Jan. 06, 2003 - 20:58 PST

THE WONDERING JEW

A La Seurat

Johnathan Turley for the Los Angeles Times this morning has a doozy of a column. Titled "Our Freedoms Being Usurped Little By Little." In his article he compares our present administration's activities to "Pointillism." Pointillism is a form of artistry of the Impressionist period wherein a picture is thousands of tiny dots of color which are meaningless until looked at from a slight distance and then the whole picture becomes clear. His art was not like photographs but marvelously done even so.

But in our government the little dots of color are cunningly applied changes in our rights it appears.

Mr. Turley says in part, "What would happen if you woke up living in a quasi-police state ? It is a question that seems entirely academic -- if not absurd -- to Americans who pride themselves on being the leading voice of liberty in the world. This status, however, is less unquestionable as it is unquestioned. A review of administration policies at the beginning of 2003 raises serious questions about the character of the government formed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks."

He says much the same thing as many people do nowadays in his own inimitable way. For instance brings his comparison into play thus, "Major changes have come in small, incremental steps, with each privacy right or civil liability concern balanced in isolation against the potential of a massive attack."

He goes on, "In a sense, the Bush administration is a study in the in public policy pointillism, the Impessionist technique of French painter Geores-Pierre Seurat in which innumerable small dots of color are largely meaningless until the viewer stands at a distance. Only then does a picture emerge as a whole from the aggregation of the dots. So too the full effect of the changes of the Bush administration is only now coming into view."

Then he points to those very points of color.

Holding citizens indefinitely without access to the courts or counsel.

Monitoring library withdrawals and Internet communications.

Taping attorney-client communications.

Attempting to create a national reporting system for citizens to monitor one another in their day-to-day activities.

Developing a massive computer system to monitor every purchase by every citizen, from hospital bills to gasoline.

Establising a huge surveillance system, including the expansion of searches ordered by a secret court without satisfying the probable cause standards of the Constitution or federal laws.

Claiming the right to create a military tribunal system to try and execute suspects without applying the Constitution or federal laws.

Assisting private organizations in creating the foundation for a national identification card that could easily become a type of internal passport for citizens.

Recommendingstate laws (already adopted in many states) that give governors virtual dictatorial control after they unilaterally delare emergencies because of "potential" health threats.

Expanding the use of the military in domestic law enforcement.

Endorsing the broad use of assassination as an alternative to capture, including the possible assassination of citizens.

Refusing to apply the Geneva Convention and then later agreeing to apply only part of it. Most recently, it was disclosed that the United States created a facility in Afghanistan where suspects reportedly had been tortured by U.S. officials or sent to surrogate nations for torture."

Mr. Turley makes the "point" as it were of noting these things show up in the news singly, apart from the whole picture. But added together are quite frightening. They are to me anyhow, when I wonder what my family and theirs will have to suffer later in life. So, I wonder, how many civil rights once guaranteed by our Constitution will we have to lose before Big Brother with the Big Hammer thinks we are secure against terrorism ? ? ? ? Or is terrorism the excuse to frighten everyone into thinking that, "Oh, my government wouldn't do that to ME, just the bad guys will have to suffer that." Can't we realize a framework is being put into place to hamstring and handcuff all of us into lock step without the ability to have anyone defending us ? It would take just a slight misapplication of the things now in place to make us sitting ducks, feet frozen in the ice and the Big Buster, club in hand doing the dirty. It seems that a system is being set up so that we are all guilty until proven innocent with out the defense to establish our innocence -- therefore guilty unless some faceless beaurocrat says we are without guilt. I am sure that only that will happen by expiditiously doing so to say, "Look, I'm a good guy and we do have justice after all.

the writer of the article I quote in part, Johnathan Turley is a professor at George Washington University Law School.

I wonder, is it now a matter of public record of how much Preparation H I buy, how often ? Will my guilt of "terrorism" be debated on based on something ike that. Or my purchase of a book on the American Revolution be held against me and have me hanged in the end ? Dunno looks to me like things are going A La Suerat . . . . . . . . . .

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