Nothing But Politics

[sylvester80]

There is propaganda & then there is Nazi Bush

"Silencing dissent
Although right wing hectoring has not deterred the anti-war movement, you can bet that folks like Richard Perle, who recently labeled journalist Seymour Hersh "the closest thing American journalism has to a terrorist"; Ann Coulter, whose new book – set to be published sometime this spring – is called "Treason"; and talk-radio's Rush Limbaugh and Savage will crank out the vitriol. In the name of "patriotism," their goal will be to silence dissent.

And while the Bush administration has repeatedly portrayed anti-war protests as evidence of our very freedom, the US has in equal measure a history of suppression of dissent. Between 1917 and 1919, Congress passed legislation aimed at suppressing all forms of dissent.

The Espionage Act of 1917 made it a crime punishable by a fine of $10,000 and 20 years in jail to "convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal to duty."'

Read Section 3 of the U.S. Sedition Act of 1918 carefully:

"Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States, or to promote the success of its enemies, or shall willfully make or convey false reports, or false statements... or incite insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct... the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, or... shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States... or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully... urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production... or advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both."

Section 4 allows the Postmaster General to instruct postmasters at any post office to refuse delivery of mail construed to be in violation of the Act. Said mail will be stamped "undeliverable... and all such letters or other matter so returned to such postmasters shall be by them returned to the senders."

According to The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001, these laws were "vaguely worded and broadly interpreted, [and] they resulted in over 2,000 prosecutions, mostly against radicals and the radical press."

Eugene Victor Debs, president of the American Railway Union and founder of the American Socialist Party, was arrested in 1918 for opposing World War I. He was convicted under the Sedition Act. In his "Statement to the Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating the Sedition Act" Debs said: "I look upon the Espionage Law as a despotic enactment in flagrant conflict with democratic principles and with the spirit of free institutions... "

A mid-March report by United Press International pointed out that "The most contentious provisions in the draft [of Patriot Act II] would allow the government to collect DNA from suspected terrorists or other individuals involved in terror investigations, and the power to revoke the citizenship of, and deport, naturalized citizens suspected of terror activities or of providing 'material support' to terrorist groups."

Robert Higgs, a senior fellow in political economy at the Oakland, Ca-based Independent Institute told UPI, "In my mind, if that doesn't absolutely epitomize totalitarianism I would like to know what does. They can categorize the most innocent action – from signing a petition or making a charitable contribution – as an act of terrorism."

Americans who care about democracy and civil liberties need to make sure Higg's nightmarish vision does not become reality. Silence will be our biggest enemy."

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15422