Inside Bush's Brain A Pathology of Fear and Lies February 12, 2003 by WAYNE SAUNDERS The debate over the impending US-led assault on Iraq has often focused on the likely motivations to oust Saddam Hussein and his regime.There is the hawkish view. Namely, the motives influencing the United States to attack Iraq stem from a rational analysis of a set of obvious "truisms": 1) Saddam has weapons of mass destruction and has been playing games with UN inspectors for 12 years. 2) He is linked to terrorists. 3) He has a history of aggression and thus "threatens peace." 4) For added effect we are also reminded that he's a really bad guy too, as if evil leaders automatically threaten the United States. For these reasons, we are told, he and his regime represent a clear and present threat to the safety and security of the United States, its "allies," the "peace of the world," etc. and that war is the only solution. But such a conclusion, that this starved and broken nation, is an immanent threat, is not based upon what the world community thinks. It's not even based upon what US and British intelligence thinks, or what many of their military planners think. Nor is it based upon what the actual authors of the so-called Iraq dossier think, (the British government plagiarized and misrepresented their work, and in any case the data dates back to 1991). And it's probably not what chief UN inspector Hans Blix thinks either, not as I write this (though his job is to describe not to prescribe). counterpunch.org

America: A Nation in Distress February 12, 2003 By Cliff Patterson Never before in the history of this nation have we seen so many different scams being pulled off at one time. Just as we start to get a grasp on one thing, BAM! there’s something else to worry with. One day it’s Furher Bush giving a speech in front of phony Made in the USA boxes (which is a crime), then it’s the completely outlandish State of the Union address, then Powell’s plagiarized “evidence”, the terror alert jumps up a notch and we need to keep a three day supply of food and water as well as needing to get plastic sheets for our windows (next they’ll tell us to duck and cover), then we get hit with the shuttle disaster and who knows what will be next. These are only the mainstream distractions. If you live in the same world as most of us fighting the globalists then you know there’s a whole lot more going on that never sees the light of day. prisonplanet.com

European allies unite against US-led war February 12, 2003 by AFP and PA News France, Russia and Germany tonight united to block plans for war against Iraq by issuing a common declaration that called for increased weapons inspections in Iraq. President Vladimir Putin and President Jacques Chirac said in a joint declaration after meeting in Paris: "Russia, Germany and France support the continuation of inspections and their substantial reinforcement by any means in terms of manpower and technical capabilities." The three countries also agree that the debate on the Iraqi crisis "must be pursued in the spirit of friendship and respect that characterises (their) relations with the United States and other countries". The declaration also made clear that: "Russia, Germany and France favour the continuation of the inspections and a substantial reinforcement of their human and technical capacities through all possible means and in liaison with the inspectors." timesonline.co.uk

Desperate Times : Duck and Cover by R.B.Ham February 12, 2003 Let's see. Vladimir Putin has brought Russia over to the side of France and Germany in opposition to a unilateral U.S. invasion of Iraq. World opinion has decidedly shifted against the U.S. after Colin Powell's inept attempt at furnishing evidence of Saddam Hussein's "imminent threat" to the world. The plagiarism story has been a bombshell. The American public have become openly cynical about the so-called "terror threat levels" and are starting to wake up to the real threat that the so-called Homeland Security Department poses to their liberties. The exposing of Patriot Act II may have been the final straw for a lot of people. members.shaw.ca

Please tax us, say (some) of America's richest February 12, 2003 Bill Gates Sr leads campaign against end of inheritance tax February 12, 2003 Duncan Campbell A group of some of the richest people in the United States are trying to persuade politicians to continue to tax the inherited fortunes of the wealthy, as the Bush administration acts to end inheritance tax. Their move comes as 10 Nobel Laureates and hundreds of economists took a full page ad in the New York Times yesterday to condemn President Bush's other tax plans. guardian.co.uk

Bin Laden, in Audiotape, Calls on Muslims to Support Iraq February 12, 2003 Click to Watch the Video: The Al Qaeda leader also gave a vivid description of the shelling he and his followers took in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, and told his followers: "If we are in the trenches, they cannot get us. The enemy is going to waste their ammunition for nothing." "Anyone who helps America, from the Iraqi hypocrites [opposition] or Arab rulers ... whoever fights with them or offers them bases or administrative assistance, or any kind of support or help, even if only with words, to kill Muslims in Iraq, should know that he is an apostate." foxnews.com

Wall Street Journal Makes News... Literally! February 12, 2003 Last week the line between news reporting and news creation in the corporate media became all the more thin. It was learned that the letter of support written by leaders of eight European nations (three of them not part of the EU) for the Bush regime's war in Iraq that appeared on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) was actually solicited from signitories by the deputy editorial editor of the Journal's European edition. Upon publication, the letter suddenly became "news", appearing in WSJ's news pages, The New York Times, and throughout the corporate media. Initial reports of the story's manufacture seem to have come from Spain. WSJ editors, unabashedly pro-war and allied with the far-right regime in Washington, published a brash defense of their practice that avoided the ethical issue of turning their own editorial initiatives into news. That practice is a regular feature of many mainstream papers in the US. http://indymedia.org

