My Archives: November 2002
Sunday, November 17, 2002
Admin update: the text of Wendy's LibertyFest 2002 talk is now available on-line.
Posted by admin @ 02:06 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Brad and I are back from the non-wilds of Michigan, where I addressed the Michigan LP's annual LibertyFest on the topic of political optimism. (Text of the talk will be posted here shortly.) Many thanks to activist Diane Barnes for inviting me and ensuring that our stay was so comfortable.
[more]
Posted by mac @ 06:05 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, November 6, 2002
Greetings in this post-election world:
I had hoped for a political gridlock, in which no one party, no one agenda could write its own ticket... Poof, in smoke! Thank God I'm lucky in love and cards, 'cus politics ain't it. Republicans dominate -- the House, the Senate, all near-future nominations to the Supreme Court... Democrats will probably learn a lesson from the election returns but it will be the wrong lesson. They have rolled over, like poodles, asking to have their bellies scratched for not being so unpatriotic as to oppose the war. The lesson they will probably take away is that they need to be more subserviant, less obstructive to plans for the mass destruction that masquerades as self-protection. A few will note that Al Gore has resurrected his political career precisely because he took a strong anti-war stand. The die-hards may rally around the shrinking ranks of anti-war skeptics -- shrinking because, Goddamn it!, Wellstone was a loss. Yes, this is *me* lamenting the loss of a politician. And this what I most dislike George W. Bush for. He makes me root for politicians who oppose his foreign policy. He makes me like Al Gore. Yuck-- I feel like scrubbing my disk drive with Lysol! If I have to like the Democrats, I may become a hermit. Not that I admire the conservatives any more.
More tomorrow...
mac
Posted by mac @ 01:01 PM EST [Link]
Sunday, November 3, 2002
More breaking news on the erosion of privacy rights.
The government "is no longer required to demonstrate 'probable cause' when requesting records. “FBI and police used to have to show probable cause that a person had committed a crime when requesting materials,” says Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE). 'Now, under Section 215 of the Patriot Act,' Finan continues, “it is possible for them to investigate a person who is not suspected of criminal activity, but who may have some connection to a person [who is]. Worse … there is a gag provision barring bookstores or libraries from telling anyone—including the suspect—about the investigation. Violators of the gag order can go to jail." [more]Posted by mac @ 08:55 AM EST [Link]