Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

November 7, 2007

George Orwell observed that ?In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.?

For decades, presidents and their advisers have emitted a dense fog of deceit regarding the Constitution's assignment of war powers.

House Joint Resolution 53, the Congressional War Powers Resolution, would dispel that deceit by prohibiting the president from initiating a military intervention without an explicit declaration of war. The sole exception would be to repel an aggressive attack or to evacuate US citizens. Even that exception is too broad. But the amendment would prevent future presidents from committing our nation to war on their own initiative, as was the case in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq.

As James Madison wrote, ?In no part of the Constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace to the legislature, and not to the executive department.? We are paying a horrible price for ignoring that wisdom.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

November 5, 2007

Pakistani ruler Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency on November 3, suspending that country's Constitution.

General Musharraf claimed that this drastic action was necessary in order to protect the country from the threat of terrorism and the effects of a severe economic downturn.

Under the state of emergency, Musharraf's government has announced suspension of individual rights, including the following:

*Protection of life and liberty.
*The right to free movement.
*The right of detainees to have access to lawyers.
*Freedom of assembly.
*Freedom of speech.
*Freedom of the press ? reporters face summary imprisonment for criticizing the government or military.

What is remarkable, and troubling, is that measures such as the so-called USA Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act would permit our government to commit exactly the same abuses being inflicted on Pakistan by the dictator Musharraf. We don't find it difficult to denounce such policies as tyrannical ? when they're inflicted on others abroad.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

If you are puzzled about the current war in Iraq, you'll want to attend the lively debate which is scheduled for Friday, November 16 at the College of Idaho. Be at the Langroise Center Recital Hall at 7 PM for the debate between author and journalist Will Grigg and Bryan Fischer, the executive director of Idaho Values Alliance. The debate, which will address the broad scope of issues surrounding our current Middle East involvement, will be moderated by Pastor Glenn Ferrell. Will Grigg, who is the present Editor-at-Large for The Right Source Media Enterprises, was for twelve years the senior editor of the New American magazine. Will is a frequent speaker and writer on freedom issues and is heard on the Liberty Minute which is broadcast locally and on the internet. Bryan Fischer is highly regarded for his years of dedication to promoting biblical family values on the Idaho political scene. You're sure to gain valuable insights from some differing perspectives during this free and unsponsored debate on the Iraq War at the College of Idaho Langroise Center Recital Hall at 7 PM, Friday November 16.

Does the US have a justified military presence in Iraq?

WHAT: Iraq War Debate between Will Grigg and Bryan Fischer with
Glenn Ferrell moderating the debate

WHEN: Friday November 16, 2007 7:00pm

WHERE: The College of Idaho, Langroise Center Recital Hall
The best parking for this event is in the Jewett Parking
lot off of College Ave. Caldwell, Idaho

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

November 2, 2003

On October 26, a Pennsylvania court sentenced convicted murderer Leslie Mollett to life in prison. Mollett's victim, Joseph R. Pokorny, was a Corporal in the State Highway Patrol killed during a December 2005 traffic stop.

The Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol chose a curious way to celebrate Mollett's conviction: They set up the largest highway checkpoint in the history of the region. Of the 6,242 drivers detained and scrutinized at the checkpoint, a total of 22 were arrested on alcohol or drug-related charges. Thirty-seven citations were written, and thirty-seven warnings were issued.

This means that 6,146 drivers were detained and searched for no reason whatsoever. Since a highway checkpoint is a patently unconstitutional exercise in conducting searches without warrants or probable cause, none of the drivers should have been detained in the first place.

Getting drunk drivers off the roads is worthwhile. But public safety would be even better served by forcing police agencies to take a refresher course in the Bill of Rights.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

November 1, 2007

When they arrived in Minnesota in early September for a brief tour, three of Finland's most popular musicians were detained by Homeland Security agents and subjected to more than two hours of interrogation.

The questioning was described by a Finnish diplomat as ?almost three hours of screaming, door-slamming and accusations....? Each of the musicians, who had visited the US on numerous occasions, was threatened with severe punishment for talking to the others. ?They tried to put you down mentally, to humiliate you,? recalled one of them later. Eventually they were released with no explanation or apology.

A few weeks later, Shahid Malik, Great Britain's minister for international development, was detained and searched at Washington's Dulles Airport. Ironically, Mr. Malik, a Muslim, was returning to England after a series of meetings with the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate counter-terrorism policies.

