whatever that means -- in effect ruling that the 4th amendment no longer exists (sorry, that's the way I see it.)

Also in the last two weeks the supreme court ruled that refusal to provide ID to a cop or refusal to answer a police officer's questions is equal to *resisting arrest*, thereby bringing both the 4th and the 5th amendments into question.

[http://www.bobbarr.org/default.asp?pt=doc&doc=privacyw]http://www.bobbarr.org/default.asp?pt=doc&doc=privacyw

[http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_c … i.usa.html]http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme....sa.html

[http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/article … herty.html]http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/article....ty.html

This week A. Scalia had the taped recordings of two reporters siezed, and they were threatened with arrest should they fail to comply. The recordings were of a speech he gave about his view of the Constitution.

[http://www.rcfp.org/news/releases/view. … aliams.txt]http://www.rcfp.org/news/releases/view. … aliams.txt

Our troops are scattered to the winds right now, and so is our National Guard, and there are two congressional bills that would start the draft again by spring of 2005 -- only now women have to go too (Call me a chauvenist, but if you ask me, the biological requirment of giving birth to something the size of a bowling ball should allow every woman a voluntary pass on military conscription, if only as a well earned courtesey. All of that "When you see the baby Its worth it" stuff is just fine, but I'll stick to my roll in the process, thank you very much.)

(For info on the draft bills do a google for S89 and HR163.)

The only intact group of forces we have at home right now -- supposedly during a time of war -- are the "State Guards", or authorized militias (these are run and financed by the various states and have official sanction: they are usually experienced veterans and not the goofy fat guys puffing their silly paths through the forest as they stumble and drop their weapons and wheeze their way through Walter Mitty fantasies.)

While dedicated -- unpaid even -- the state guards are too small to have a real effect in terms of defense, should an actual invasion occur. I'm sorry but I can't think of *any* role for the military that is more legitimate than actual defense, especially of the borders.

Obviously an actual invasion is not a concern -- but the combination of porous borders and a visa application process that actually granted visas to the people who crashed into the World Trade Center *after* 911 qualifies as a security threat.  Unless Bush is serious about security, why has nothing been done to address the visa and border concerns?

The borders are *still* not being protected -- again, during a time of "war" -- and the border patrol is being gutted as recruiters are siphoning off agents for the new air marshall force (a force that will only be able to guard a fraction of the planes.) Seems to me a better solution would be to arm the air crews -- but Bush has refused to allow this, despite the protestations of pilots and air crews.

Add to this Bush's promise to sign the assault weapons ban, and his recent change of military oath from "to protect and defend the constitution" to "protect and defend the constitution . . . and obey the commander-in-chief and all his agents." On both counts, Hitler did exactly the same thing.

I've been sceptical of both parties for a long time, but the hours I've spent at the local University library have been terribly disillusioning -- I feel like a gullible dupe. I'm throwing my vote, my bucks and my formerly non activist backside behind somebody besides the two biggies (Kerry voted for the war too and wants to keep it going.) At this point I'm for a vote to bring the boys home and get our minds off the war -- even as real and as serious as it is -- and back on what has been done to our constitutional rights at home while we were watching the war on TV and eating pizza.

I've never been afraid of the terrorists: I figured we were in for a long fight, some setbacks, but eventual victory. I don't think that will change. I am more afraid of the current path our government is on than I am of the terrorists; however, I've only been looking into this for a few weeks -- what else has been attempted while we were preoccupied?