et tu, Arlen?
The last vestiges of the balanced and reasonable man he once was now apparently gone - eroded by the very nature of the company he's kept within his party -- Senator Arlen Specter has sponsored a measure as part of the PATRIOT Act bill current before Congress that would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any "special event of national significance" away on felony charges if they are caught inside or attempting to get inside one of the increasingly broad "security perimeters."
Expanding the powers granted to the Secret Service and law enforcement, this provision will
* Allow those who've been caught breaching restricted areas to be arrested even if the VIPs being "protected" have already left the area..
* Double the maximum sentence of those arrested from six months to a year
* Extend protections previously afforded to VIPs to an increasingly large sweep of events -- essentially granting the event itself VIP status worthy of protection by the Secret Service.
Currently those who are found in these areas are subject to arrest by local law enforcement, but under the expanded powers they would be charged by the Secret Service.
Reportedly Specter and associates are confused at all the fuss.
It's all almost enough to have me wonder if the mean-spirited invitation mentioned here actually is on the up-and-up, and not just a lark.
Oh, and I see that the GOP has used the bully stick once more, shutting off any troublesome debate and clearing the way for tomorrow's vote to raise Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.
Eventually the pendulum will swing the other way, and yea, there shall be a mighty (and spiteful) retribution.
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Comments
At some point in my life, political dissent went from talking (and yelling and chanting and the rest) to truly stupid, dangerous behavior. For some reason, violence is acceptable and deemed inevitable.
The vitriol and hate I see on the internet every day isn't all that different than the talk I hear when I go to anti-war activities, or even just have a cup of coffee where young people hang out.
It's okay to threaten violence, fantasize and hope for assinations, murders and/or dismemberments. Pat Robertson isn't the only one doing this.
It appears to me that the ideal of nonviolent social change is a dead dream, or one held by so few people that it may as well be.
That said, it makes me sick to my stomach that when the President comes to town, dissenters are restricted to "free speech zones" far away from his presence.
The America I loved as a child allowed for a group of people who were the "loyal opposition" -- those who were strongly against the folks currently in charge, but still had some respect of persons and ideas.
Those days, I'm afraid are long, long gone.