There are friends of mine, journalists included, and I imagine the watchers from the security services (sceptic?), who have found descriptions of the Bush regime as proto-fascist exaggerated. I ask them to read carefully the Patriot Act of last year, and this new draft of a subsequent act for which see the attached web link). The already unprecedented attack on American civil and constitutional rights, continues.

This second bill gives the federal government the following powers:

(1) Section 312, “Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities”:

this section (ironic from a Justice Department which trumpets 'state's rights) removes a number of protections passed in state law which prevented police abuses of search, seizure, and the fabrication of evidence. The targets are in particular New York and California, where the abuse of police powers, especially against activists in the 1960s, 70s and 1980s, generated strong local constitutional protections.

(2) Section 405, “Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism”:
this effectively is a blanket suspension of habeas corpus: empowering the government, where it accuses 'terrorism', to detain US citizens indefinitely without trial (although the law's 1984-speak phrases it "before trial")


(3) Section 501, “Expatriation of Terrorists”: This is a doozy. It would establish that an American citizen could be stripped of their citizenship if "with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of, or provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has designated as a ‘terrorist organization’.” The new law affirms that the intent to reliquish citizenship can be "inferred from conduct": ie. an alleged and possibly lawful and nonviolent association with whatever the Attorney-General decides is a “terrorist organization”, can lead to someone being deemed to no longer be a citizen. (And then flown out to Egypt or Morocco or Guantanamo Bay to be tortured with impunity)

The Bush regime is a danger not only to the peace of the world but to the liberties of Americans. Wake up, this is 1933 again, and pitiful Saddam Hussein in his bunker is not the one who is taking the role of Adolf Hitler.