man is right on

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Rick Bradley <rick () rickbradley com>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 16:55:02 -0600
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Rangel's statement in response to right-wing criticisms

* Dave Farber (dave () farber net) [030331 16:46]:
> From: Severo Ornstein <severo () poonhill com>
> Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:24:34 -0800
> Subject: Rangel's statement in response to right-wing criticisms
[...] 
> PRESS RELEASE
> CONGRESSMAN CHARLES RANGEL
> Contact:  Emile Milne  202 225-4365                             March 28,
> 2003
[...]
> Nothing is more precious to Americans than our freedom to speak out, to
> disagree.  It's frightening that, in their passion for this war, some
> people are accusing anyone who opposes it of being unpatriotic.  If members
> of Congress are going to be attacked for fulfilling their responsibility to
> their constituents to speak out on matters of war and peace, then we might
> as well tear up the Constitution.

Nonsense.

If members of Congress are thrown in jail for speaking out on matters of
war and peace *then* we need to take a serious look at the laws they've
implemented.  Rep. Rangel has adopted the deplorable Berkeley tactic of
equating criticism with censorship.

Rangel was expressing himself, and was criticized.  Now he's defending
himself.  Sounds like a healthy ongoing debate to me.

If our lawmakers feel threatened by those who exercise their First
Amendment rights by criticising them, we'd better be very careful in our
scrutiny of the laws they are writing.

Rick
-- 
 http://www.rickbradley.com    MUPRN: 987
                       |  a damn if those
   random email haiku  |  little bastards rot in jail for
                       |  a few years. But...


------ End of Forwarded Message

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