Catholic worker Brian Terrell of Iowa has been sentenced to six months in a federal prison for his witness against the use of drone warfare. What is an appropriate sentence where no crime has been committed? No crime committed, at least, by the defendants. Last month's trial in this courtroom concerning a protest of killer drones flown from Whiteman Air Force Base left no doubt that this is the case. The court's decision is part of a widening dis ...

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Catholic worker Brian Terrell of Iowa has been sentenced to six months in a federal prison for his witness against the use of drone warfare. What is an appropriate sentence where no crime has been committed? No crime committed, at least, by the defendants. Last month's trial in this courtroom concerning a protest of killer drones flown from Whiteman Air Force Base left no doubt that this is the case. The court's decision is part of a widening disintegration of civil liberties, where speech is tolerated only in designated and remote "free speech zones" where it cannot be heard by the government, and criminalized in any place where that speech might actually have a chance to be understood. Intended or not, the court's message is a chilling one- that a citizens' constitutional right to assemble to petition the government extends only where they say it does.

Authors Bio:
I am a retired artist who is passionate about learning and sharing the truth about corporate/government control of U.S. citizens, with an aim to protecting health, freedom, human rights, and the environment. I support a truly independent audit of the federal reserve and its expulsion from the U.S. monetary system; an independent scientific investigation of 9/11; the dismantling of the existing media monopoly (now owned by 5 corporations) and its replacement with equitable representation of all people; the elimination of corporate influence on government regulatory agencies; the banning of GMO foods; the cessation of corporate financing of politicians; election reform; the overturning of the rule recognizing corporations as individuals; an independent investigation of the vaccine industry with full disclosure of government and pharmaceutical industry influences; transparency in government including the exposure of the military-industrial-complex's excesses; the criminal prosecution of authorities who initiate illegal military invasions based on falsehoods; the cessation of wars instigated and driven by corporate greed; the criminal prosecution of authorities who authorize kidnapping, torture and assassinations; the elimination of the Homeland Security Act and the return of habeas corpus; a denial of the claim by the U.S. president of the right to assassinate U.S. citizens; the immediate cessation of aerosol spraying of our skies (chemtrails/geoengineering); an independent investigation of the health effects of HAARP on space, on the world's ecosystems and living organisms; the reversal of NAFTA; the right of citizens to be free of government/corporate spying and medical/psychological experimentation; the right to bear arms; the cessation of private contractors in war zones including the use of private military forces on U.S. or foreign soil; freedom of and from religion; no cap and trade; a serious investment in renewable energy; elimination of nuclear power plants; a health care system that includes alternative practitioners and is not beholden to insurance companies and other corporate interests...and all other just efforts to bring about a healthy and peaceful world.