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Re: Sinister Plots and Nefarious Doings (long)
Very well put!
Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Sokolow" <DSokolow@NSHS.EDU>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 9:43 AM
Subject: Sinister Plots and Nefarious Doings (long)
> 'lo all,
>
> I'm gonna jump in here for a moment. People on the list are starting to
> sound jes' a wee bit paranoid here. I really don't think big brother is
> watching us, nor does he have time to while he's busy trying to perforate
> Osama Bin Laden.
>
> Access to records should be restricted sometimes, and we do it all the
time
> - we close records until the death of the author; we close medical
records;
> we close board minutes, and nobody complains about it, as we are (rightly,
I
> think) protecting people's privacy. Should we not protect their health
and
> safety as well? Are the terrorists going to bomb Joe's Grocery at 4th &
> Main? Maybe not, but the post 9/11 world does mean we (like all
Americans)
> have a responsibility to be more vigilant, and if that means asking a few
> more questions before handing over blueprints or anything else, I'm OK
with
> it.
>
> I heard Joe DiGenova (sp?), a former US Attorney & federal prosecutor, on
> Imus this morning, and he made some very valid points in reference to the
> "massive attacks" on civil liberties being yelled about. The government
is
> fully within its rights to hold military tribunals in a time of war (and
if
> you don't think we're at war, wake up folks); the lack of information
about
> the detainees is by their choice, as they are apparently allowed to give
out
> their names if they choose; and most of these people are being held on
> immigration violations, so we're just enforcing laws already on the books.
> There is no major loss of civil liberties to US citizens, and I can live
> with it if that changes, as long as it's done to protect our country and
> what it stands for.
>
> DiGenova said "the US Constitution is not a suicide pact", quoting a judge
> of some sort (a Google search had it attributed to at least three
different
> judges on the first page of hits alone), and what I think he meant by that
> is that we can be loose in our interpretation of the constitution in time
of
> great need. Bearing in mind that the detainees are not US citizens anyway
> (and at the very least immigration law violators), the government's
> responsibility lies in protecting the rest of us.
>
> So my suggestion to us all is to calm down. The US will deal with the
> important stuff first, and that's hurting the people who did this and
> preventing further death and destruction. For our part, we need to be
> vigilant - not turning in every bloke who asks for blueprints (paranoia
runs
> all ways, usually gibbering in panic), but taking reasonable precautions
to
> protect our country & everything in it. The smaller issues, like
protecting
> access to public information, can be handled in the normal means - public
> hearings, court challenges, etc. If the executive order turns out to be
> against the law, we'll raise our voices (I already have to my
> representative) and work to change it as Americans always do in non-lethal
> situations.
>
> If you're not happy about the direction American life is taking, tough.
> There are many thousands of dead Americans killed by these terrorist
> dirtbags; their families are without husbands, wives, fathers, mothers,
> brothers & sisters, coworkers and friends. Ask the 1300 kids left without
> their fathers, brave firemen and cops who walked into the WTC to help
others
> out, how they feel about giving up civil liberties. If you can't accept
> these changes happily, at least remember that we're making VERY SMALL
> sacrifices in light of what others have given and continue to give.
>
>
> ______________________________________
> Daniel Sokolow, Archives Coordinator
> David Taylor Archives
> North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
> 155 Community Drive
> Great Neck, NY 11021
> mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu
>
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>
>
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>