Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Kitsune
The current boogeyman will be changed from islamic extremists to the seemingly-perverted guy down the street.
|
I know people who have been victims of this new 'we fear everyone' mentality.
Quote:
from The Economist of 8 Oct 2004
In May, Brandon Mayfiled, a 37 year old Oregon lawyer, was arrested and thrown in jail when federal agents incorrectly matched his fingerprint with one found on a bag of detonators in a station near Madrid after the March train bombings. Earlier, FBI agents had sneaked into his home and taken "Spanish documents" (namely his son's Spanish homework), along with copies of the Koran (Mr Mayfield is a convert to Islam). Two weeks later, most of it spent in solitary cofinement, all charges were dropped and he was released with an apology for the FBI.
This is how the "war on terror" is sometimes fought. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, the Bush administration has brought in a slew of law-enforcement and surveillance powers that critics fear is turning America into an Orwellian nightmare. The worriers are thinking of the all-seeing Big Brother of "1984", though so far the chaos of "Animal Farm" may be closer to it. ...
In September 2002 the government launched a "call-in" registration progmramme, requiring visiting men aged 16-45 from 25 predominantly Arab of Muslim countries to be photographed, fingerprinted, and questioned under oath. Access to lawyers was denied. More than 80,000 complied. Most were found to be ordinary law-abiding people. Again, not a single terrorist was unmasked. But a lot of resentment was caused.
|
Expected when we immediately see evil everywhere. After the election, many new surprises including a massive new budget for the Iraq war (to pay the bills from this past year and many years hence) will be unveiled. Expect many questionable provisions of the Patriot Act that must expire in 2005 to be made permanent. I expect more of my friends (most of whom are American citizens) to be held again in jail without a lawyer. In one case, seven cop cars surrounded his car in Valley Forge only because a dark skinned man (an Indian) was using his cell phone in a suspicious manner. He was using the calculator. Fortunately he had his two year old son with him. Otherwise he believes he was about to be 'detained' until his son started crying.
Promoting fear and 'good verses evil' could get Hitler elected. Why not a president? Screw the Oregon lawyer. He should have known better than to leave his son's homework sitting around for an FBI that is 120 days behind in foreign language translations. Thank you George Jr for saving us money by not funding the FBI. He had a Koran. He must have been evil.