Year: 2006

Apathetic Citizenry and Loss of Civil Liberties

When President Bush signed the H.R. 3199, the “USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 he also included a qualification statement that’s essence is There are numerous provisions of the Act that require the Department of Justice to provide information and documents to congressional committees for purposes of oversight. We will ignore the provisions of the Act requiring oversite when we decide that it will “impair” what occurs in the Executive branch. In other words: The Executive Branch will continue to do what we want, when we want, to heck with the laws and other two branches of government.

How is something like the Patriot Act renewed without much media fan fare or public outcry. Coverage on television was minimal and while blogs and talk-radio activity on the subject rose, it still seems that most American’s are apathetic to laws that hand over their liberties. The provisions of the Patriot Act are permanent. They are not going away with the end of Bush’s term.

The American citizens that do protest are more apt to face the consequences of the Act depending on how it is enforced and how you interpret it.

Dispelling Some of the Major Myths about the USA PATRIOT Act

Department of Justice

Myth: The ACLU claims that the Patriot Act “expands terrorism laws to include ‘domestic terrorism’ which could subject political organizations to surveillance, wiretapping, harassment, and criminal action for political advocacy.” They also claim that it includes a “provision that might allow the actions of peaceful groups that dissent from government policy, such as Greenpeace, to be treated as ‘domestic terrorism.'” (ACLU, February 11, 2003; ACLU fundraising letter, cited by Stuart Taylor in “UnPATRIOTic,” National Journal, August 4, 2003)

Reality: The Patriot Act limits domestic terrorism to conduct that breaks criminal laws, endangering human life. “Peaceful groups that dissent from government policy” without breaking laws cannot be targeted. Peaceful political discourse and dissent is one of America’s most cherished freedoms, and is not subject to investigation as domestic terrorism. Under the Patriot Act, the definition of “domestic terrorism” is limited to conduct that (1) violates federal or state criminal law and (2) is dangerous to human life. Therefore, peaceful political organizations engaging in political advocacy will obviously not come under this definition. (Patriot Act, Section 802)

Title VII
SEC. 802. DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
(a) DOMESTIC TERRORISM DEFINED.—Section 2331 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)(iii), by striking ‘‘by assassination
or kidnapping’’ and inserting ‘‘by mass destruction, assassination,
or kidnapping’’;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’;
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) the term ‘domestic terrorism’ means activities that—
‘‘(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are
a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or
of any State;
‘‘(B) appear to be intended—
‘‘(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
‘‘(ii) to influence the policy of a government by
intimidation or coercion; or
‘‘(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by
mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
‘‘(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction
of the United States.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3077(1) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) ‘act of terrorism’ means an act of domestic or international
terrorism as defined in section 2331;’’.

How do you define domestic terrorism? How does the government?
How do you interpret this section? Do you think American citizens are becoming complacent and take their civil rights/liberties for granted ?

You decide and let me know what you think.

Old Bean Recipe’s Pot O Beans How Many Beans are There

Satuday’s and Sunday’s are for Nascar and a pot o beans. I get out the old cast iron dutch oven and soak some beans. My friends and family are always asking for my recipe. Well, there really is no recipe as I just soak whichever beans look good to me – usually decided by their color and dependent on my mood. Ingredients are decided in the same way and dependent on availability. I have been accused of holding my recipe’s back. Once again, I say, there is no recipe I just throw whatever in the pot.

I learned how to make beans while camping and fishing with friends. Some from Maine, others from Arkansas with many of them born in the 1890’s.

This subject, cooking beans, led me on an internet quest to find out how many types of beans there are. I have quite a collection but how many are there really? There are over 14,000 species of the Fabaceae family (formerly called Leguminosae) but only some 20 types are actually grown in any quantity as a human food. Each type as many varieties. I have started to compile a list – I know – retentive.

If you have read this far you might like these recipe’s from old cookbooks:

Pork and Beans
–Take two quarts of dried white beans, (the small ones are best,) pick out any imperfections, and put them to soak in cold water, more than to cover them, let them remain one night; the next day, about two hours before dinner time, throw off the water; have a pound of nicely corned pork, a rib piece is best; put the beans in an iron dinner-pot; score the rind or skin of the pork, in squares or diamonds, and lay it on the beans, put in hot (not boiling) water to them, add a small dried red pepper, or a saltspoon-ful of cayenne; cover the pot close, and set it over a gentle fire for one hour; then take a tin basin, or earthen pudding-pan, rub the inside over with a bit of butter, and nearly fill it with the boiled beans, lay the pork in the centre, pressing it down a little; put small bits of butter over the beans, dredge a little flour oer them, and the pork, and set it in a moderately hot oven, for nearly one hour…”
—Mrs. Crowen’s American Lady’s Cook Book [New York] 1847 (p. 115)

scanned imageMrs. Goodfellows Cookery, 1865

What would beans be without Johnnie Cakes (Hoe Cakes) that Confederate soldiers enjoyed with their meals.

Johnnie Cakes

two cups of cornmeal
2/3 cup of milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix ingredients into a stiff batter and form eight dodgers (biscuit-sized). Spoon the batter into hot cooking oil in a frying pan over a low flame. Remove the corn dodgers and let cool on a paper towel, spread with a little butter or molasses.

Patriot Act and Special events of National Significance

Today’s winner is …. The Patriot Act.

Perhaps President Bush should designate the funerals of returning soldiers as special events of national significance. New provisions in the Patriot Act (see excerpt below) would then allow the Secret Service to step and put an end to it. Why not put the Patriot Act to some good use? We do not need any new laws to stop the anti-soldier, anti-gay, God is punishing you protesters. The Secret Service can just arrest them. Tired of all the screaming surrounding the political conventions, just call the Secret Service. Hate the atmosphere of dissension as the pro-life and pro-choice groups march – no problem. I hope that you see where I am going with this train of thought. I can not think of any group of protesters who are so deserving of this as the idiotic hateful antics of the Rev. Fred Phelps, his family, and all whom contend that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays, It/They is/are so wrong in so many ways.

The potential abuse of power lays buried within the sections of The Patriot Act awaiting their ascendancy.

As for the Rev. Phelps and his group of collective nuts (my opinion) – your zero’s.

US Patriot Act TITLE VI—SECRET SERVICE
SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Secret Service Authorization and
Technical Modification Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 602. INTERFERENCE WITH NATIONAL SPECIAL SECURITY
EVENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
‘‘(1) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted,
cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or
grounds where the President or other person protected by the
Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting;’’;
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted,
cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or
grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated
as a special event of national significance;’’;

DP World to Transfer Operation of U.S. Ports to United States Entity

Dubai Ports World pledged to transfer operation of U.S. ports it has acquired from the British company P&O to a U.S. entity. Now the questions remain to define the “U.S. entity” and how will this be handled so that DP World does not suffer a financial loss.

Here is the text of the company’s announcement:

“Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve this relationship, DP World has decided to transfer fully the U.S. operations of P and O Ports North America Inc. to a U.S. entity. This decision is based on an understanding that DP World will have time to effect the transfer in an orderly fashion and that DP World will not suffer economic loss. We look forward to working with the Department of the Treasury to implement this decision.”

Statement of H. Edward Bilkey, chief operating officer, DP World

As rumors of “Halliburton Eyed for Dubai Ports Deal” have gone around I do wonder. NewsMax and Chron reported this idea. Then there is CSX.
As with all things, time will tell.