ayoub: (Default)
Ayoubâ„¢ ([personal profile] ayoub) wrote2005-12-23 10:12 am

Small victories

The Patriot act extended for only a month

That's a hell of a lot better than indefinitely.

Bush is doing his best to remove the freedoms of the people, and this is at least a tentative slap in his face.

But as small blessings go, I'll take this...

[identity profile] kay.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 10:36 am (UTC)(link)
Ahhh the good ole patriot act ... hard to imagine people are not losing it and stepping up to change things over a measure that calls for a lot of trust towards Congress + federal law-enforcement agents not to abuse a measure that allows for the indefinite detention and imprisonment of U.S. citizens without due process .. or even as much as being charged with a crime.

I'm truly wondering why the U.S citizens didn't step up ... if we want things changed here, we sure as hell will do our best to make that happen (remember the EU voting?) I have a tough time understanding why they let a government take away their freedom like this for so long.

[identity profile] ayoub.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 10:40 am (UTC)(link)
I get the feeling that a lot of people don't quite realise what it means. The name, I think, is the killer. Something that's Patriotic must be good...

[identity profile] kay.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 11:55 am (UTC)(link)
I've always loved this one:

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official"

~Theodore Roosevelt

[identity profile] ayoub.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Or:

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government" - Edward Abbey

[identity profile] fox-bard.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 11:49 am (UTC)(link)
Have you seen this?
http://www.livejournal.com/users/plaidder/140849.html

[identity profile] kay.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 11:58 am (UTC)(link)
That is so right on target ... it meant nothing more than giving up your freedom and your civil rights for a false sense of security.

[identity profile] fox-bard.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 12:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Agreed. I'm frankly surprised that there isn't more talk of impeachment.

[identity profile] kay.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
That is the part I never understood. They were completely ready and willing to impeach a Preseident over a blowjob .. but there were never any sanctions for the President that lied his nation into a war and that slowly took, and is still taking away, the freedom and rights of all the citizens.

I would've wanted that lunatic out of office, in stead he got chosen to sit in office for 4 more years. Unbelievable.

[identity profile] fox-bard.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 12:50 pm (UTC)(link)
They were completely ready and willing to impeach a Preseident over a blowjob .. but there were never any sanctions for the President that lied his nation into a war...

::massive applause::

But only a president is accountable for his actions. Dictators can make up their own rules as they go along, and most gain power while an external threat is ongoing and able to be used as a platform. Castro got power this way. So did Stalin. And Mao Tse-tung.

I did exercise my legal voting rights last year, but sadly, my participation did not change the outcome that I feared.

[identity profile] ayoub.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 12:00 pm (UTC)(link)
That's good reading :)

[identity profile] fox-bard.livejournal.com 2005-12-23 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I thought of you when I first read it. ^___^