Civil Liberties Groups Expect Government Calls for Limits

The Wall Street Journal` ^ | Thursday, September 13, 2001 | NICK WINGFIELD, LEE GOMES and TED BRIDIS

[TroutStalker]

In the aftermath of this week's terrorist attacks, civil liberties groups, privacy advocates and scholars are bracing for demands seeking antiterrorist measures that might end up jeopardizing personal privacy and other freedoms.

Authorities quickly turned their attention in this latest investigation to the Internet, in addition to their on-scene efforts. Law-enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this week demanded information about some subscribers from both AOL Time Warner Inc.'s America Online Inc. and EarthLink Inc., the nation's largest Internet-service providers, people familiar with the matter said. Both providers said they were cooperating with the agencies.

[VoodooEconomist]

This is the best kept secret of War - expansion of State power ... and reduction of freedom for the citizens. It's a politician's dream come true. In their hour of fear and/or patriotism, Americans are willing to make "temporary" sacrifices for the Common Good. Only one problem - "temporary" sacrifices are rarely temporary. Once the crisis has long passed, America is stuck with a more expansive and powerful State ... and a permanent reduction in their freedom. Those who wantonly jump on the War bandwagon without thinking through policy may actually be shooting themselves in the foot in the long run. Keep your eye on the ball. Don't miss the big picture by getting caught up in the emotionalism/hysteria of the moment.

[VoodooEconomist]

The public appears to be sensitive to the compromises that increased antiterrorist measures entail. In an online survey conducted Wednesday on Excite At Home Corp.'s Web site, 54% of more than 15,600 respondents said they wouldn't be willing to sacrifice freedoms of privacy, speech or travel to wipe out the threat of terrorism. About 23% said they would be willing to compromise their freedom of travel.

I'm afraid the cycle must be completed before America can return to Her former Glory days (if ever).

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage." --Lord Alexander Tytler on the fall of the Athenian republic