Today’s laws are being made by a Congress that mistrusts and fears Americans. What is it that impels men to make laws that go beyond the rules that nature and common sense demand men live by? Human beings respect and honor laws that govern individual and group behavior. If a man steals from, or harms his neighbor, the law provides remedies that punish the thief or assailant. The laws that Congress makes are often convoluted - tortuously labyrinthine. Many are a mystery. No one understands them with the exception of those who are especially trained to interpret them. Even they must rely on vast libraries of precedent, defined terminology, endless files of statutes, ordinances and regulations, many of which are extra Constitutional. When these laws can’t be enacted within Constitutional restraints the government, acting in its own interest, becomes a separate entity existing quite apart from the people. “If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” - Thomas Jefferson

For the first time in the nation’s history, the decision of who would lead the nation was taken away from the people by an obviously partisan, Supreme Court. The nation’s highest court, in effect, made new law and used it to install its conservative member’s choice for president. After the court betrayed the republic, and the Constitution it swore to protect, it decided that its ruling was an isolated decision and could never be used as precedent. The Supreme Court, having fraudulently appointed Bush, has amply demonstrated why the choice for president is left to the people. The nation will never fully recover from the disaster that five justices released upon a naïve, in many instances ignorant, and unsuspecting public. The Supreme Court was the citadel, the vessel in which the law was sanctified. When it betrayed its purpose it delivered a terrible judgment upon itself. If law is the glue that binds society successfully together, it must be applied equally. The Supreme Court trespassed on that maxim. Partly as a result of the Court’s decision in "Bush vs. Gore," the Bush Administration has proclaimed itself above the laws that ordinary Americans must abide by. This certain step towards a totalitarian government signals a fatal weakness of American democracy. Government easily shifts from “We the People” into rule by institutional authority. This could never happen if enough Americans valued their freedom, and enough recognized that government serves at their pleasure, and must obey the law. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free...it expects what never was and never will be.” - Thomas Jefferson

As government enacts ever more rules, it must become aloof from the people. It must maintain a separate, distinct identity if it’s to operate outside the endless laws it enacts. This is the state in which the U.S. finds itself today. Elected officials have undermined the Constitution they swore to protect. Prosecutors run up conviction records they point to when running for higher office. Public defenders sleep through capital murder trials. It’s common knowledge that a poor defendant has little chance of prevailing against the limitless resources of the state whether or not the defendant is guilty. A recent moratorium was declared stopping all executions in the U.S. because too many innocent people were being murdered by the state.

The nations highest court, acting outside the law, installed a president who lied shamelessly to start an illegal war that is still being fought 7 years later. When a nation has the misfortune of witnessing its highest elected officials behaving with vulgar dishonesty and contempt of law, its people and its institutions are cheapened. The Bush Administration, more than any other in U.S. history, has acted to abridge the Constitution. The nation’s leaders, against their sworn duty, threaten the people’s freedom and well-being. The best that can be said of such government is that it’s rendered itself useless. The worse that has happened is that government has exchanged roles with the governed. “The Constitution is not an instrument of the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” - Patrick Henry

The arrogance - the unbelievable egoism - the outrageous and pretentious character of so many of today‘s Congressmen is truly astonishing. Jane Harman, a Blue Dog Democrat, authored a bill that nicely compliments the Bush Administration’s tireless efforts to curtail the citizenries rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. Senator Susan Collins, a republican representing Maine, is preparing the Senate version. The measure seriously constricts the right of Americans to descent and, unbelievably, authorizes a commission to interpret and act upon the thoughts and pre-criminal activities of U.S. citizens. Orwellian society, replete with its “thought crimes” is here. The Supreme Court, if the measure gets by the Senate, is the last defense against this flagrantly, anti-American legislation. Thomas Paine, a great American patriot said, “It is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government.”

“The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act,” is a proposed law that Bush wishes he’d dreamed up. To appreciate the bill’s assumptive arrogance - its chilling invasion into what Americans may be thinking, it is necessary to reproduce its description. “The process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically-based violence to advance political, religious, or social change’) and ‘homegrown terrorism’ (defined as ‘the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individuals born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States …. to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”). A great, American humorist knew of the Jane’s and Susan’s of this world, “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” - Mark Twain

Unfortunately, such a windy and ambiguous bill, with its impressively contrived language, lends itself to free interpretation. A commission will be tasked with exploring the thoughts that perspective individuals may be entertaining. It will also investigate dissenting activities that could be construed as undermining or intimidating segments of the population, or the government itself. This commission will be based in American universities where academia, it is hoped, will support its conclusions and lend credibility to its findings. Government’s obviously and typically act to consolidate their power by controlling the citizenry. Ms. Harman’s measure is another ominous step in that direction. With the other numerous curtailments the Bush Administration has visited on the U.S. Constitution, an opinion columnist could be held without charge, removed to a secret location, and tortured there. “When the government fears the people, it is liberty. When the people fear the government, it is tyranny.” - Thomas Paine

It’s astonishing that some monstrosity like the one referenced above could be seriously entertained. But it was not only entertained - it was passed, almost unanimously, by the U.S. House. The bill’s sponsors borrowed a page from Bush when they shared their concerns about their frightening and diabolical “radicalized individuals.” The lawmakers decided that “radicalized individuals” must be preemptively stopped before they can act. Just as Bush had to stop Saddam before he could send his rubber band powered airforce to attack the U.S. Said Harman, “The National Commission will propose to Congress initiatives to intercede before radicalized individuals turn violent.” Congress, so far, hasn’t offered an explanation of just how it will determine when or why a “radicalized individual” may “turn violent.” Perhaps the lawmakers imagine that terrorists have duplicated Dr. Jekyll’s potion and soon, millions of roaming Hydes will savage the land. They also fail to explain what is meant by, “an extremist belief system.” That one covers a lot of ground. The government could start rounding everyone up who believes in U.F.O.’s. And how does anyone know what Santa really has in his sack when he breaks into American homes by dropping down people’s chimneys? Kinda creepy ifya ask me. “There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” - James Madison

There are so many laws it’s impossible to hire enough people to enforce them all. In the U.S, 25% of the American workforce provide security and discipline. This number includes U.S. military personnel stationed in the U.S. and overseas. No other country in the world devotes as many human resources to law enforcement. There are an estimated 5 million cameras keeping an eye on Americans, and that number is expected to double by 2010. The U.S. had over 7 million of its citizens locked up in 2006. Over 4 million were on probation, and almost 800,000 were on parole. These numbers come from the U.S, Bureau of Justice Statistics. The bill introduced by Ms. Harmon is in step with the Bush Administration’s Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act which suspends Habeas Corpus, and the New! Just in! Warrantless wiretapping laws. Torture is now in vogue and it’s perfectly legal to use the threat, or use of torture, to coerce evidence. Of course, these laws are necessary to protect us from foreign and domestic terrorists. The question is, what will be left to protect when Americans wake up to discover that how completely they conform to authority is the only relevant determinate in their lives? “You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.” -- George Orwell

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