Court says: 'Terror Fears Can't Curb Liberty'

jettoblack writes "Finally, a glimmer of sanity... according to the AP, "Fear of a terrorist attack is not sufficient reason for authorities to search people at a protest, a federal appeals court has ruled..." Another great quote: "We cannot simply suspend or restrict civil liberties until the War on Terror is over, because the War on Terror is unlikely ever to be truly over..." Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote for the panel. "Sept. 11, 2001, already a day of immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this country.""

Comments

There is hope for my waning faith in Americans.

[spikexyz]

Maybe soon someone will see that this whole security thing is a farce. Saying it has prevented terrorist attacks is like Bush holding up a stick and declaring the stick repels Gorillas. -- Well you don't see any gorillas do you?? It's a farce and it's freaky that you're all falling for it!

Stop being lemmings. Question your leaders. Listen to Jon Stewart!

You put men on the moon; there has to be some smart people in the country...get them out of the closet...and make one of the president. PLEASE!

Re:There is hope for my waning faith in Americans.

[Edax Rarem]

How is it healthy for people to be jailed for non-violent protest?
How is it "private" if anyone can buy a ticket? (as they did)
And you are saying it is obnoxious to wear a tee-shirt?
I got news for you... that is called freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of expression and what you are suggesting is OK and "healthy" is what I would call Facism.

The charges of tresspassing were dropped, but only after the damage was done so the President didn't have to see that some people don't like him.

This is exactly what is wrong with this administration. They refuse to believe that more than half of America and most of the world don't approve of what they are doing and they are willing to trounce upon, ignore and remove our civil rights for their own agendas.

And you think this is healthy?!?

Here is a better link (google cached)
http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:VVEb em1ytvcJ: abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040914_1592.html+couple +arrested+wearing+anti+bush+shirts&hl=en

There are plenty more out there too...

Re:Security and Liberty

[tid242]

Bravo! I believe it was Ben Franklin who said "Those who would exchange liberty for security will neither get nor deserve either."

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" source

i'd hate for this fabulous quote to get eventually get bastardised as Murphy's Law has been.

All in good faith, mind you, friend.

-tid242

It's more complicated than that

[Tau Zero]

Letting two FBI agents, one on a criminal investigation and one on a terrorism investigation, share information -- does that strike you as controversial?

It should. It means that the terrorism investigator can pull all kinds of information without reasonable cause and hand it to the criminal investigator. This effectively guts the erstwhile Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search.

This would be one thing if the ability to use such information was strictly limited to terrorism cases, but it's not. It essentially gives government a whole new set of tools to get anyone they really want to get, and they don't even have to hide the wiretaps and other (once illegal) searches and intercepts any more.