[Vision2020] Pat Kraut, Cindy Sheehan, and the State of the Union

[Joan Opyr]

On 1 Feb 2006, at 10:13, Pat Kraut wrote:

> Absolutely right! I watched a Frontline last night wherein the people 
> said
> exactly that and they are not just talking. They want to take us over 
> by any
> means. They are supposed to be in charge and we are not, simple as 
> that. And
> they will use any means to get there and they are doing it everyday. 
> Just
> like Bush said, in a school, on trains, in homes or maybe even the 
> Olympics
> again! (No Bush didn't say that but I think about it.) I talked with a 
> young
> man from Iran who knew nothing about Munich but knew that we supported
> Israel. He thought I was lying! We need the Patriot Act and we need to 
> be
> listening to calls and emails. If we don't we will be very sorry and 
> we will
> know, KNOW exactly who to blame. And while I am at this the appearance 
> of
> Cindy Sheehan at the State of the Union was just plain rude. Common 
> curtesy
> has failed the democrats and people know it.
> And we have been down this road attacking one church and it is only a 
> matter
> of time before we go after others for whatever reasons. I am not 
> comfortable
> with the local attack on a church or group even with the 'parking, 
> zoneing'
> attack when I really do not think it has much to do with that. Protest 
> as
> much as you like but it isn't comfortable.
>

Lets take the last point first, shall we?  No one I know is "attacking 
one church" for that church's religious beliefs or practices.  What we 
(meaning folks like Rose Huskey, Saundra Lund, myself and the three 
Evangelical Christians who filed the zoning complaint) are attacking, 
if you will, are illegal business practices.  That those illegal 
business practices are enacted by a local church is quite beside the 
point.  The same people complaining about Doug Wilson's flouting of 
property tax and zoning laws are also concerned about WalMart's suspect 
business practices.  (I don't think you can describe WalMart as a 
church, but then again, if Carl can worship the NFL . . . )  You are 
not comfortable with what you perceive as an attack on a church; I'm 
not comfortable with a corrupt family business hiding its malfeasance 
behind the cloak of religion.

Second -- the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta was the work of Eric 
Rudolph, a pro-life, anti-gay, fundamentalist zealot from my home state 
of North Carolina.  He's a religious terrorist in my book, but he 
certainly has no affiliation with Al Qaeda, and I can say with some 
assurance that he'd probably stick a bomb up your backside for even 
suggesting a connection.

For some of us, Pat, the United States if founded on the rights and 
liberties guaranteed by our Constitution.  If George W. Bush or any 
other President intends to protect us by destroying those rights and 
liberties, by trampling all over the Constitution under the guise of 
executive privilege, then what exactly is he defending?  It's not the 
United States as I know it.  Taking his explanations and excuses at 
face value, George Bush's United States would sacrifice liberty for 
security.  That might be a bargain you and many others are willing to 
strike, but it's not one with which I'm comfortable.  You cannot 
violate the foundational freedoms of the United States in order to save 
the United States -- you will destroy the very thing you claim to be 
fighting for.

And, finally, Cindy Sheehan -- common courtesy dictates that she should 
not have attended the State of the Union address?  Her son is dead.  No 
platitudes about sacrifice and heroism and saving us from Al Qaeda 
terrorists (who seem to have an infinite supply of Number Twos for us 
to kill or capture) will bring back her child.  She's lost something 
our President cannot begin to fathom -- nor can any member of the 
present Congress save Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, the only man 
in that 200 member body with a child serving on active duty.  Even if 
she had not suffered that irreparable loss, as a citizen of the United 
States, she is in every way the equal of George W. Bush or anyone else 
in attendance at the address or watching it on C-Span.  This is a 
democracy, for God's sake, however hard our present administration 
struggles to transform it into an imperial regime.  Who should have the 
right to attend the State of the Union?  Cindy Sheehan, Ann Coulter, 
Michael Moore, George Will, Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh, Pat Kraut, Joan 
Opyr, Sunil Ramalingam, or any other American citizen, regardless of 
his or her political beliefs.

This is democracy.  You might trade yours for a false sense of 
security, but I'll keep mine, thanks.  You and George can have my 
democracy about the same time as Rosie O'Donnell manages to pry that 
%#^$^$ musket out of Charleton Heston's cold dead hands.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com