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THE STAR CHAMBER IS BACK
(Paul Craig Roberts, Chronicles Magazine, August 26, 2004)
The Bush administration has sacrificed the Bill of Rights to its "war on terror." As Elaine Cassel conclusively demonstrates in her forthcoming book, "The War on Civil Liberties" (Lawrence Hill Books), the "war on terror" is in truth a war on the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth amendments to the Constitution.Cassel shows that Bush and Ashcroft have mobilized patriotism against the Constitution.The coup, Cassel writes, "came when some staffer dreamed up the acronym USA PATRIOT (United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act for a law that makes a mockery of constitutional protections. To be against the Patriot Act makes one unpatriotic." The Patriot Act defines terrorism so broadly that any act of protest or civil disobedience can be construed as "terrorism," a charge for which the government can hold a person indefinitely. Thus, the Patriot Act permits punishment without conviction. If you think you still live in a free society, consider:
-The Patriot Act overturns the attorney-client privilege, and attorneys who aggressively defend their clients can be indicted for "aiding and abetting terrorism."
-Internet service providers who move to quash government surveillance of their customers can be charged with "obstructing justice."
-Parents who object to airport security personnel dragging away a frightened child to be searched can be arrested for "obstructing a federal law enforcement officer."
According to Cassel, regulations have been issued that permit federal prosecutors to override federal judges - a gross breach of the separation of powers and a classic tool of 20th century police states.Indeed, Cassel herself might be subject to arrest "for aiding and abetting terrorists." Here is what Ashcroft told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve."Cassel dryly notes that Sept. 11 was caused by intelligence failures, not by civil liberties. Yet, the government's response was to attack civil liberties.All of the police state measures were waiting on the shelf. Sept. 11 was an excuse to grab unconstitutional power - just as the Reichstag fire was for Hitler.

posted by An Old Curmudgeon 2:15 PM