Oh crap, Senselessbrenner is dumping the Patriot Act extensions on us

[Greeby]

CSPAN1 Now, if you can bare to look at his face :puke:

[dogday]

1. Someone needs to turn off his mic and the lights

and just leave the room... Remember when he shut down a session that way? Bastard, freedom eater...

[annabanana]

2. Is anyone going to get a chance to bring up those

anti-"disruptor" bits? The ones to put us all into those "officially sanctioned protest pens", out of sight and out of mind?

[dogday]

3. They want to make certain forms of "Dissent"

a felony under the patriot act. Think about that....

[LSparkle]

4. He is the biggest lying sack of crap windbag in the entire House

Talk about pissypants -- even his VOICE makes him seem like a petulant brat.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. Now that they totally control the highest court in the land we're...

toast? Bush is the law now, according to he and his cronies.

I had a conversation over the Christmas holiday, that I can't forget! I was talking to an old soldier who has spent his life in the military, mostly in the reserves. He did three tours in Nam and has more medals than most generals earn in a lifetime. He is an E-9(master sgt.) in the Army reserves and he hasn't been to Iraq yet, because his health is starting to fail at age 56, but he did a tour of duty in Kosovo. I have known the man all my life, we played together when we were kids. He has raised a fine family and his children both have college degrees and good careers. I've fished, hunted and camped with the man and even helped him build his house.

I was at his house at Christmas time having dinner and we started talking about the war in Iraq. He is kind of lukewarm on the war and he does not want to serve in Iraq. I asked him point blank, if he was called out to stop a riot or a demonstration in this country and he was ordered to shoot down an American citizen, if he would shoot down his own countrymen and he answered yes. I then asked him could he, or would he, shoot down someone he knew and he answered, that he could and he would, if that was the mission he was sent out on and that was what he was ordered to do.

I stopped talking about it at that point, after telling him that I could not, or would not harm another American, who didn't threaten my family or me. I got up and came home. I believe what the man told me, was exactly what he meant he would do. I can't hate the man for what he believes, because he is my brother-in-law. I do not think that he is crazy, or gung-ho, nor do I think he is some kind of freak. I think he is just a soldier, who believes what the Army has pounded into his head for over thirty years, and I believe there are many, many, more like him out there.

I love you all, and I ask each and every one of you, to please, be careful and don't EVER, push people like him, into a corner. Since I had this talk with him I have reevaluated the seriousness of our current situation and the red flags are ALL up for me. That is why, I take the forceful implantation of another two hard core neocons on the supreme court, VERY seriously also. Bush has a lock on our government now. I really do believe things will get crazy in this country and I think we are sitting on top of a powder keg. The gravity of the situation, may well be the reason, that our people in congress are afraid, to make any strong protests against the new self appointed "unitary" King.

I pray that all this conflict and divisiveness in America will end up peacefully, but I have grave doubts and it looks more doubtful every day. Sometimes we are called upon to defend our country and if called upon, I will defend it beside you. The fighting and the defending of our country, may not always be, "over there." Please remember that the fighting that began in 1776, and again in 1861, began, over here. I will protect my family, myself and my friends, to the best of my ability, but I pray for peace. Taxation without representation, repression, subjugation and other Intolerable acts, brought on the war in 1776 and those very things may well do it again. The framers knew these kinds of things could happen and they warned us about it, for a reason.

[Toots]

6. There are some Americans like that but not many

It is by far the exception. I remember an occurrence during a college campus protest against the war in Savannah Georgia. I was stationed at Fort Stewart then and my unit was told to get ready to head to Savannah for riot control. More than half the guys in the unit said flat out they would not bear arms against those kids. For whatever reason we did not have to go so I don't know how it would have turned out but I was happy so many felt as I did...

[Hubert Flottz]

8. Not many?

You said half of your unit, so don't you figure half of every unit? That is quite a lot it seems to me. I know that before, when troops were used against citizens, they did as they were ordered.

[SmokingJacket]

7. Excellent post. We ARE in a DIRE situation.

My flags are all up, too.

The scary thing is now, as opposed to 1776, we don't have a chance against the goverment. We can buy all the rifles we want, but they have TANKS and STUN RAYS and God knows what else. The only thing we can do is die fighting, or flee if things get to a point -- which they aren't quite yet -- but if we wait too long, they won't let us go...

[Hubert Flottz]

9. We have lots of veterans all over this country who remember...

how to fight. The GOP is shitting all over those veterans. Even throwing their votes in the trash in Florida and Ohio.