NANCY PELOSI NOW THE FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--NOW WHAT?

'The original Patriot Act is a case study in the perils of speed, herd instinct and lack of vigilance when it comes to legislating in times of crisis. The Congress was stampeded, and the values of freedom, justice and
equality received a trampling in the headlong rush.'

-Senator Robert Byd, February 2006

WASHINGTON--This is actually a great day in America, but Speaker Pelosi has an enormous job before her, and some trust to regain. First: Iraq, and a general withdrawl-of-troops, but high-on-the-list is a complete removal of the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act, they must be repealed for a real new-day in America. Will she join all those who stood-against the Patriot Act, like Russell Feingold, Dennis Kucinich, Jim Jeffords, Robert Byrd, Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, Patty Murray of Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon. All of these folks need your support, write them, keep encouraging-them. Why? Because all of us can now be arrested and held indefinitely without-trial! This should be enough. Consider this: the Bush adminstration had the Patriot Act ready-for-passage less than one-week after the attacks, which is troubling. Did they have it 'on-the-shelf', waiting? Investigations might reveal this as a fact.

The majority of the Senate that voted-for a renewal of the Patriot Act were Republicans, and even Nancy Pelosi voted to renew the bill in early-March of this-year. But the ten who voted-against renewal on March 2nd were cultivated by Senator Russ Feingold, who was alone in his vote against the Patriot Act in the first-run after the attacks of September 11th, 2001. Now that we no-longer have such a climate, it's time to return to earth. America doesn't need an Enabling Act like the one given to Adolf Hitler. In voting-for the Patriot Act, certain Democrats might have made the same gamble that Hugenberg and von Papen made--that they could give the Bush administration unlimited power, but be able to 'tame them' later-on. This could be why the Patriot Act passed just 45-days after 9/11, with little debate whatsoever. The same can be said about the war in Iraq, virtually nobody in Congress debated the logic of the invasion. Is it Weimar time? We'll see.

Be a Real Patriot (Person):

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-07.htm
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=65474
http://blog.reformthepatriotact.org/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060217-125721-4105r.htm
http://www.archipelago.org/vol6-2/feingold.htm
http://www.kucinich.us/issues/patriot_act.php
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/16/patriot.act/

The Original Irritant (Patriot Act), and the Idiots who Voted For It:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=1&vote=00313