Hi. My name is Chris, and I'd like to talk to you about the
PATRIOT Act. I wont go into the gory details you've just seen
first-hand, but let me summarize:
The government can obtain any or all of your personal records, from any
source, with no warrant or probable cause. They don't even have
to shout "terrorist!" -- it can be used for anything. And if you
tell anyone about that government's subpoena -- if you warn your fellow
citizens about suspicious government activity -- you can be thrown in
prison.
American Citizens can also be arrested, searched, wiretapped, and extradited
to any foreign country, even countries that have known human rights
abuses. They can do this without any extradition
treaty. You do go before a judge, but the judge is forbidden to
consider the human rights record of the country in question.
The government can now arrest and you put you in solitary confinement, and
tell no one where you are. They can do this until they choose
to file charges, possibly forever.
The government can also strip native-born Americans of their United States
citizenship, if they provide support to organizations labeled as terrorist
by our government, even if they support only the lawful activities of such
organizations. This allows American Citizens to be indefinitely
imprisoned in their own country as undocumented aliens.
And what if you want to protest this? You'd better not do it anywhere near
the politicians who passed these laws. Because all you have to do
is protest at a "described" national security event to get thrown in
prison. There doesn't even have to be a protected person anywhere
near you -- the government only has to, somehow, "describe" the event as a
national security event. If you're protesting, you're
trespassing, and if you're trespassing, you can be imprisoned for up to a
year. If things get violent, say a cop comes up to you and starts
to get physical and you push back -- you can be imprisoned for 10
years. The cop I suppose might be suspended and lose a few weeks
pay.
And it doesn't stop there. The PATRIOT Act also allows
anti-terrorism money to be used to train DEA agents, and to train foreign
militaries to fight drugs. The latest incarnation of the PATRIOT
Act also makes it illegal to buy more than 3 packages of Sudafed at once,
because it can be used to make methamphetamine. Next time you
buy some Sudafed you'd better be prepared to fill out a form and sign for
it.
Enough about what's wrong. Now, I'll tell you what I plan to do
about it.
The first thing that made me realize that something's wrong in this
country was the so-called War on Drugs. For instance, I learned
that if your property is seized in a drug raid, and you're later found
innocent and cleared of all charges, the police can still keep your
property. They can take your car, your money, your TV
-- anything, and just keep it, even if you're found to be completely
innocent. That's obviously wrong.
I've learned of many more wrongs since then. The PATRIOT Act is
particularly egregious, but I've come to realize that our Constitution is
routinely ignored by those who represent us. Why? How
do these people become our leaders? Well, we don't really have
much choice. Most of the time there's only two choices -
Democrat and Republican, and they're becoming increasingly
similar. Both parties supported the PATRIOT Act.
They increasingly represent their own interests, rather than the interests
of those they supposedly serve. You only have to take a look at
the Iraq War to see how corruption is replacing competence. So
can another party win? Many people *think* that only Democrats
and Republicans can win, so they vote for the one they find least offensive,
instead of someone they really believe in. And our nation is
becoming increasingly bitter and divided in its political temperament.
I've come up with a new strategy. It's called an Alliance
Party. Instead of allowing ourselves to be divided, we focus on
where we do agree, and cooperate as far as possible. Where we
don't agree, we agree to disagree. By uniting into a single
alliance party, we can combine our efforts and succeed in making a
positive change.
Even small acts of cooperation can yield great benefits. As
people work together, they develop respect for each other's intelligence
and character. This respect then allows them to discuss and
perhaps resolve their larger disagreements. Eventually this
respect will begin to turn the tide against the division that threatens us.
Last year, I put this plan into practice as a member of the Red, White and
Blue Party. Our ticket contained a candidate for Mayor of
Rochester and 3 for the City Council. We came from diverse
ideological backgrounds, but we put our disagreement aside to focus on a
common goal. We wanted there to be a real choice this time
around.
I'm going to continue to implement this plan. This year, I'm
running for State Assembly. I'm going to keep on with the plan
until we see real change in this country. It's not just the
PATRIOT Act I'm fighting, it's the whole culture of corruption our
two-party system has become.
So I want to encourage you all not to just accept the choices you're
given. Write in your own name on the ballot if you don't like
what's on there. Or better yet, run for office like I'm
doing. It is a lot of work, but I was surprised by how much I
could accomplish with that work. People want change, and
they're surprisingly willing to consider another way. So
let's give it a try!
I know I'm not going to sit back and allow this country to get flushed
down the toilet. I'm going to keep working, and keep trying
new ideas as we build a movement for change. It wont be quick
and easy, but with dedication and perseverance, we will
succeed. Please join me, and let's bring that day closer
still.
That's what I plan to do about it. Thank you, and goodnight.