The problem of playing politics with our constitutional rights

James S. Tyre j.s.tyre at worldnet.att.net
Thu Sep 11 23:21:39 PDT 1997



> What we _can_ do is prepare for a long guerilla war with the bastards. 80%
> of the population will willingly trade away their rights ("what have I got
> to hide?") for more perceived security. Ben Franklin saw this 230 years
> ago.
> 
> It's war. Too late for a public relations campaign so that some future
> Congress will slightly relax their laws.
> 
> 
> And in a war, gotta break some eggs.
> 
> --Tim May

Mostly, I agree -- at least as far as Congress is concerned.  I place
more hope in the courts, which could be because I've been practicing
con. law for 19 years (many on f-c know this, but I do not assume that
Tim knows much about me).

But even though I work within the law, this may become a by any means
necessary situation.  As I type, I'm remembering when the FBI raided my
office about a dozen years ago, without so much as a warrant, thank you
very much, accusing me of violating national security laws. 
Technically, they were right; legally, they were wrong, but they didn't
give a shit.  Nice reminder (coming from a liberal, for those who've
just been asking what liberals think) that a little civil disobedience
now and again is not such a bad thing.

-Jim







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