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Sure we could be next IF WE HELP TERRORISTS.

that "if" rests entirely on the purity of the department of justice, since they don't have to tell anyone why you are being held and there is no limit to how long they can hold you.

is there any power you would not be willing to hand to the government?

While it is easy to imagine horrors from anything it is not reasonable to refuse to protect oneself today because of fears of misuse later. Gun owners don't say "gee, I better not buy this gun because an innocent person might get killed through its use someday." We don't disband the military because of fears of a potential Gen. Jack D. Ripper.

After we have no enemies to fear we can turn to the governments. But they will continue to possess great power in the future because of the continuing growth of individual rights and the mechanisms necessary to protect them. Governments also grow in proportion to the complexity and extent of the societies they serve. If you can come up with alternatives to these truisms I would welcome hearing them.

Maybe you haven't noticed but we no longer live in a country where our closest neighbors are 20 miles away or where we rarely travel more than 100 miles from our place of birth. Jefferson's day is long gone.