Under Bush's Patriot Act, You Can Be Arrested for Wearing the Wrong Shirt

Kathy Gill, About.com's Guide to US Politics, has an insightful, "must-read" article today that I wish I had written. Her article, entitled Arrest First, Apologize Later, closely examines the Capitol Police arrest of antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan in the Congressional House just an hour before the State of the Union.

Kathy asks, "Who directed the Capitol Police to go after 'protesters'? Was it the Speaker of the House? Someone from the White House? An uninformed decision of the Chief? His mea culpa suggests it was an innocent mistake -- but with this record of stiffling dissent, is he believable?"

Even more disturbing (if that's possible...), she cites an author who writes, "Such aggressive tactics become more ominous in the light of the Bush administration’s advocacy, in its Patriot II draft legislation, of nullifying all judicial consent decrees restricting state and local police from spying on those groups who may oppose government policies."

Uhh...so Bush wants to turn local, state and Capitol Police into one big spy operation on us? That frightens the heck out of me....and it should you, too. Also, why don't we hear more about this in the press?

Read Kathy's exellent article about the Cindy Sheehan here.

And it's time we all took a comprehensive look at the Bush proposals in his latest draft of the uber-restrictive USA Patriot Act. It's starting to sound suspiciously like an anti-Constitution, designed to restrict, not preserve, our freedoms.

Remember...it's YOUR everyday freedom, and that of your family, that's at stake.

The Senate voted 95 - 1 this week to extend the USA Patriot Act for 5 more weeks, until March 10, while they debate 16 expiring provisions to make it easier for federal agents to install wiretaps, conduct secret searches of homes and business, read personal emails and snail mail, and freely share all info obtained from this secret surveillance.

The sole senator to vote against renewal of these 16 provisons is Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). God bless him for his courage and wisdom on behalf of all Americans. That, my friends, is true leadership.
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-- Senator Russ Feingold on the Surreal State of the Union and on Voting Against Extending the Patriot Act
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