meta-roj

Libraries ordered to destroy US pamphlets [boston globe, july 24, 2004]

The federal Government Printing Office has ordered libraries across the country to destroy five US Department of Justice pamphlets that provide how-to instructions on prosecuting asset forfeiture cases, invoking a rarely-used authority to order the removal of items the government routinely sends to hundreds of libraries

two problems with this.

1) is that the documents aren’t being destroyed because they are classified, but because “the Department of Justice has determined that these materials are for internal use only.”
2) the subject matter seems to be “asset forfeiture law,” particularly how to build an asset forfeiture case. that gives me the impression that asset forfeiture is now a hot topic in the department of justice. that’s a problem, because in our adversarial legal system, the prosecution is required to disclose its strategy and bears the burden of proof. or maybe not so much anymore.

kudos to the librarians for fighting back on this one. the secret is out. it’s too late. power to the readers.

i just want to drop a brief comment before the boston fiasco begins….

a federal judge has refused to order the city to tear down a caged zone for anti-DNC protesters.

i hope this works out, i really do. but i’ve spoken on the concept of “free speech zones” before, and how they are unamerican. today, i want to make two points.

1) terrorism, and now, the uncontested speculative threat of civil disobedience mis-labeled as terrorism has won a significant victory against america. this ruling, and the resulting compromise of constitutionally-established rights of americans may have been a specific goal of the attackers on 9/11. if not, it’s a great bonus and victory for them. americans have now done more damage to our own freedoms than any attack or war ever could. for all the talk from our leaders that “they” hate freedom, “we” have done more damage to the actual freedoms we supposedly cherish in this nation, and we have done so willingly and out of fear. this week, americans will be in cages, for daring to speak in public. we’re not talking about abstract things like “american ideals” or “patriotism” anymore. we’re talking about concrete barricades and steel fences.

2) this cage sets the stage for massive physical harm and automatic arrest or detention of protesters during the dnc event in boston. if that happens, it should be painfully obvious that we have taken this campaign of fear too far. it will be the act of a police state against a civilian population, and it should be impossible to ignore. my worst fear is that some incident will result in the police using tear gas on people trapped in a confined space with no escape.

we may be “safe” under our missile shield, but we will have compromised everything we cherish in the process.

ben franklin (or so they tell me)

They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security

never in our history – not after pearl harbor, and not even during a civil war – has this nation been closer to making that deal. ben warned us.

thomas jefferson (or so they tell me)

Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction.

tj feared for us.

it is now. we have to decide.

W.Va. city apologizes to protesters [ap via seattle post intelligencer]

On Monday, the city council adopted a resolution to apologize.

“If Nicole and Jeff Rank did nothing other than peaceably exercise their right of free speech and expression as guaranteed by our Constitutions, they should not have been arrested or charged with a crime,” the resolution states.

“The City does hereby apologize to Nicole and Jeff Rank.”

the city apologizes. this is, truly, amazing.

after being arrested for wearing the wrong t-shirt in a bush zone, and having charges dismissed on a technicality, the city council of charleston, west virginia stepped up and actually did the right thing.

the panic button on this has gone from red to blue to green.

we have the early polling results on electronic voting in florida, and the results are… well, disappointing.

Analysis reveals flaws in voting by touch-screen [sun-sentinel, july 11, 2004]

Records from the March 9 Democratic presidential primary show that votes were not recorded for one out of 100 voters using the new ATM-style machines. That’s at least eight times more than the number of flawed votes cast in the same election with pencil marks on paper ballots tallied by an optical scanner.

as much as i appreciate the accessibility and multi-lingual and other advantages of electronic voting machines, we’ve been saying for quite some time here that it’s just not worth it. find something else that lets the blind vote on their own, but don’t introduce a mechanism that creates eight times the errors in a system that absolutely must be trusted.

and i live in a state that already bought this crap.

following up on a previous post here about two people arrested for wearing the wrong sorts of t-shirts to hear president bush speak about freedoms on july 4th, the charges have been dismissed.

Charges Dropped Against 2 Bush Protesters [ap via abc news]

A judge Thursday dismissed trespassing charges against a couple who wore anti-Bush T-shirts at a July 4 rally for the president at the state Capitol because city ordinances do not apply to Statehouse grounds.

this is clearly an oversight with huge repercussions. someone at the white house didn’t do their homework. you need state police to enforce the tresspassing laws. i think there should be an investigation. just imagine the consequences of president bush realized just how unhappy some of his “united” america is. we simply cannot have loopholes like this used by protesters. loopholes are only for the department of justice.

Charges tossed vs. five Bush protesters [ap via seattle post intelligencer, july 9, 2004]

A judge on Friday dismissed all charges against five anti-war activists who were arrested last year on their way to President Bush’s ranch.

The five were convicted in February of violating the city’s protest ordinance and fined $200 to $500. But McLennan County Judge Tom Ragland ruled the ordinance was overly broad and violated the First Amendment.

The ordinance required 15 days’ notice and a $25 fee before the police chief could issue a permit for a protest. Crawford officials have since amended the ordinance to require seven days of notice.

we talked about the convictions here earlier, it’s nice to see someone in the machine can still read the constitution.

a local [orlando-area] domestic security task force is recommending training “firefighters and other workers who regularly go into homes to report terrorist activity they see on the job.”

just an aside, it’s been a long time since i’ve had a firefighter in my home – at least one on duty.

they’re also interested in drugs and sex.

Civil rights groups warn against tipster training [ap via st. petersburg times, july 9, 2004]

A brochure for the Citizen Awareness Program says a potential sign of international terrorism activity could be “multiple adult males living together, usually of Middle Eastern appearance and between the ages of 18 and 45, with little or no furnishings.”

…

Signs of narcotics use, according to the Sheriff’s Office brochure, include “unusual power bills, high or large spikes in usage,” as well as “unusual odors or chemicals present.”

Indicators of sexual predators of children include “large collections of untitled video tapes or tapes with sexually explicit titles,” sexually explicit literature or “tape, rope, handcuffs, or wire, usually kept in a garage that may be hidden in a closet,” the brochure warns.

so the wars on sex, drugs and porn are going well in florida. once everyone’s either an informant or in jail, we’ll all be safe.

T-Shirt Protests [wtap]

Two people protesting against President Bush were cited for trespassing Sunday shortly before the president gave a speech at the state [West Virginia] Capitol.

Nicole and Jeffrey Rank of Corpus Christie, Texas, say they were removed from the event because they wore t-shirts bearing anti-Bush messages.

i couldn’t find details on the t-shirts, but we do have the president on the record at the event in question…

Remarks by the President at 4th of July Celebration [white house press office]

And today we remember names like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin. We honor their courage and we honor their vision on the 4th of July. We’re thankful that this nation they created 228 years ago remains free and independent and the best hope for all mankind.

Today is the day we gather with our friends and family and give thanks to the United States of America; give thanks to the fact that we are citizens in a free land.

free for some, anyway.

i wasn’t using my civil rights anyway

the alcu has filed suits in maryland alleging that a state law against same-sex marriages violates the state constitution. it’s going to be an interesting election year after all…

yes, i should say something about the recent supreme court rulings, but i want to actually read them first. stay tuned, or poke me if you’re anxious for this perspective.