Patriot Act
What if Todd terrorists snuck in a SADM and the Patriot act could have stopped it? What if those SADMs went off killing millions but no security was in place due to your feeding on other fears? Could you live with that? What if has so many conotations, what if you actually thought of the other possibilities? Todd, you need to get a life! Flying carpet alert! Flying carpet alert! Put your trust and your future in the hand of the Great Decider! Don't let anyone persuade you to worry about America! The Great Decider will take care of you! Beware of those terrible hordes thousands of miles across the sea! Flying carpet alert! Flying carpet alert! well old grouch, guess what, SADMs do exist and Russia admits to over 2 dozen missing, each with half a kiloton of atomic explosives. Imagine that in your hometown, or may you are more worried about the flying carpets? Nick, I addressed the imbalance in nuclear arms at some length on another posting. Yes. One of the reasons for this is the reality that what once was the very carefully kept Soviet arsenal is now . . . ? And, it is possible for these to be loosed by those without any sense of the reality of such an act. On the other hand, while this is something for concern, the whole "Islamofascist" business is based on the rhetoric that has been used for Centuries when a Jihad of one kind or another has been contemplated, or proclaimed. Although, back in the days when horses and chariots were war materiel, the Turks managed to advance into the Iberian penninsula, they were soundly defeated - and thrown off the European part of the Eurasian Continent - some Centuries past; and have little or no possibility of an invasion across thousands of miles of Oceans today. To successfully invade the Western Hemisphere requires transportation, and a supply line, to begin with. An Air Force, to both attack the target and defend the attachers is mandatory. Armor and such is also mandatory. And, last perhaps, but far from least, one does need the unified manpower of an invasion force. Where is all this? Iran and Iraq warred with each other for years; and neither succeeded in making a significant dent in the other's borders, or otherwise causing much more than a local "tempest in a teapot". While Iran has some fighter planes - and bombers that are leftovers from Soviet era - the Israeli Air Force could destroy this whole force in less time than it takes to type here. Not to mention our warships in the Persian Gulf, and our aircraft from the patrolling Carriers dropping "smart bombs". Atrocities are atrocities. An Islamic take over, and rule of the world is . . . rather fantastic, to say the least. We do need to prtoect against potential atrocities. Certainly, no one wants even as relatively minor an incident as happened on 9/11. Minor only in comparison to nuclear incident, that is. But to constantly rant about Islam taking over, and or the kind of Jihad that would conquer Europe, Russia, China, and the Western Hemisphere is excessive bombast. Which is why I use the "Flying carpets are coming!" approach there. But the Patriot Act is something totally different. It is something that should be let to die as soon as possible; and should never have been passed in the first place. Or as is attributed to Ben Franklin: "Those who would give up freedoms to obtain security will soon find they have neither freedom nor security." "Those who would give up freedoms to obtain security will soon find they have neither freedom nor security." I haven't given up any freedoms...what freedoms have you lost? Typical rhetoric. The fourth amendment, for starters. Has anyone Honestly and Truely read the Patriot Act, I think not, most law makers haven't even read it. Under the PA most of our "freedoms" are null and void, most of our constitution is null and void. It is truely a scary document that over rides everything. What we have to be VERY afraid of is how it will continue forever without controls. We were all afraid after 911 but we have set up ourselves for disaster if this piece of work isn't dismantled before it becomes a permenant part of our lives. As it stands, if a business is thought to have done any business with someone with who's name might be on a watch list, the PA gives any govt entitiy the right to seized any and all records of that business ( doctor, lawyer, etc) confidentially does not exist. They do not have to respect anything, they can share those records with all personal information with any other entity. That means medical diagnosis, lawyer conversations, business trade or pattens research etc all gone. They can walk into your home without a search warrent if they believed that you had coffee in the same resturant that a suspect did, and you have to prove your are not guilty. They can hold you without due process under the PA. While it may not be War & Peace everyone should read this piece of work that has compromised what America was built on.
The laws now in place could allow an unthinkable nightmar
What if in the balance of 2007, there were more acts similar to Virginia Tech? And then let’s say in late fall 2007 there is an act of violence that has loose, but evident ties to Islam
The general public would panic and demand the government do something protect them. And the government would be more than happy to oblige.
Under current law (namely the Patriot Act), the President could declare martial law, federalize all National Guard troops (the few that are not in Iraq) and Congress cannot, by law, review the declaration of martial law for six months!
The elections would have to be “postponed” because of the millions of people who cannot vote because the infrastructure in their communities has collapsed.
What if. .
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