We face no threat from mild-mannered Finnish musicians and British cabinet officials. The same cannot be said of the Homeland Security apparatus.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

October 31, 2007

Egyptian citizen Abdallah Higazy was living in a hotel near the World Trade Center when the 9-11 attacks occurred.

After fleeing the hotel Higazy returned to collect his belongings, only to be arrested and accused of owning an aviation radio. Higazy was interrogated by an FBI agent who told him: ?If you don't cooperate ... [we'll] make sure Egyptian security gives your family hell.?

Sobbing and terrified, Higazy recanted his earlier denial, claimed that the radio was his, and was indicted for lying to a federal agent. The case against Higazy fell apart when the real owner of the aviation radio, an American pilot, returned to the hotel looking for it.

Higazy sued the FBI. A Federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling that the threat to have Higazy's family tortured by the Egyptians was not ?conscience-shocking or constitutionally oppressive.? In early October, an appeals court ruled that Higazy's lawsuit can proceed. But the initial ruling gives a glimpse of the depths to which our supposed protectors have sunk.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

October 30, 2007

A measure passed by the House of Representatives on October 23 calls for the creation of a federal Commission to combat what the measure calls ?violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism.?

The Commission would examine possible restrictions on the Internet, as well as laws used in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom to criminalize some forms of political activism and speech.

Although marketed as a way of dealing with radical Muslim groups, the Commission would have a broader and more troubling mandate. All movements promoting ?extremist belief systems? would come under scrutiny.

The term ?extremist? refers to those whose views fall outside the established bi-partisan consensus.
This could include activists seeking an end to abortion, US withdrawal from the United Nations, the abolition of the income tax, or other worthy objectives not favored by the Beltway cognoscenti. Previous efforts to define domestic terrorism have focused unwarranted attention on such peaceful, principled activists.

Useless at best, dangerous at worst, the Domestic Terrorism Commission has no reason to exist.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

October 29, 2007

Montana resident Robin Prosser suffered for decades from unbearable pain caused by an immunosuppressive disorder. A former concert pianist and highly paid systems analyst, Robin was left bed-ridden and penniless, confined in her apartment because she couldn't stand the sunlight.

Like many others who suffer from chronic pain, Prosser benefited from the medical use of marijuana.
In 2004, Montana passed a Medical Marijuana Act, but the following year the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could ignore state laws and arrest both sick people who use marijuana and doctors who approve its use.

In March, federal agents seized a package containing less than an ounce of marijuana sent to Prosser by her caregiver. Jeff Sweetin, the DEA special agent responsible for the seizure, claimed the federal government had the duty of ?protecting people from their own state laws.?

Condemned by such federal ?protection? to ever-escalating, unbearable pain, Robin Prosser took her own life on October 18.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

October 26, 2007

On Friday, October 12, the Prosecutor's Office for Mercer County, New Jersey, with the help of local police, put the entire student body of Hamilton Township's Steinert High School under arrest.

The 1,625 students in attendance that day were forcibly detained in classrooms while police, accompanied by drug-detecting dogs, went through every locker, examining the personal effects therein for narcotics.

There was no probable cause for this mass detention and search. Not so much as a molecule of contraband was found. School official Michael Gilbert defended the lock-down and said it would be repeated ?periodically as a deterrent.?

Local parent Jack Duggan, whose son is an inmate at Steinert High, perceptively noted that this was ?an illegal activity because it was a warrantless dragnet, plain and simple.? It was also a
form of unlawful imprisonment, in which ?every student was under technical arrest until cleared of drug possession....?

Although the quality of education they dispense is dubious, government schools excel at teaching lessons in totalitarianism.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

October 25, 2007

Brooklyn resident Matthew Jones was arrested in June 2004 for literally doing nothing. He attracted the attention of a policeman while chatting on the sidewalk in New York City's Times Square.

It was after midnight, and both Matthew and his friends made a point of stepping aside to accommodate the occasional pedestrian. The policeman ordered Matthew to move from the sidewalk. When the puzzled man didn't immediately comply, he was arrested for ?disorderly conduct,? handcuffed, and taken to jail for the night.

The ?conduct? in this case was doing nothing. Nobody complained to the police officer that Jones and his friends posed an unreasonable impediment to people using the sidewalk. Jones pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, a plea he has since tried, without success, to revoke.

Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu notes that ?Full enforcement of every law on the books would put all of us in prison....? The fact that a man can be arrested for peacefully standing on a sidewalk validates Professor Wu's sobering point.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.