Drifting Towards a Police State

Did you know that under the terms of the new Patriot Act prosecutors will be able to seek the death penalty in cases where "defendants gave financial support to umbrella organizations without realizing that some of its adherents might eventually commit violence"? (NY Times editorial, October 30, 2005) So, if someone unknowingly gave money to a charity that was connected to a terrorist group, he/she could be executed.

Or, that the Senate Intelligence Committee is fine-tuning the details of a bill that will allow the FBI to secretly procure any of your personal records without "probable cause" or a court order giving them "unchecked authority to pry into personal and business matters"? ("Republicans Seek to Widen FBI Powers," New York Times, October 19, 2005)

Or, that on June 29, President Bush put "a broad swath of the FBI" under his direct control by creating the National Security Service (a.k.a. the "New SS")? This is the first time we’ve had a "secret police" in our 200-year history. It will be run exclusively by the president and beyond the range of congressional oversight.