Tag: freedom

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After Pat’s Birthday… again

kevin & patAfter Pat’s Birthday
Posted originally on Oct 19, 2006
(Photo courtesy of the Tillman Family – Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin stand in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabia before their tour of duty as Army Rangers in Iraq in 2003.)

AV’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written this powerful, must-read document. I realize it’s 3 years after this has been written, but I repost this today because there’s still concerns I have about this country. How the people are managing their own lives and the directions they are encouraging our leaders to go. Read this and ask yourself is this still being tolerated, have we fixed the wrongs of the last administration or are we continuing to perpetuate them…

By Kevin Tillman

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action.

It can start after Pat’s birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/

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Intellegent Conservative People say FISA will suffice

For those that aren’t up on this issue. FISA is the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of “foreign intelligence information” between or among “foreign powers” on territory under United States control. The act created a court which meets in secret, and approves or denies requests for search warrants which would be required to conduct electronic surveillance, physical searches or obtain access to business records. The act was amened with the US Patriot act of 2001 to include terrorism.

The Protect America Act of 2007, signed in August of 2007 was designed by the Bush Administration to ease restrictions on surveillance and allow for unchecked wiretapped of any communications that begin or end in a foreign country. The Act removes from the definition of “electronic surveillance” in FISA, and broadens the power to any surveillance of any individual “reasonably believed to be located outside the United States”.

Because of the broadening of the wording and that the amendment authorized oral approval rather than initial court checked approval, many suspect that this offers the government to conduct warrantless physical searches, wiretaps and even seizures of communications and computer devices and their data which belong to U.S. citizens.

The Act was set up as a temporary amendment, to expire on Feb 1st, 2008 with congress to provide final approval before that time. Within the final approval bill, Bush had added retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies who had cooperated with government on warrantless surveillance efforts since 9/11. The concern from the Administration seems to be protecting corporations from billion dollar lawsuits as a result of violating citizen rights when they offered up customer information without warrant or informing their customers that they were doing so. “It’s particularly important for Congress to provide meaningful liability protection to those companies now facing multi-billion-dollar lawsuits only because they are believed to have assisted in efforts to defend our nation” ~ President George W. Bush

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, noted technology experts from academia and the computing industry wrote an article “Risking Communications Security: Potential Hazards of the Protect America Act” which found significant flaws in the technical implementation of the Protect America Act. They said by implementing the procedures in this Act would create serious security risks, including the danger that such a surveillance system could be exploited by unauthorized users, criminally misused by trusted insiders, or abused by the government.

So today, one of the country’s most conservative papers, The Washington Times, reported that Analysts say FISA will suffice [and there is no need to implement the Protect America Act to improve national security]. This is building on many points that there is no direct correlation to open and warrantless surveillance and national security. The current FISA process works to protect American rights while at the same time preserve national security and this Act’s purpose only seems to broaden governmental power and control, while breaking down citizen rights to privacy.

Bush maintains that he will not allow the Congress to pass this bill without the additions of the retro active immunity for the telecoms, that the new Act is mandatory for National Security and adding that “the House’s failure to pass the bipartisan Senate bill would jeopardize the security of our citizens,” – This has been countered by industry think tanks, analysts, intelligence personnel and now the conservative right.

The excerpts from the Washington Times article:

“…today’s expiration of certain temporary domestic wiretapping laws will have little effect on national security, despite warnings to the contrary by the White House and Capitol Hill Republican leaders.” Washington Times Feb 16th, 2008

“There’s no reason to think our nation will be in any more danger in 2008 than it was in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, or 2006.” Said Timothy Lee, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute a a non-profit public policy research foundation headquartered in Washington, D.C. which seeks to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace. Toward that goal, the Institute strives to achieve greater involvement of the intelligent, concerned lay public in questions of policy and the proper role of government.)

“We believe the president’s rhetoric is inaccurate and divisive, and an attempt to stampede the House of Representatives to rubber-stamp legislation by stoking the fears of the American people,” Mr. Hoyer said. “We will not be stampeded.”

