Return of the McCarthy Era?

Published on August 21, 2004 By stevendedalus In Politics

Homeland Security Department issued a terrorist advisory for local law enforcement agencies to watch for home landers who have “expressed dislike of attitudes and decisions of the US government.”

At a Labor Day 2002 Pittsburgh picnic for Bush’s photo-op with work-people, a 65 year old retired steel worker was denied access for wearing a sign “The Bush Family surely love the poor, they make many of us,” though he was engulfed by other sign carriers in favor of Bush. The police arrested him for disorderly conduct. At his trial a detective testified that the local police was instructed by the Secret Service to confine people making statements against the administration. The judge threw out the case.

In St. Louis Bush appeared in 2003; sign protestors were shuttled off to a zone out of sight of the street where the President would be, and worse, the media could not cover the zone. The President visited Columbia, So. Carolina last year. Amid a sea of admirers some 200 yards away from the Bush, stood a brave soul, perhaps indiscreet, with a sign “No War for Oil.” He was escorted to a fenced in zone a half mile away because of the “content of the sign.”

Crawford Texas police believes that without a protest permit wearing a “peace” button would be considered violating city ordinance.

[Taken from The Nation reprint of Jim Hightower’s book, Let’s Stop Beating Around the Bush]

Comments (Page 4)

bakerstreet

on Aug 27, 2004

"I don't know who is complaining about "Bush not protecting the US from the weakening influence of civil libertarians" except you with your many pro-federalist comments on these numerous boards."

Self-serving memory. We've tolerated agry rants and the 9-11 commission, all asking why the hell the people moving freely in the US weren't investigated. The answer always comes back to "moral" restrictions imposed on intelligence services. It was a great way to get at Bush to begin with, I hope you like what the bi-partisan effort is going to net you now that the wall the Clinton administration thickened starts to crumble.

"Read my last post (since you failed to the last time) as I did no such thing as liken Bush to the Nazi's. "

No, No, No... you purposefully and obviously did by warning people with a quote about Nazi Germany, and the perils of permitting these practices. I'll re-quote it for you...

"Eventually people may wake up, but by then these types of laws may be too entrenched to weed out.

I'm going to bastardize this old saying as I can't remember specifically how it goes:

"When they came for the socialists, I said nothing, when they came for the communists, I said nothing, when they came for the Jews, etc., etc., I said nothing. When they came for me, there was no one left to say anything."

P.S. Re:

"I'm not the one throwing a bellicose tantrum like the power hungry hard-on you make yourself out to be half the time. This belligerant and condescending tone you take with people on the boards obscures your otherwise sometimes intelligent posts."..."
I'm sure you are the only one who does that. Probably in the mornings...............in front of the mirror.....with a little shoe polish or personal excrement....pretending that you are King Of the United States while saluting yourself nude."

That about says anything that I could possibly say about you, with the perk that I would just be called a liar. Nice to see you, yourself prove my point.

"...open your mouth and remove all doubt."

bakerstreet

on Aug 27, 2004

I mean, gah, I accuse you of invoking Nazism, which you did, and you come back with that rant about about me in the bathroom? Who is thowing a "bellicose tantrum" again?

Good lord, switch to decaf and stop trying to make people think that the Bush adminstration is a slippery slope toward Nazism, and maybe you won't have these social problems...

Deference

on Aug 27, 2004

Good lord, switch to decaf and stop trying to make people think that the Bush adminstration is a slippery slope toward Nazism, and maybe you won't have these social problems...

As shown above in the past posts, I didn't. It is your very subjective opinion that I meant the Bush Administration when I did not specify, as attacking Bush policy was not the intent. You being the one who thinks everybody is attacking Bush took it as an open invitation to attack another poster by labeling them "whiny" as you frequently do. Your ad hominen attacks upon those with a dissenting opinion (nearly every time, I might add) often garners them your reward of stereotypical labels and personal attacks. As you show, you have little to actually say when called upon such marks. Don't act like you are the wounded party when you've been on the offensive for so long, most people here seem to simply ignore your words as per usual, which I can do, but had to answer to when, finally, you came to my door. Good luck in affecting the public perception of how you act and in which ways until you cease such lasvicious dysodile remarks. Give up, debate the issues.

bakerstreet

on Aug 27, 2004

"as attacking Bush policy was not the intent. "

Attacking Bush policy wasn't your intent when you were attacking the Patriot Act? I'll quote you again.

