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Kerry's Record On Electronic And Civil Rights

Posted by timothy on from the reason-listens-to-you dept.

An anonymous reader writes "John Kerry lambastes John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act, positioning himself as a crusader for civil liberties. The question is, how much substance is there to his rhetoric? This article was an eye-opener to me, in evaluating just that. Slashdotters tending to be passionate about the Patriot Act, encryption, and electronic monitoring - subjects this article tackles with respect to Kerry."

2 of 328 comments (clear)

  1. Apparently attitudes change by Wylfing · · Score: 2, Funny
    TFA goes to some pains to cast a bad light on Kerry, but it also tells a different story: Ashcroft's views on civil liberties have flipped 180 degrees. So it seems that the real lesson is that when Kerry transitions from the legistlative to the executive branch his views on civil liberties will completely reverse. Good to go, then.

    --
    Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
  2. Gun nuts get a F on Constitutional Law by fmaxwell · · Score: 2, Funny

    Right to bear arms is a fundamental Civil Right in the US. Kerry is awful in this department.

    What utter fscking BS. Kerry is a gun owner and a hunter. He has never advocated taking all guns away from Americans.

    You are just another one-issue deluded voter who wants to twist "a well regulated militia" into unregulated ownership of any and all weapons capable of killing people. Well here's a clue for you: The founding fathers didn't intend for you to be able to buy .50 caliber machine guns, bazookas, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, or nuclear weapons. Nothing in the Second Amendment precluded state or federal laws which ban or limit the sale of certain types of weapons. Nor is it unconstitutional to prevent convicted felons from owning firearms. Get over it.

    And before you make an ass of yourself in your reply, know that I just went to a gun show in the last few weeks and bought a Yugoslavian M-24/47 Mauser (8x57mm) to add to my collection, so don't try to paint me as some kind of anti-gun extremist.