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The Ill-Begotten: Reflections of Unconstitutional Precedence

There's been, and still exists, a concerted and systematic effort to disregard and eliminate our civil liberties in the name of terrorism. We are witnessing an assault upon our heritage, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Liberty is not a partisan issue - and once given up we will once again have to take up arms and battle to regain them.  As Benjamin Franklin so eloquently pronounced, "Those who would give up essential liberties for a measure of security, deserve neither liberty nor security."

Fear has replaced reason and logic. As Americans, when discussing the issue of preserving liberty while providing security, our foremost concern should be human rights, civil rights and civil liberties.

Since the first strike on the twin towers in 1993, the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing in 1995, as well as the events of September 11th, 2001 and the Anthrax scare, collectively we've had to grapple with the devastating scope and scale of these attacks.  It has forced each of us to re-assess our understanding of believable and unbelievable - of what's thinkable and unthinkable. Our reality makes the best Hollywood script pale in comparison.

A New Psychiatric Diagnostic Category; Politician Syndrome; DSM-IV 333.333

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) is the means by which mental health disorders are classified in the United States.  This standardized approach is used by mental health professionals, insurance companies and the legal system.    Clinicians use the manual to assist in diagnosis by reading the general description and checking off the different criteria.  Those mildly impacted by a syndrome will meet the minimum number of criteria, the seriously impaired will  meet all of the qualitative and behavioral conditions.  Prognosis usually depends on the severity of the disorder. Differential diagnosis is made by ruling out other diagnoses with similar symptomatology.

DSM-IV - new category 333.333 Politician Syndrome

DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Politician Syndrome

Take Action Against Bush in Weaponsgate!

The Bush Administration is desperately trying to contain the brewing controversy about its false statements regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They lied to drive us into a war against a country that posed no threat, a war which has so far killed over 6000 Iraqi civilians (www.iraqbodycount.net) and over 200 American soldiers. Speak out now! Help keep this issue in the public spotlight.

Take Action:

Convince Governor Taft to veto HB 152

I need your help to convince Governor Taft to veto HB 152 , the bad megafarm bill! The Governor will make a decision about HB 152 in the next week. Please call the Governor's office, ask for Kate Bartter, and tell her that you strongly urge the Governor to veto HB 152 because:

  a.. Local governments should have the authority to prevent disease and nuisance from factory farms. If we erode that right in this case, where do we draw the line?
  b.. The amendment didn't receive anything like a fair hearing. The Senate held one public hearing, at which the amendment was offered and the House held no hearings before passing the bill
  c.. HB 152 establishes a terrible precedent -- if a polluter finally gets closed down due to environmental violations, the industry just changes the rules, rather than changing their behavior

Call the Governor at 614-466-3555 or 614-644-HELP. Please email Bryan Clark Bryan.Clark@sierraclub.org, Conservation Program Coordinator, Sierra Club (Ohio Chapter) after you make the call so that he can track our actions and keep a record of any feedback you receive.

John Ashcroft: Coming to a Town Near You?

On August 19th, Attorney General John Ashcroft will begin traveling to over a dozen U.S. cities to “set the record straight” about “mischaracterizations” of powers granted to the Justice Department under the USA Patriot Act. Ashcroft may also advocate for additional powers proposed by the so-called “Patriot Act II.”

ACT NOW! capwiz.com/voice4change/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=3142006

Common Cause has a long history of advocating for civil liberties. We continue to monitor the effects of the Patriot Act and its authorization of government intrusion into lives of average Americans. We believe that portions of Patriot Act violate the fundamental rights guaranteed to you under the Constitution.

Is “Big Brother” Here?

He could be. The USA Patriot Act, passed by Congress shortly after 9/11, grants the government new authority to investigate not just suspected terrorists, but you, your neighbor, and any other United States citizen or resident. For example:

1. The Act expands the government’s ability to look at your personal

Oppose exemptions to the Roadless Rule

Tell the Bush Administration you oppose their plans to exempt the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska from the Roadless Rule!

Public comment period extended to September 2nd!

This extension appears to be because the agency failed to provide timely response to those who requested more detailed information about plans to take the Tongass and Chugach out of the Roadless Rule.  

www.greenpeaceusa.org/index.fpl/10048/action_id/188.html

The Issue:

The Future Of Media in America Could Be Up To Ohio

Do you want the media to be controlled by a few huge companies?  The future of media could be up to you.  Urge Senators Mike DeWine and George Voinovich to co-sponsor S.1046, a bill to overturn the FCC's new media ownership rules. Senators DeWine and Voinovich are part of a small number of Senators whose support is needed to ensure the passage of this important legislation in the Senate.

The new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules will allow one company to own a daily newspaper, as many as three television stations, and up to eight radio stations in some markets in Ohio.  This benefits the media giants at your expense.

We need your help.

1. Please sign the Ohio petition to encourage Senators DeWine and Voinovich to support the roll back of FCC rules that benefit only big media companies and negatively impact the diversity of voices in our democracy.  Click here: www.commoncause.org/action/petition_fccstate.cfm?state=OH

2. Please forward this message to people in your community and help make

Faith-based drug wars: Bush recruits religious youth groups as ground troops

Bush recruits religious youth groups as ground troops for the 'drug wars' What do advocating "religious hiring rights," a $4 billion workplace retraining bill, and the war on drugs have in common? The short answer: Bring on the faith-based organizations!

Although more than 30 months have passed since President Bush announced the centerpiece of his domestic agenda -- his faith-based initiative -- and no significant broader efforts to fund his initiative has emerged from Congress, the administration continues to move ahead on a number of fronts.

Bush's latest faith-based proposal involves enlisting religious youth groups in the war on drugs. According to the Washington Times, the administration recently printed 75,000 copies of a guidebook to the drug wars called "Pathways to Prevention: Guiding Youth to Wise Decisions." The 100-page pamphlet "seeks to teach youth leaders how to handle questions and concerns about substance abuse." In addition to the publication, there's a new Web site and an e-mail newsletter.

The new anti-drug project is built around three premises which are spelled out in a fact sheet titled "Marijuana and Kids: Faith":

Harvey Wasserman

Harvey Wasserman is an irresponsible journalistic hack at best. His uninformed and malicious viewpoints on the Bush Administration, nuclear power, and apparently the world in general need to be put in check. Could it be that too much indulgence of the psychedelic pharmaceuticals has left him out of touch? If not, it appears that his celebrity has clouded his judgment. The slippery slope fallacy that he attempts to spin in just about every recent article is getting old. There is plenty of separation between reality and the doom and gloom that he spews forth as the inevitable end to all things current. Maybe it is time to let him retire back to Montague Farm. With enough of his hot air, I am sure there would be no shortage of electricity for anything deemed necessary. By the way, that hot air is renewable resource in that when his time has past, the next naysayer can take up where he left off.

Founding  Father of Neocon Philosophy Leo Strauss and Jefferson's Impending Death

Even the national press has sounded the alarm about the "Straussians." The Bush administration, particularly its foreign policy team, has been and is still heavily influenced by neoconservative "intellectuals" who are themselves under the influence of the teachings of Leo Strauss. These include Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz; Abram Shulsky of the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans, Richard Perle of the Pentagon advisory board, and Elliott Abrams of the National Security Council.

Strauss, a refugee from Nazi Germany, came to America in the late 1930s and was particularly interested in political philosophy and the study of tyranny. He taught at the University of Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s during the Cold War, when capitalism went on a global manic binge and liberalism died a silent death with its conversion to "liberal" capitalism (an oxymoran) and away from socialism (Death of the American Politic, BushWatch, August, 2003).

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