The fight for freedom at home

"Anyone can handle adversity. If you want to test a man's character, give him power." -Abraham Lincoln

With the Congressional election a few days away, it's a good time to summarize some disturbing articles I've read recently. When you consider who to vote for, try to find out where the candidates stand on these issues. Remember that Congressmen swear an oath to protect the Constitution 'against all enemies, foreign and domestic.' If they've been complicit in these outrages, they've violated their oath

President Bush signed a law that would make it easier for the president to declare martial law and seize National Guard units without the consent of state governors. He can also ship them to other states.

The provision was attacked by Sen. Patrick Leahy, one of the few true voices of conscience in Washington, though by almost no one else. The provision obviously passed Congress. It was part of a larger defense spending bill. Maybe Sen. Leahy is the only person who knew what he was voting on. Rubber stamps: they're not just for Republicans anymore! (Vote Green or 'third party')

Or maybe his colleagues knew exactly what they were voting on. Such dereliction of duty is hardly surprising when you have lawmakers who who believe that the "pursuit of happiness is harming America."

This is consistent with the massive centralization of power occurring in this country. This explains why the US respects the privacy rights of its citizens LESS than any other western country except Britain.

If ordinary, law-abiding citizens are arbitrarily spied on, then it's no surprise that the harassment of the watchdog press has skyrocketed in recent years. That's why the US now ranks a mere 53rd in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index compiled by the independent press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Press freedom in the US ranked behind countries like Ghana, Mali, Panama, Benin and the 'surrender monkeys' in France. The US also ranks behind countries that were recently either police states or in the midst of hideous civil wars such as El Salvador, Chile, South Africa, Mozambique, the three countries that fought the savage Balkans wars of the 90s (actually we're tied with Croatia) and former Soviet-satellite states like Bulgaria and the three Baltic republics.

It wasn't always like this. The first RSF index back in 2002 ranked the US 17th while Mozambique was 70th.

But at least our press is (just barely) more free than those in Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic and Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus!

Clearly, the government loves to watch its citizens but it hates when citizens watch them back!

If they keep 'protecting my freedoms' like this, I'm not sure how much longer I'll have any left.