Los Angeles--Despite the pouring rain, MIM distributed more than 300 copies of MIM Notes with anti-war headlines and built opposition to the Patriot Act II at a March 15 rally against Amerika's war in Iraq in Los Angeles. More than 70 people signed our petition against John Ashcroft's latest proposed "anti-terror" legislation.
Patriot II (see article page 1) is a bold fascist power-grab by Ashcroft & co., and it is urgent that we shut it down before the congress has a chance to make it into law. Demonstrators who had heard of Patriot Act II (a.k.a. the Domestic Security Enhancement Act) were grateful that MIM was offering a way to oppose it in action. But at least half of the people MIM spoke with had not heard of the new Patriot Act before. This is no surprise, as only a handful of major U.$. newspapers have covered the story since someone leaked a copy of the act on February 7, and most of those papers only printed one story on it.
A Libertarian at the table next to MIM's commented that it's a good thing Patriot II has not yet been introduced in Congress because as long as it's not on the floor it can't be voted into law. But this is cold comfort in the face of the administration's highly secretive tactics in its "War on Terror." The USA Patriot Act passed within hours and days of its introduction in the two houses of congress--not even enough time for the congresspeople to read what they were voting for, let alone for the public to chime in on the debate. Revolutionaries, civil libertarians and the oppressed must spread opposition to the Patriot Act II now. Our libertarian neighbor and several other rally-goers asked for copies of our anti-Patriot II petition. The rights this legislation would take away are vital to our ability to organize.
Among other things, the Patriot Act II would give the executive branch power to make secret arrests, strip Amerikan citizenship from anyone who supports even the lawful activities of so-called "terrorist" organizations, spy on religious and other non-criminal groups, view credit reports without consent or judicial review, and arrest and extradite citizens and non-citizens alike to countries with which the united snakes has no extradition treaties and without regard for those countries humyn rights records. Patriot II would further eliminate checks and balances in government by barring the courts from oversight on warrants and wiretaps and on the enactment of the law overall, and by voiding existing consent decrees that require police (including the Feds) to show that they are acting within the u.$. constitution.
Tens of thousands showed up for the march, but by rally time the crowd had dwindled a lot as the less energetic or those who came unprepared for the drenching rainstorm went home. The crowd was pretty friendly to MIM Notes, and as we handed out papers with headlines "Amerika marches toward War for Oil!" and "Authority-lovers write Bush a blank check for War on Iraq" it was easy to see we were there carrying the anti-imperialist banner.
One womyn said it was "inappropriate" to be handing out MIM Notes, and that this demonstration was not about "Chinese communism" but about opposing a war on Iraq. This is rank sectarianism, when a demonstrator at an anti-war rally can ignore front-page articles against the coming war in Iraq and the ongoing wars against "terrorism" and the rest of the Third World to say it is wrong to be distributing these articles in a Maoist newspaper. You would think someone telling MIM to get lost with its newspaper would be distributing their own newspaper twice as big and with more material against the war. In fact even from someone doing more and better work than MIM, this would be sectarian, but at least with some work to back it up this claim would be more than nihilist posturing. It should be embarrassing to the anti-war liberals that MIM has to point out that if anti-war organizing is your priority, you should be evaluating your friends by their agitation against the war!
A telephone poll on March 17--taken right after Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq with his sons or be bombed -- found that 31 percent of Amerikans were ITAL relieved END at the prospect of war within the next few days. 68 percent said the U.$. did all it could to avert war through diplomatic channels, and 66 percent support Bush's decision -- though one in five of this last group is not convinced going to war is the right thing to do.(1) That's right, more than one of every eight Amerikans surveyed said they are okay with sending the army to destroy homes, further wreck the Iraq economy, make more Iraqis refugees and kill people because George Bush says so. In a political climate like this, MIM wants to see as much anti-war activism out of as many quarters as possible.
Notes:
1. http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/03/18/sprj.irq.bush.poll/index.htm