-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Subject: The Reichstag BURNS From: vsync Organization: quadium.net Date: 20 Nov 2002 06:11:19 -0700 Message-ID: <87u1ic2xoo.fsf@piro.quadium.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Lines: 105 Well, they just got done raping the 4th amendment, among other things. The Senate just approved the "Homeland Security" bill, granting the government the right to read mail without warrants, as well as stuffing INS, Customs, and others into one giant department. The bill (law now) also includes such provisions apparently unrelated to security as refusing government contracts to US-traded companies based in the Cayman Islands, with no justification given. They were forced to back down from some of the most explicit corporate pork (but only as a promise to rescind these provisions later; they're law now): * Shield Eli Lilly only from future lawsuits based on claims that thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, caused autism in children; as passed, the bill makes moot a number of pending suits. * Restore a provision from the late Sen. Paul Wellstone that would ban companies from getting federal homeland-security contracts if they reincorporated abroad to avoid U.S. taxes, unless an administration finds national security is at stake. The GOP language now in the bill broadens the waiver power. * Drop an earmark that would have put a new homeland-security research center at Texas A&M. -- WSJ, "Bush Wins Senate Passage Of Homeland-Security Bill", 2002-11-20 Last night I found this speech by Senator Thomas rushing the bill to a vote without further debate or discussion: Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I just listened to the two Senators who are probably most involved with the details of this homeland security bill--very interesting comments. I have been, frankly, disappointed that it has taken us as long as it has. We have been on this measure, I understand, now for about 7 weeks, and we are still not finished--a bill that needs to be finished. It needs to be there for security. Yet we continue to debate and worry over issues that are not as significant as the passage of this bill. -- [Page: S11243], http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r107:./temp/~r1077h0c6g And here I thought people were concerned about the unconstitutional aspects of this bill and worried about the amount of power being placed into the hands of the Executive Branch. Now I know that getting a bad law passed is more important than fixing the issues it has first, passing a better law instead, or even determining if a new law is needed. I'd like to quote from an article about 1930s Germany: In Jan., 1933, when Adolf Hitler became chancellor without an absolute majority, the Reichstag was dissolved and new elections were set for Mar. 5; a violent election campaign ensued. On Feb. 27, 1933, a fire destroyed part of the Reichstag building. Hitler immediately accused the Communists of having set the fire. President von Hindenburg proclaimed a state of emergency[...] Sound eerily familiar? I pray that the second half of that last sentence never comes to pass in the United States of America: [...]and issued decrees suspending freedom of speech and assembly. Now, look at how Hitler got all his power. Did he seize it in a military coup? No: On Mar. 23 the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, which gave the government, i.e., Hitler, dictatorial powers. -- http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/Reichstg_HitlerandtheReichstagFire.asp I say that the World Trade Center is our Reichstag. Yes, the United States was attacked. Yes, there are those who wish our doom. But shifting power between the branches of government and giving the FBI power to read our mail without warrants and browse our library reading lists freely does nothing to stop someone flying another plane into a building, shooting random people as they go about their business, or sailing a ship with a nuclear weapon aboard into a harbor. No, it merely clears the way for more ... dramatic domestic happenings. I'm surprised that this wasn't passed by secret voice vote, the way the DMCA was. At least we know the names of those who sold us out, abrogating the constitutional rights which define the freedom they are so eager to protect. Whether the Supreme Court will intervene is an open question. As citizens of the United States, we share a solemn responsibility in that we allowed this to happen, the same responsibility we place upon those who gave Hitler his power. And should we see our government take further steps along the road to establishing a tyrant, and do nothing, we are not merely careless and apathetic, but fools. For we have seen this happen before, and we know the potential results. God bless America. [This email may be reproduced and redistributed verbatim and in its entirety.] - -- vsync http://quadium.net/ Save man-years by not saying things like "mature software process concepts" when you mean things like "good plan." -- http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=44717&cid=4641043 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE92414E3OXKHY6U7wRAsBaAJ96/N1ZShSiHW0k3w3z6T4wSew9gACeNqhw gSOFpMuegz/qkVBIsY/TgwY= =mOLy -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----