Ben Wittes of the Brookings Institution (a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: 1) Strengthen American democracy; 2) Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and 3) Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system) made a comment that he was “somewhat bewildered by the apocalyptic rhetoric” of the White House.

The FISA question, the Right can not answer [Crooks and Liars]

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Protect Your Internet Freedom

Please contact Congress through this web site. This is serious shite. Please spread the word.
Here are the Companies supporting this effort (http://www.itsournet.org/About_Us.php).

It’s Our Net

The giant phone and cable companies are trying to take control of the Internet away from the public and convert it into their own private, corporate network They’re boasting that they’ll create premium lanes on the Internet so that people who can pay get seen and those who can’t don’t. Tell Congress to keep the Internet open and free and to protect the rights of users to see what you want to see and go anywhere you want to go on the Internet just as you can today.

Consumers
If you are a consumer; a Mom looking for healthcare information to protect your family; a home-school parent using the Internet as part of your education plan; an email user staying in touch with your family and friends – you will have a degraded slower Internet experience with certain Web sites. Some Web sites will even be unavailable unless additional fees are paid.

Small Business
If you are a small business, you may not be able to survive online. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, you may be impeded from providing and getting the word out of the “next big thing” on the Internet.

Schools & Churches
If you are a small non-profit organization, like a church or a school, you may not be able to get your messages out to congregants or student families without paying more.
This fall, if Congress does not act, all of those things could happen.

* How Did it Happen?
* What Happens if Congress Destroys Net Neutrality?
* What Should Congress Do?

How it happened
Last year, the phone and cable companies convinced the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts to change how the Internet is operated, making a few unelected officials responsible for a decision with billions of dollars of impact for millions of Internet consumers.
These decisions reversed the safeguards that made the Internet so great � the freedom known as �Net Neutrality,� which allows you to go anywhere you want to go on the Internet. The Internet was designed by American universities, and made available to the general public over an open platform that required phone and cable companies to treat all traffic in a neutral manner.

Now, however, the phone and cable companies boast that they will create premium lanes on the Internet for higher fees, and give preferential access to their own services and those VIPs who can afford to �pay to play.� They have already blocked certain services and have the power to block or degrade any service that competes with them:

* Do you want the phone and cable companies to block online movies or cheaper phone service over the Internet?
* Do you want the phone and cable companies to decide which blogs or political sites you can access?
* Do you want phone and cable companies to give preferential Internet access to companies who pay more for �premium� delivery?
* Do you want phone and cable companies to keep new innovations off the Internet?

If you answered no to any of these questions, then Congress needs to hear from you.

What Happens if Congress Destroys Net Neutrality?
If Congress caves in to the telephone and cable companies� power grab, they will use that power to dictate your content. The Net as we know it will be radically altered. Destroying Net Neutrality would result in:

* Discrimination � Phone and cable companies will be able to steer you to Web content and services that they own or have exclusive deals with.
* Higher Costs � If content providers are charged new fees to �ensure� that you can view their sites, they will pass these fees through to consumers like you and small businesses.
* Reduced Investment � Investors will have little reason to support new, Internet-based content and services if there is no guarantee they can even get on the net. Innovation will plummet.
* Compromised Global Competitiveness – The US will lose its lead on the Internet as innovation moves to more fertile, open markets overseas.

We need to keep the Internet as an open marketplace and not allow a few rich heavy-hitters that will dictate where you can go.

What Should Congress Do?
Congress needs to act to preserve Net Neutrality and the Internet as we know it. They should:

1. Re-establish basic safeguards that require broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic in a nondiscriminatory manner, without favoritism.
2. Prohibit tiering schemes that impose fees to �deliver� Internet content on top of the fees already paid to connect to the Internet.
3. Require strong federal enforcement, including penalties for violating these duties.

Everyone who uses the Internet will be affected if Congress gives in to the telephone and cable companies� demands. Please, take action today to preserve the open Internet:

* Join the Coalition Mailing List (“Sign Up for Email Alerts” at right)
* Tell Congress: Protect Our Internet!
* Spread the Word about Net Neutrality

By working together, we can save the Internet.