Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
In his speech Restoring British Liberties (dated January 7, 2011), Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg talked about the freedom and the “hard-won liberties” that people in Britain have held dear. He talked about the standards of a nation that have been the hallmarks of a civilized society to which people who are victims of oppression in other places around the world have looked to as a beacon of hope…as an example of a better way of life.
Clegg claimed that in recent times under Labour many of Britain’s best traditions have suffered—and that many of its civil liberties “have been undermined, eroded, lost.”
Clegg said:
They[Labour] turned Britain into a place where schools can fingerprint your children without their parents’ consent. Where councils use surveillance powers designed to tackle crime to check if you’re cleaning up after your dog. Where thousands of new criminal offences have amassed on to the statute book. Where you are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police if you are black or Asian. Where, in one year, we saw over 100,000 terror-related stop-and-searches, none of which yielded a single terror arrest.
They made Britain a place where you could be put under virtual house arrest when there was not enough evidence to charge you with a crime. And with barely an explanation of the allegations against you. A place where young, innocent children caught up in the immigration system were placed behind bars. A Britain whose international reputation has been brought into question because of our alleged complicity in torture.
That record is an affront to everything we stand for.
It has created a fundamental imbalance between British citizens and the British state; disempowering individuals, criminalising innocent people, fuelling mistrust between communities, and diminishing this nation’s moral authority too.
Clegg went on to enumerate the ways in which the Coalition Government would address the problems in 2011, which included the following:
Three: by ending the practices of closed and secretive government; giving people the information and freedom they need to hold us and other institutions to account.
Does any of what Clegg said ring familiar to you? Do you believe that some of our civil liberties have been undermined and eroded in this country—especially over the past decade? Do you think that we Americans need to be ever vigilant about the loss of our “hard-won” freedoms? Do you think that “we the people” should have the freedom and information that we need to hold our political leaders and government institutions to account?
Source: Liberal Democrats
OS,
Judge Roll as the primary target is indeed a valid possibility.
However, none of that changes that the greatest tragedy in this isn’t the wounding of a Congresswoman or the death of a judge . . . it’s the death of a nine year old girl.
She’ll never get to have a boyfriend (or girlfriend).
She’ll never get to go to the prom.
She’ll never get to fall in love.
An act of political violence stole from her everything she ever had and everything she ever would have had.
An act of violence encouraged by all those in government who have played to division – be it on 2nd Amendment issues, immigration issues, health care reform, whatever. When you start to marginalize citizens and ignore legitimate concerns in order to maintain the us/them dichotomy, eventually something bad happens.
And the death of a nine year old girl is as bad as it gets.
She’s the only truly innocent victim here.
FF Leo,
“However, thanks for the reminder of what politicians *should not* say or do but who have the First Amendment rights to do so.”
That’s correct. Politicians, pundits, radio and TV personalities–as well as all of us–should choose and use their/our words wisely. One never knows who may be listening. Not everyone is well-balanced emotionally/mentally.
We have a number of rights that we should cherish. Unfortunately, they are being/have been eroded and undermined in recent years. Yet, few among us have put up a good fight to ensure that our government doesn’t impinge upon our freedoms and civil liberties in the name of keeping us safe. 9/11 changed a lot of things in this country.
Regarding Ms. Palin, she is a keynote speaker at many of the major hunting group conventions. They love her. I despise her although I am a member of the NRA and I was once a hunter.
The groups headline her pathetic “hunting abilities” when Gyges and I know (others too, most likely) that she is not a seasoned hunter. The big boy great white hunter groups likely *use* her because of her fame. If they actually like her and think she is “smart”, et cetera, then we are all in big, big trouble.
OS:
“threats came from talk-radio shows”
That seems to be the incubator,be it coming from the left or the right.
“I want you never fearful of wrongful incrimination by local police”
That’s what the last blurb on the favorited video posted above said. Unfortunately, my saved version doesn’t display those blurbs.
eniobob,
I understand and I know you are not casting any blame. You are not that type of guy.
My last post was responding to BBB.
FFL:
I find it ironic what Palin thought to be a campaign slogan,has come to pass.Not casting any blame but like I said its so ironic.
Yes sir, we did.
Blouise,
I’ve been predicting something like this for at least two years now. Maybe longer. I’m a smart guy, but I find it hard to believe in all of Washington that no one else was smart enough to see around that corner too. As to the waiting and seeing, as always, the proof is in the eating of the pudding.
There has been some speculation around the internet that Judge Roll may have been the real target, not Rep. Giffords. Judge Roll. This is from his page on Judgepedia:
“Judge Roll in 2009, faced death threats after presiding over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by illegal immigrants against an Arizona rancher. After Judge Roll ruled the case would be certified, threats came from talk-radio shows which fueled controversy and spurred audiences into making threats against the judge.
The threats materialized after one show, Judge Roll’s name logged more than 200 phone calls as some callers threatened the judge and his family.
This resulted in the judge and his wife were under a protection detail for one month as Judge Roll was given twenty four hours a day, seven days a week security by the US Marshals Service. An US Attorney’s investigation ruled that four men were identified as threat makers, but no charges were filed.
In a July 9, 2009 interview with the Arizona Republic, Judge Roll described the time under high security as “unnerving and invasive. . . . By its nature it has to be,” Roll said. Roll also said, “It (the security) was handled very professionally by the Marshals Service.”
At the end of the month, Roll said four key men had been identified as threat makers.”
Former Federal LEO,
I had not seen your post, but I think we expressed the same sentiment.
Let’s not turn this into some partisan nonsense. There will be plenty of time for fingerpointing. As others have suggested, we should mourn the losses and wish the injured a full recovery.
Eniobob,
Yes Ms. Palin is a pathetic person: however, she is not responsible for this. People could take what you, others, or I say here to justify (in their own troubled minds) harming others.
However, thanks for the reminder of what politicians *should not* say or do but who have the First Amendment rights to do so.
I saved all the videos from his YouTube page. His MySpace page has already been shut down.
His only “favorite” video on YouTube is “America: Your Last Memory In A Terrorist Country!”
The favorited video is the only one that has received any comments.
Remember This:
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/235408/SARAH-PALIN-TARGET-MAP.jpg
Buddha,
This is going to be very interesting … it may be the unexpected event that no politician or party can anticipate … we will wait to see
BBB:
They were just talking about that video on fox,you are on top of it.
From the YouTube Profile:
Profile
Name:Jared Lee Loughner
Joined:October 25,2010
Website:http://Myspace.com/fallenasleepAbout
Me: My name is Jared Lee Loughner!
Hometown:Tucson
Country:United States
Schools:I attended school: Thornydale elementary,Tortolita Middle School, Mountain View Highschool, Northwest Aztec Middle College, and Pima Community College.
Interests:My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar. Conscience dreams were a great study in college!
Movies:(*My idiom: I could coin the moment!*)Music:Pass me the strings!Books:I had favorite books: Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver’s Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno.
And Sharon Angle has not yet been heard from.