[Peace-discuss] unpatriotic acts.

[E. Wayne Johnson]

27 House Republicans voted against the Patriot Act, joining 117 Democrats
65 Dems and 210 Republicans voted for it, on the Second round of voting when
it would pass by an easy majority


        http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll029.xml


        *

One notable victim of the Patriot Act who has a story to tell expresses 
her disappointment in the Tea Party.

I have noticed that voters tend to be rather forgetful.  But I hope they 
do remember.

I have also seen first hand up close and personal-like the deceit and 
strong arm tactics of the Republican Party
on and against its membership and delegates.  I have also seen 
brothers-in-arms crumple under that pressure,
and have seen brothers stand up against the threats and the deceitful 
promises...  It takes some backbone.

/and Peter went out, and he wept bitterly./

*


        TEA PARTY CRASHES: THE MOST UNPATRIOTIC ACT

February 15th, 2011 
<http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/02/15/tea-party-crashes-the-most-unpatriotic-a?tempskin=basic>

*By Susan Lindauer, 9/11 Whistleblower indicted on the Patriot Act
*

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/02/15/tea-party-crashes-the-most-unpatriotic-a

....You see, contrary to rhetoric on Capitol Hill, the Patriot Act is 
first and foremost a weapon to bludgeon whistleblowers and political 
dissidents. Indeed, it has been singularly crafted for that purpose.

The American people are not nearly as frightened as they should be. Many 
Americans expect the Patriot Act to limit its surveillance to overseas 
communications. Yet while I was under indictment, Maryland State Police 
invoked the Patriot Act to wire tap activists tied to the Chesapeake 
Climate Action Network, an environmental group dedicated to wind power, 
solar energy and recycling. The DC Anti-War Network was targeted as a 
"white supremacist group." Amnesty International and anti-death penalty 
activists got targeted for alleged "civil rights violations."

All of these are American activists engaged in lawful disputes of 
government policy. All of them got victimized by the surveillance 
techniques approved by Tea Party leaders, because they pursued a policy 
agenda that contradicted current government policies. The Tea Party 
swore to defend the freedom of independent thinking in Congressional 
campaigns. One presumes those promises are now forgotten until the next 
election.

I cannot forget. I cannot forget how I was subjected to secret charges, 
secret evidence and secret grand jury testimony that denied my right to 
face my accusers or their accusations in open court, throughout five 
years of indictment. I cannot forget my imprisonment on a Texas military 
base for a year without a trial or evidentiary hearing.

I cannot forget how the FBI, the US Attorneys Office, the Bureau of 
Prisons and the main Justice office in Washington --- independently and 
collectively verified my story--- then falsified testimony to Chief 
Justice Michael Mukasey, denying our 9/11 warnings and my long-time 
status as a U.S. intelligence Asset, though my witnesses had 
aggressively confronted them. Apparently the Patriot Act allows the 
Justice Department to withhold corroborating evidence and testimony from 
the Court, if it is deemed "classified."

I cannot forget threats of forcible drugging and indefinite detention up 
to 10 years, until I could be "cured" of believing what everybody wanted 
to deny--- because it was damn inconvenient to politicians in Washington 
anxious to hold onto power.

Some things are unforgivable in a democracy. The Patriot Act would be 
right at the top of that list. Nobody who has supported that wretched 
law should ever be allowed to brag of defending liberty again. That goes 
for the Tea Party. By voting to extend surveillance of American 
citizens, they have abandoned the principles of freedom that brought 
about their rise to power. They have shown their true face.

It is a face that we, the people, will remember. I, for one, have no 
intention of allowing them to forget.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/02/15/tea-party-crashes-the-most-unpatriotic-a 

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