Pubdate: Tue, 27 Nov 2001
Source: WorldNetDaily (US Web)
Copyright: 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/655
Author: Harry Browne
Note: Harry Browne, Libertarian presidential candidate in the 2000 
election, is Director of Public Policy at the American Liberty Foundation
Cited: http://americanlibertyfoundation.org/ ,http://www.harrybrowne.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

WHO GAVE YOUR RIGHTS AWAY?

Many conservatives, liberals and libertarians are protesting the numerous 
invasions of your liberty that Congress and the Bush administration have 
imposed during the past two months. But without realizing it, many of the 
protestors brought these invasions on themselves.

This is America?

I do share their concerns, however.

First, Congress rammed through an "anti-terrorism" bill that violates the 
civil liberties of all Americans, not just terrorists.

The new law allows federal officials to search your home when you're not 
present and not even tell you your home has been searched. You could come 
home one day and find your computer, file cabinets and legal papers have 
disappeared. You'd naturally think it was a burglary, but the burglars 
would be government employees (shades of Watergate).

Warrants can be issued in secret, and you may not be allowed to see a 
warrant -- or contest it -- covering a search of your property.

This is America?

Government officials can go into any company anywhere and search records of 
your purchases and credit history, discover the websites you've visited, or 
monitor your e-mail -- without evidence of a crime and without telling you, 
and they can order the companies not to tell you about the search.

Then the Bush administration, apparently invoking the divine right of 
kings, decided that people can be tried and executed by secret courts 
(using secret evidence not available for you to refute), that government 
agents can eavesdrop on attorney-client conversations, and that federal 
agents can conduct searches without judicial oversight.

This is America?

And understand that the so-called "War on Terrorism" is only two months 
old. This is just the beginning. What's still to come?

In previous wars, citizens were imprisoned for speaking out against the 
government, newspapers were closed for protesting the war, private 
publications were censored, and people of foreign ancestry were put in 
concentration camps. We have a lot to look forward to.

Don't be deceived!

The press implies that the new civil-liberties invasions will apply only to 
terrorists.

Not true.

They apply to you, because anyone can be suspected of being a terrorist -- 
including you. In fact, the new definition of "suspected terrorist" 
includes people speaking out against government policies.

And if law-enforcement officials are to decide whose civil liberties will 
be denied, one of them may become convinced you're connected to the 
terrorists in some way, try you in a secret court, sentence you, imprison 
you and even execute you -- with no opportunity for you to appeal the 
verdict or your sentence.

This is America?

An administration official told The Washington Post "The U.S. Constitution 
doesn't protect anyone hiding and planning acts of violence." But what he 
meant was, "The U.S. Constitution doesn't protect anyone we suspect of 
hiding and planning acts of violence." They don't know who's actually 
guilty until after a civil, public trial -- conducted with all the 
traditional rules of evidence. What they have arrogated to themselves is 
the power to decide whether or not you will be protected by the Constitution.

This is America?

If you're not frightened by this, you're simply not paying attention.

Won't be limited to a few people

Have you been told that some of these invasions apply only to aliens -- or 
some other small group of people?

Don't be reassured. When has any invasion of liberty not been expanded to 
cover all people eventually?

The clearly unconstitutional RICO laws were supposed to apply only to 
organized crime -- but hardly a single Mafia kingpin has been prosecuted 
using RICO, while abortion protestors and stockbrokers have been jailed by 
these laws. The clearly unconstitutional asset-forfeiture laws were only to 
nab big-time drug dealers, but all across America the property of innocent 
people has been seized.

It's only a matter of time until every new oppression applies to all Americans.

Why this happened

I said that many of those protesting these invasions brought this on 
themselves. How?

It's very simple.

Attorney General John Ashcroft justified the unconstitutional police-state 
tactics by saying, "I think it's important to understand that we are at war 
now."

And there you have it. As Randolph Bourne said, "War is the health of the 
state." Once you grant the government war-making powers, you grant the 
politicians the power to do anything they want. After all, you can't put 
your own personal liberty ahead of the good of the Fatherland, can you?

Congress didn't declare war. There were none of the usual pre-war 
negotiations to try to avoid going to war. We're not even at war with any 
specific nation. But just utter the magic word "war" and all your rights 
can be stolen from you.

So if you hollered for war, you hollered to have your rights taken away 
from you.

Who gave your rights away? You did -- if you supported the idea that the 
politicians should be free to do anything they want to satisfy a national 
lust for revenge.

Isn't it time to start taking back your liberty?

More of his articles can be read at HarryBrowne.org --  and his books are 
available at HBBooks.com.
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