* Forwarded (from: FIDOGUNS) by Roy J. Tellason using timEd 1.10.y2k.

Mike Copeland wrote:

>Michael Shirley wrote:

>>Steven V Gunhouse wrote:

>>>On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 19:01:59 -0700 Michael Shirley 
>>>writes:

>>>>Paul Nixon wrote:

>>>>>http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/33106.html

>>>>  Not surprizing. Note here that this isn't a national security 
>>>> case and doesn't deal with terrorism, but the FBI is invoking the 
>>>> Patriot Act to intimidate the reporters into becoming Stukachi for 
>>>> the FBI.

>I read the article a few times just to "read between the lines". This 
>one smacks of "crying wolf". There are a few telling statements in 
>there that make it appear to me that the author didn't want to gather 
>all the facts but was more interested in creating hysteria. The 
>biggest clue for me is that if this govt intrusion has been going on 
>for all this time why haven't we heard more about it? You can bet your 
>last nickel that if a credible journalist from a nice liberal paper, 
>pick any one of them, thought this was a "real" story they
would be >salivating to bash President Bush and AG Ashcroft. I will wait
for more 
>corroberation.

I am myself, however I do recall Locke's old warning that, "The
extraordinary use of power in extraordinary times soon becomes the ordinary
use of power in ordinary times". Seems to me like what we're
witnessing is a natural progression from the use of extraordinary powers in
wartime to their becoming part and parcel of ordinary law enforcement
operations. That is something to fear.

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