"Eventually people may wake up, but by then these types of laws may be too entrenched to weed out.

I'm going to bastardize this old saying as I can't remember specifically how it goes:

"When they came for the socialists, I said nothing, when they came for the communists, I said nothing, when they came for the Jews, etc., etc., I said nothing. When they came for me, there was no one left to say anything.""

"These laws" are laws that many of us believe benefit the nation. They are laws that people like yourself were screaming for after 9-11. Now, during election year, we should all be gravely troubled about them, I suppose. Who else could you be alluding to as the "they" in your quote? You used a quote to liken the steps being taken now to the first steps toward a Nazi purge.

"Don't act like you are the wounded party when you've been on the offensive for so long, most people here seem to simply ignore your words as per usual, which I can do, but had to answer to when, finally, you came to my door. Good luck in affecting the public perception of how you act and in which ways until you cease such lasvicious dysodile remarks. Give up, debate the issues."

So far, I HAVE been debating the issues. I'm not, however, gonna let the whole "Condemn Bush for being lax and then liken him to Nazism when he responds" garbage slide without response.

If you want to respond in turn by imagining how I act in my bathroom, fine, but I can't really see how I am the one being a hysterical nut here...

bakerstreet

on Aug 27, 2004

I would invite anyone to go back to #37 and read the exchange. I didn't attack Deference personally, though he has repeatedly said really nasty things about me since.

If "most people here seem to simply ignore your words as per usual" is true, then I am really out of step and I shouldn't really be here.

Sorry steve, I don't mean to hijack the thread, but it is hard for me to take the kind of stuff Deference is saying about me, and I don't want to be cheesy and start a blog about it.

In short, if anyone besides Deference thinks I have been personal, bellicose, belligerant, etc., say so with a quote and I'll apologize.

stevendedalus

on Aug 28, 2004

Na, Baker, you're just being YOU!

Deference

on Aug 28, 2004

Attacking Bush policy wasn't your intent when you were attacking the Patriot Act? I'll quote you again. As I have mentioned before, the Patriot Act was signed into law by both Democrats and Republicans. You know this. No matter how hard you try, you can't stuff words in to my mouth, just as well as you can't claim that "they" means the Bush Administration. "These laws" are laws that many of us believe benefit the nation. They are laws that people like yourself were screaming for after 9-11" I'll reiterate what I said before, you don't know who I am, what would ever lead you to believe that I would ever want such laws? To me, 9/11 would happen no matter what. Things such as this are not fully avoidable and I see no reason to change our country in such burdensome ways to the citizen. So far, I HAVE been debating the issues. I'm not, however, gonna let the whole "Condemn Bush for being lax and then liken him to Nazism when he responds" garbage slide without response You seem to look, in glee, for any type of anti-bush sentiment in any user's post. Going so far as to try to say that my use of the word "they" automatically means Bush? Do you understand what I am trying to communicate to you? I hope. Bakerstreet, you may want to re-examine as to why you have received such a response from me. I believe you thoroughly know why, but are doing your best to ignore and argue your way out of it. You seem to be the type that is very good at dishing it out, but not at taking it. I'll consider this over and done with, but remember, anytime you try to trade barbs with me, you will receive your due.

bakerstreet

on Aug 28, 2004

Deference: You used a quote that likened the current political policies to a slippery slope toward concentration camps. I called you on it pretty civilly, and got a tirade describing me posing naked in my bathroom with a Hitler moustache made of my own excrement. That isn't a retort you can easily spin.

The conversation is up there for anyone to read, starting about #37 or so. I don't want to see steve's blog any more hijacked than it is. 'nuff said.

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