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Politics : View from the Center and Left

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To: Mary Cluney who wrote (7275)	12/19/2005 4:24:59 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) of 541359

The Patriot Act is aimed at giving the Executive Office unlimited powers. I don't think this is an accurate statement. It will be only a matter of time when some future administration will use the Patriot act to transform it into something that the founding fathers were against. . I think government activity already extends well beyond what the founding fathers intended. Perhaps the Patriot act extents this further. But that hardly means that "brown shirts" are around the corner. Is it that far fetched that either a Jerry Falwell or Jane Fonda type that can take over Somewhat far fetched, but maybe its possible. However I don't think either Jerry Falwell or Jane Fonda is actually fascist, or totalitarian socialist. I would not want either in power. I think either in power would be a bad thing, probably a very bad thing. But I don't think either would end democracy or round people up in to concentration camps. More likely it would be someone with a hidden agenda that is either to the far right of Jerry Falwell or to the far left of Jane Fonda. OK, then maybe you get someone who would be authoritarian and/or totalitarian. However I don't think it is at all likely that either would get in to power, and I don't think the Patriot act is very relevant to them getting in to power. Is that a more unlikely scenario than Islamist doing irrevocable harm to us? Depends on what you mean by irrevocable harm. The thousands killed by terrorist will not be coming back. But I gather that isn't what you mean. How far does the damage have to extent before it is considered either irrevocable, or just as bad as what you call irrevocable. I think a nuclear (nuclear bomb or a well designed major "dirty bomb" attack) or severe bio terror attack is probably more likely than a true fascist, or a totalitarian socialist coming to power and effectively ending democracy and greatly reducing the level of freedom we have in the US. Except that if such a nuclear attack or major bio attack occurs than the change of such a negative political change greatly increases, so I should really say that I consider authoritarian government without such a terrorist attack, less likely than the attack itself. Either way I see the Patriot act as a relatively minor thing compared to either, and I don't think it makes either that much more likely. I might be convinced to be against the patriot act, but I think your arguments against it exaggerate its impact. Tim

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