Wednesday, April 02, 2003 :::
Hello Perch fans! My Internet connection has been down since last Friday, so I've been unable to provide you with the regular blogging news you know and crave. Until my connection gets fixed for good, updates will be sporadic. Please bear with me, and check out some of my other favorite news sites for all your news needs. (Drudge Report, Salon, Slate)
Two items of note on the war front:
Crazy Kentucky Republican Senator says journalist Peter Arnett should be tried for treason should he ever reenter the United States. Arnett said the following on Iraqi TV:
[Washington's] "first war plan has just failed because of Iraqi resistance. ... Clearly, the American war planners misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces."
I never thought that his statements were particularily treasonous. There's nothing inaccurate about it, really. Washington did tell us the regime would fall quickly, then we had "shock and awe", and now we're being told to settle in for a long fight in Iraq. Apparently, it's a problem to say that specifically on Iraqi TV, where the battle for hearts and minds is so key. In a war as psychological and media-based as this one, apparently there can't be any room for doubters. After all, you're either with us, or against us.
Even if you're in the state of Oregon, apparently. Oregon Senate Bill #742 would make anyone who "plans or participates in an act that is intended, by at least one of its participants, to disrupt" business, transportation, schools, government, or free assembly to be labelled a TERRORIST. Welcome to McCarthyism, Part II. If a dozen protesters in New York disrupt traffic, they're terrorists, and are subject to a minimum of 25 years in prison. If a group of students siezes a university building, they are terrorists. Does anybody else see the problem with this? Thankfully the ACLU is stepping up to fight this bill, which is clearly targetting anti-War protesters and is a dangerous step towards losing our right to Free Speech.
::: posted by Andrewski at 7:22 PM
