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October 27, 2007 at 17:19:07

Put On the Cuffs, I'm Guilty as Charged

by Jim Freeman     Page 1 of 5 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com


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If you thought, as I did, that some pretty scary legislation was created in the past seven years of this administration, you might want to pay attention.

You or I may be a violent radical in the eyes of your neighbor, or someone at work or (quite possibly) a complete stranger on the subway.

No way.

Don’t be sure. Jane Harman, a Democratic member of the House from California, has just gotten together with fellow members to pass HR 1955 RFS. Just four days ago, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 sailed off to the Senate. Harman had fourteen co-sponsors, ten Democrats and four Republicans. Harman's bill has been called, quite properly, a "thought crime bill."

You might have been looking the other way or thinking about giving the lawn one last mowing before winter. There has not been so much as a whisper from the media, engrossed as they are by Hillary’s laugh and Britney’s course in child-raising.

The vote in your House of Representatives was 404 yes and a lonely 6 against. That’s how hot any disfigured legislation that often enough repeats ‘terrorism’ has become. Bad law comes of frightened times and we have allowed ourselves to become a terrorized nation.

Meanwhile, I ask you to think for a moment about the word ‘ambiguity;’ (noun) an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context; unclearness, by virtue of having more than one meaning.

The reason I ask that is because this act is thoroughly and deliberately ambiguous from start to finish—and therein lies its great danger to your and my freedom. I don’t mean freedom of speech or association, although those are at risk as well. I mean your freedom not to be hustled off in handcuffs, possibly never heard from again.

You’ve got to be kidding. This is still America.

Well, it is. For now--and presuming the Senate has the good judgment to bury Harmon’s bill. They sometimes do. Jane’s treachery to her fellow Americans resides at the moment in the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Incredibly, Harman began her career in Washington by serving as chief counsel and staff director for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights. For Jane and most of Washington, scary-terrorism has come to trump the Constitution every time.

So, let’s get to it. What’s so scary about Rep. Jane Harmon’s bill? The first worry is its name, the 'Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007’ and the reason that’s a worry is because of its ambiguity. Ambiguity is what made Hitler’s Germany possible.

What do they mean by Violent Radicalization?

From the 'definitions page' of the bill; (2) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION- The term 'violent radicalization' means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change. My dictionary says ‘extremist’ is ‘far beyond the norm.’ Whose norm? How far is far? Those are ambiguous terms and because they are and because this is terrorist legislation, their meaning is in the hands of the arresting entity.

Bingo! You and/or I may be gone the route of the recent and unfortunate Canadian and German ‘extremists’ who were arrested, rendered to foreign countries and tortured.

My writing this opinion piece is for the explicit purpose of ‘advancing political and social change.’ The only veil between my right to speak as a citizen and extraordinary rendition is someone’s definition of ‘far’ and ‘norm.’ Someone I may not (and probably will not) be able to challenge in court. I’m sorry, Jane, but I find that very, very scary.

What do they mean by Homegrown Terrorism? I would guess it’s not at all similar to a particularly flavorful, tomatoey kind of terrorism.

(3) HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- The term 'homegrown terrorism' means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

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Jim Freeman's op-ed pieces and commentaries have appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, International Herald-Tribune, CNN, The New York Review, The Jon Stewart Daily Show and a number of magazines.

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Professor Nan Fandel teaches communications in Iowa. She is also a journalist who has been an op-ed columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper. Also a poet and a Jellaludin Rumi scholar, Professor Fandel lectures throughout the world on the words, teachings, and life of this 13th-century Sufi mystic poet, who today is among the most popular poets. She has co-authored a book in honor of Rumi titled Mystery Box, which will be available in mid-2008.Professor Fandel's goal as a teacher and ...

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Professor FandelProfessor Nan Fandel teaches communications in Iowa. She is also a journalist who has been an op-ed columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper. Also a poet and a Jellaludin Rumi scholar, Professor Fandel lectures throughout the world on the words, teachings, and life of this 13th-century Sufi mystic poet, who today is among the most popular poets. She has co-authored a book in honor of Rumi titled Mystery Box, which will be available in mid-2008.Professor Fandel's goal as a teacher and ...

to see more of bio, click on member name

I WANT TO KNOW...

...who the six (6) who voted against this travesty are!

I'm with you, Jim. Guilty as charged, and I'm proud of it. They may as well drag out the cuffs and clamp them on my wrists right now for all I've written, done, and created to bring down the corrupt Bush administration, the once Republican, now Democrat, corrupt US Congress in the past seven years.

But here's what I think: It is our moral imperative to dissent corruption in our government! And now, if we do THAT we are TERRORISTS??

People say, "Write your congressional representative, if you want to be heard." Hell, now if we do that, we're the terrorists??

No, my friends, the real, violent terrorists are those who sit quietly, those who do nothing, who overtly allow themselves to be put to sleep by the amount of money or celebrity they can attain, those who turn away from the truth and choose not to explore the possibilities for a better world FOR ALL!

Come and get me...I'm sick of the subterfuge, the lies, the "man behind the curtain." I've still got MY "red slippers," and I will continue to live as I do now: honoring Ghandi who fought with force and morality for justice, living up to the legacy of MLK who fought with force and morality for civil rights, and loving to have been part of an entire, amazing generation of STUDENTS who thoughtfully fought for free speech, civil rights, and helped to raise the consciousness of America by organized-in-the-streets dissent to the illegal war in Vietnam, which pales in comparison to Iraq! And we ended it! 

Yep...come and get me...because I plan to continue to "click away" as loudly and boldly as always until the true courage, heart, and brain of the US come through the tornado of the last seven + years!

Watch for me...I'm in your classrooms, helping students to really look at and SEE their world, and to make thoughtful decisions based on honesty and knowledge. I'll break their hearts with the truth, but whatever the consequences of doing that for me are, it will have been worth it if they act with honor and dignity to grow a better world than what we have now.

Viva la intelligensia! Long live our power to promote truth and justice for the benefit of all! 

Everyone should watch this film NOW: www.zeitgeistmovie.com

In hopes for peace and sanity, I remain,

Professor Nan

by Professor Fandel (4 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 34 comments) on Sunday, November 4, 2007 at 10:56:44 AM
 

 

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