IP: Washington Post: Liberty at Risk

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 08:47:54 -0700
> From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger () ultradevices com>
>
> http://www.truthout.com/0630.Conyers.ACLU.htm
> Liberty at Risk
>
> By John Conyers Jr.
> The Washington Post
> Wednesday, September 19, 2001; Page A33
>
> Like every U.S. citizen, I was shocked and revolted beyond comprehension by
> the attack on our nation last week. We need to do everything within our 
> power to
> find the responsible persons and parties, bring them to justice and end the
> blight of terrorism.
>
> At the same time, we must all remember that just as this horrendous act can
> destroy us from without, it can also destroy us from within. Historically, 
> it has
> been at times of inflamed passions and national anger that our civil liberties
> proved to be at greatest risk, and the unpopular group of the moment was
> subject to prejudice and deprivation of liberty. In 1798, Congress enacted the
> notorious Alien and Sedition Acts, making it a federal crime to criticize the
> government. In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, President Lincoln
> suspended habeas corpus, citing the need to repress "an insurrection against
> the laws of the United States." Ulysses S. Grant sought to expel Jews from
> southern states. World War II brought about the shameful internment of
> Japanese Americans, which even the Supreme Court failed to overturn.
>
> Unfortunately, our response in 1996 to the Oklahoma City bombing and to the
> first bombing of the World Trade Center does not portend well for today's
> discussions. Legislation that began in good faith as an effort to 
> fine-tune our
> anti-terrorism laws turned into a legislative race to the bottom. It contained
> sweeping new limitations on habeas corpus for death-row and other inmates.
> The legislation also severely narrowed the ability of persons fleeing for 
> their
> lives from dangerous regimes to seek asylum. I sat through the hearings on 
> this
> legislation and did not hear a single shred of evidence that proved that a 
> single
> terrorist act could be prevented by limiting the ability of persons 
> convicted in
> state court to obtain relief from unconstitutional convictions or by denying
> immigrants their due process rights.
> <snip>
>
> --
> Robert J. Berger
> UltraDevices, Inc.
> 257 Castro Street, Suite 223 Mt. View CA. 94041
> Email: rberger () ultradevices com http://www.ultradevices.com
> Voice: 408-882-4755 Fax: 408-490-2868



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