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Read this if you haven't already:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/anniesj/331112.html
I really want to praise Annie for her last point, that she will not stop saying what she thinks just because she's been visited by the Secret Service. I also want to say that having an FBI file since the sixties hasn't hurt my life much.
A friend of mine who lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution said once that Mao and the Red Guards didn't need Gestapo and KBG to intimidate the people: they just got the people so paranoid they did their work for them. Freedom of thought and speech are killed by betrayal.
The worst result of this kind of thing, of course, is that we all become afraid to say what we think. We distrust each other and sit in the silence of our own fear.
So let me too say what I think, knowing that my list is open and anyone can report me if they like. That is the only way we can break fear.
George Bush is probably the worst president that has ever held office. He has lied, cheated, stolen, and cost the world many lives. He should be removed from office by impeachment if not by election, since he will probably rig the election no matter how the people vote. He--or should I say the people who tell him what to do or say--has no legitimacy and is guilty of treason, in my sight, for leading the country into war for the personal gains of a few.
As a Buddhist I am non-violent. But as an American I will say what I think wherever I feel it's appropriate and will never be quiet out of fear.
Speech for the Repeal of the McCarran Act
by Richard Wilbur
As Wulfstan said on another occasion,
The strong net bellies in the wind and the spider rides it out;
But history, that sure blunderer,
Ruins the unkempt web, however silver.
I am not speaking of rose windows
Shattered by bomb-shock; the leads touselled; the glass-grains broadcast;
If the rose be living at all
A gay gravel shall be pollen of churches.
Nor do I mean railway networks.
Torn-up tracks are no great trouble. As Wolfstan said,
It is oathbreach, faithbreach, lovebreach
Bring the invaders into the estuaries.
Shall one man drive before him ten
Unstrung from sea to sea? Let thought be free. I speak
Of the spirit's weaving, the neural
Web, the self-true mind, the trusty reflex.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/anniesj/331112.html
I really want to praise Annie for her last point, that she will not stop saying what she thinks just because she's been visited by the Secret Service. I also want to say that having an FBI file since the sixties hasn't hurt my life much.
A friend of mine who lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution said once that Mao and the Red Guards didn't need Gestapo and KBG to intimidate the people: they just got the people so paranoid they did their work for them. Freedom of thought and speech are killed by betrayal.
The worst result of this kind of thing, of course, is that we all become afraid to say what we think. We distrust each other and sit in the silence of our own fear.
So let me too say what I think, knowing that my list is open and anyone can report me if they like. That is the only way we can break fear.
George Bush is probably the worst president that has ever held office. He has lied, cheated, stolen, and cost the world many lives. He should be removed from office by impeachment if not by election, since he will probably rig the election no matter how the people vote. He--or should I say the people who tell him what to do or say--has no legitimacy and is guilty of treason, in my sight, for leading the country into war for the personal gains of a few.
As a Buddhist I am non-violent. But as an American I will say what I think wherever I feel it's appropriate and will never be quiet out of fear.
Speech for the Repeal of the McCarran Act
by Richard Wilbur
As Wulfstan said on another occasion,
The strong net bellies in the wind and the spider rides it out;
But history, that sure blunderer,
Ruins the unkempt web, however silver.
I am not speaking of rose windows
Shattered by bomb-shock; the leads touselled; the glass-grains broadcast;
If the rose be living at all
A gay gravel shall be pollen of churches.
Nor do I mean railway networks.
Torn-up tracks are no great trouble. As Wolfstan said,
It is oathbreach, faithbreach, lovebreach
Bring the invaders into the estuaries.
Shall one man drive before him ten
Unstrung from sea to sea? Let thought be free. I speak
Of the spirit's weaving, the neural
Web, the self-true mind, the trusty reflex.
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From:
no subject
"And what did they say?"
"They wanted to know if this was the phone of ___ who had recently gone to Nicaragua. I said yes, but you weren't at home. I told them I had been to Costa Rica last November." "What did they say?"
"They wanted to know where I had gone. I told them San Jose, and Limon."
"And"
"And they asked me if I'd seen the harbor in Limon. I told them I'd had seen a couple of container ships, but nothing else."
The esteemed d'H was 12 at the time. I was giggly at the idea that our government was getting intelligence from 12 year old boys.(I wish the government had the intelligence of d'H!)
After the intelligence mess over WMDs et al in Iran, I am no longer surprised.
Intimidation seems to be more used in this administration, though. Intimidation of voters who are assumed to be democrats is now rampant. I simply don't understand why there is not an outcry about this.
I did get an email from a conservative pastor who is encouraging Christians not to vote for Bush. I didn't follow all his links but it was good to get something like that.
From:
no subject
When I taught in China, we knew we were watched all the time, even had students in each class who were official spies. The teachers all lived in one building and were having a get-together in one apartment one night. The Administration needed to speak to one of us and called that apartment immediately. We giggled at how much stupid American stuff they had to listen to just to know what we were doing (which was always something like cooking spaghetti).
But my response to being watched is always to do more of whatever I was doing.
From: (Anonymous)
WELL SAID
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Do I hate Bush? No. I feel sorry for him and us and anyone who believes in his views. He's not evil. Just misguided. I pray that he will only serve one term. Because I fear what will happen if he serves two.
From:
no subject