State College = Anti-Patriots?
As per the Centre Daily Times and The Daily Collegian, this past Tuesday:
State College to become the 9th city in Pennsylvania to oppose the Patriot Act?
Ok -
Let me first start by saying that I am not in 100% agreement with the Patriot Act as it was origninally approved. In fact, I certainly would not argue with anyone who claimed that parts of it are unconstitutional (or marginally legal at the very best). Additionally, there is certainly evidence to support claims that the Act has been used to wrongfully charge American citizens of all nature of crimes for which it was never intended.
However,
I certainly support the spirit of the Patriot Act. As a veteran, I know many friends and shipmates currently wearing the cloth of our nation who credit their very lives and safe completion of dangerous missions to information gathered as a result of the Act. There is also definitive evidence to support that the Patriot Act has protected the lives of Americans both at home and abroad. Additionally, I commend the efforts of the group of Republican legislators to work to improve the Civil Liberties aspects of the Patriot Act despite opposition from their own party. It is this sort of principled leadership that we need more of in all levels of government.
So why would a local government seek to object to a national issue? Why would a community governement attempt to define the beliefs of the entire community without input? Are the desires of special interest groups so important that they allow for the circumvention of due governmental process?
There are dozens of ways that individuals can have their voice heard. Even local governement, acting on behalf of and serving the interests of the entire community, can write letters and meet with state and national leaders. So, a resolution opposing the Patriot Act....what's the point? Where is the usefulness? Is this the most important issue facing the council?
Consider the following facts about State College, PA:
- Home of the largest university system in the country (Penn State)
- Home of the 2nd largest single-campus undergraduate location in the country (University Park)
- an average income level below the poverty level ($12,900)
- Income taxes higher than any other local taxes in the commonwealth
- More police officers per capita than Soviet Russia under the KGB during the height of the cold war
- Highest alcohol consumption per capita for any city in the country
- Property taxes doubled in the last 4 years and expected to double agin in the next 3 years (due to recently passed legislation)
-Suggested $102 MILLION DOLLAR high school renovation project
- out of control drug problem, both in our local schools and sold out of local businesses
...So we have no other pressing issues to consider that we should spent our time on the Patriot Act?
BUT MOST DISTURBINGLY:
This item is being voted on without any input from the community. A seven-member council, acting on behalf of a few radicals pursuing their own agenda, will determine a policy which is certainly controversial. Claiming to support civil liberties, this council will votewithout guarenteeing the one of the principle liberties due its citizens: the right to free speech as guarenteed by the first amendment.
Perhaps I am an idealist, but in the spirit of Unity, Accessibility, and Accountability, should council not seek more input?
But, then again, this is the same group of people who thinks that we need to be more concerned with declaring a "Good Humor Day" and other forms of...clowning around.
State College to become the 9th city in Pennsylvania to oppose the Patriot Act?
Ok -
Let me first start by saying that I am not in 100% agreement with the Patriot Act as it was origninally approved. In fact, I certainly would not argue with anyone who claimed that parts of it are unconstitutional (or marginally legal at the very best). Additionally, there is certainly evidence to support claims that the Act has been used to wrongfully charge American citizens of all nature of crimes for which it was never intended.
However,
I certainly support the spirit of the Patriot Act. As a veteran, I know many friends and shipmates currently wearing the cloth of our nation who credit their very lives and safe completion of dangerous missions to information gathered as a result of the Act. There is also definitive evidence to support that the Patriot Act has protected the lives of Americans both at home and abroad. Additionally, I commend the efforts of the group of Republican legislators to work to improve the Civil Liberties aspects of the Patriot Act despite opposition from their own party. It is this sort of principled leadership that we need more of in all levels of government.
So why would a local government seek to object to a national issue? Why would a community governement attempt to define the beliefs of the entire community without input? Are the desires of special interest groups so important that they allow for the circumvention of due governmental process?
There are dozens of ways that individuals can have their voice heard. Even local governement, acting on behalf of and serving the interests of the entire community, can write letters and meet with state and national leaders. So, a resolution opposing the Patriot Act....what's the point? Where is the usefulness? Is this the most important issue facing the council?
Consider the following facts about State College, PA:
- Home of the largest university system in the country (Penn State)
- Home of the 2nd largest single-campus undergraduate location in the country (University Park)
- an average income level below the poverty level ($12,900)
- Income taxes higher than any other local taxes in the commonwealth
- More police officers per capita than Soviet Russia under the KGB during the height of the cold war
- Highest alcohol consumption per capita for any city in the country
- Property taxes doubled in the last 4 years and expected to double agin in the next 3 years (due to recently passed legislation)
-Suggested $102 MILLION DOLLAR high school renovation project
- out of control drug problem, both in our local schools and sold out of local businesses
...So we have no other pressing issues to consider that we should spent our time on the Patriot Act?
BUT MOST DISTURBINGLY:
This item is being voted on without any input from the community. A seven-member council, acting on behalf of a few radicals pursuing their own agenda, will determine a policy which is certainly controversial. Claiming to support civil liberties, this council will votewithout guarenteeing the one of the principle liberties due its citizens: the right to free speech as guarenteed by the first amendment.
Perhaps I am an idealist, but in the spirit of Unity, Accessibility, and Accountability, should council not seek more input?
But, then again, this is the same group of people who thinks that we need to be more concerned with declaring a "Good Humor Day" and other forms of...clowning around.
(Photo taken at an actual Borough Concil meeting (2/6/06). Man in middle - Mayor Bill Welch!)
It's stories like this that just beg the question:
Isn't it about time for real leadership for today's real problems at all levels of government?
posted by DJ Trox at 01:24
1 Comments:
AH! I don't know where to start here!... Pre-9/11 era freedoms are over. That is just a reality. The world as we know it post 9/11 is an entirely different place. It is plausible to argue that 9/11 woke Americans up to the freedoms we take for granted every single day. However, when freedoms are infringed upon in a manner such as wire tapping to prevent further destruction, it is important to question what Americans are so afraid of in the first place. Perhaps I constantly see the glass half full and hope that most people in this world are inately good; given the circumstances of the world at the moment, it is extremely difficult to maintain this vision. Yet, politicians argue against the Patriot Act as if it were suppressive doctrine - I agree, parts of the Act itself are borderline unconstitutional. Yet, when I listened to the news two nights ago I realized why it is useful. Because of the Patriot Act, police and government officials were able to apprehend a local PA man who planned on targeting several areas in AMERICA, including Benton, PA, a community only 40 miles or so from my home. We are at war in a facet we never could have imagined - Warfare is technological, advanced, homegrown. I honestly think Americans fail to realize that without government monitoring of some sort, we are all in grave danger. Yet, the Constitution grants citizens the right to privacy and the freedoms citizens in other continents are denied... the issue will continue to be debated...
As for local government in State College, PA - or anywhere else for that matter - local input can only be expected when the community focus is on the community itself. There in turn lies the first amendment. Citizens have the right to speak on issues concerning their own backyard. "Good Humor Day" is definitely welcomed in a time when people are laughing less these days; however, the same energies spent on this focus should be re-directed towards unity, accessibility, and accountability.
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