Quote of the Day

Re: The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act,

or, more popularly, The ThoughtCrime Bill...

"I voted against the bill because I read it, which is why I voted against the PATRIOT Act... you'd be surprised how many bills pass because people don't have time to read it [before voting]. That's what happens when you've got bills flying thorough the air like confetti at a special-interest parade."
~ Dennis Kucinich



From the article:
“Violent radicalization,” one of the threats the bill seeks to curb, is defined there as “the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically-based violence to advance political, religious or social change.”

Acts of violence are already illegal, whether stemming from extreme beliefs or not. But “adopting” or “promoting” beliefs is supposed to be covered by the first amendment, which Kucinich said “protects freedom of speech, which should also include freedom of thought — thought usually precedes speech, unless you’re talking about Washington — this undercuts the first amendment, [because] lines like ‘ideologically based’ … says government should police ideas, not conduct.”

Or maybe he’s just being paranoid, to assume that our government, in the name of fighting terrorism, might step on civil liberties in the process.

Now, why would we be feeling paranoid, I ask you?