YellowTimes.org Shut Down! Stifling the Voice of Reason February 12, 2003 by Firas Al-Atraqchi The well known alternative news publication YellowTimes.org was just shut down without explanation by its hosting company! It recently published an article by an Iraqi nuclear scientist! The campaign to stifle dissent and censor any questioning of current U.S. policies vis-a-vis the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular, has reached new levels. Websites which host alternative views, and/or views that contradict U.S. foreign policy are no longer tolerated on the Internet and are systematically coming under hacker attack and political pressures to "relocate." antiwar.com

The Bush budget: blueprint for a right-wing assault on the working class February 11,  2003 Part one of five articles on Bush's 2004 budget proposal By Patrick Martin The Bush administration unveiled its proposed 2004 budget and its new Economic Report of the President last week. These two documents, together with a series of statements and proposals drafted by various cabinet departments, amount to a blueprint for a social transformation of immense proportions. What is being prepared by the extreme-right ideologues and worshippers of the capitalist “free market” who comprise the Bush administration’s cadre is nothing less than the dismantling of all domestic social programs in the United States, from welfare to public education. They seek to roll back the clock to the nineteenth century, putting an end to all attempts to mitigate the massive social inequality generated by the profit system, and removing all restrictions on the accumulation of wealth by the American financial oligarchy. wsws.org

Powell Apparent Victim Of A Hoax February 11, 2003 by Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. With the 2004 U.S. Presidential campaign now in motion, there are more than a few reasons to doubt that any of my visible rivals for that office have the combined intellectual and moral qualifications needed to deal with the combined onrush of a general economic collapse and a desperate push toward a spreading dark age of world wars from which no actual exit is foreseen. A suddenly unleashing, already raging international scandal over certain dubious elements included in U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's UNO Security Council address, tends to discredit my Democratic Party rivals even more more than a Powell who was plainly carrying out a mission crafted by others. larouchein2004.net For a PDF Version of this Release Click Here.

Judge upholds New York police ban on anti-war march February 11, 2003 By Bill Vann A federal judge Monday sided with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in its efforts to drastically curtail a planned February 15 protest against the impending US war against Iraq. US District Court Judge Barbara Jones issued a 26-page decision rejecting the request of the demonstration’s organizers for an injunction barring the city administration and police department from denying them a permit to march on Saturday. Citing alleged security concerns, the NYPD and the city’s billionaire Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused any negotiations with the protest organizers. wsws.org

Stifling the Voice of Reason February 11, 2003 By Firas Al-Atraqchi The campaign to stifle dissent and censor any questioning of current U.S. policies vis-a-vis the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular, has reached new levels. Websites which host alternative views, and/or views that contradict U.S. foreign policy are no longer tolerated on the Internet and are systematically coming under hacker attack and political pressures to "relocate." scoop.co

Eager for War  February 11, 2003 by Russell Madden "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep." Saul Bellow. Sometimes I think I will scream the next time I hear some of the "arguments" from those so eager to invade Iraq. Too many of these people are apparently incapable of thinking in terms of principles or of applying their ideas consistently across multiple situations. Still, the war-ites do excel at concrete-bound thinking, rationalizations, evasions, and context-dropping in their interminable quest to convince us that Saddam Hussein is an "immediate" threat freedom.orlingrabbe.com

Bush threatens military action against North Korea February 10, 2003 By Peter Symonds of wsws.org With tensions rapidly spiralling out of control on the Korean peninsula, US President Bush added further fuel to the fire yesterday by bluntly warning North Korea that, while the US was seeking a diplomatic solution, “all options are on the table, of course.” Bush previously insisted that Washington had no plans to attack or invade North Korea. Now a military strike is firmly on the agenda. Pentagon officials announced on Monday that 12 B-1 and 12 B-52 bombers had been put on alert for rapid deployment to Guam, placing them within striking distance of North Korea. Extra reconnaissance aircraft are to be sent to the region along with additional military personnel to bolster the 37,000 US troops currently stationed in South Korea. The aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, is also on standby to back up the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which is currently off the coast of Japan. bankindex.com

The Real but Unspoken Reasons for the Upcoming Iraq War February 10, 2003 W. Clark Although completely suppressed in the U.S. media, the answer to the Iraq enigma is simple yet shocking - it an an oil CURRENCY war. The Real Reason for this upcoming war is this administration’s goal of preventing further OPEC momentum towards the euro as an oil transaction currency standard. However, in order to pre-empt OPEC, they need to gain geo-strategic control of Iraq along with its 2nd largest proven oil reserves. This lengthy essay will discuss the macroeconomics of the “petro-dollar” and the unpublicized but real threat to U.S. economic hegemony from the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency. indymedia.org

Australians bare all in anti-war protest February 9, 2003 More than 700 women have posed nude in Australia in a mass protest against their country's support for possible military action against Iraq. The naked demonstrators, aged 20 to 60, used their bodies to form the words "No war" on the side of a hill in Byron Bay, New South Wales. Protesters said they would use aerial photographs of the stunt to publicise opposition to the government's policy on Iraq. Australia has sent troops to the Gulf and approved the deployment of fighter planes in support of the US military build-up in the region. The naked demonstration came on the same day as a similar protest in New York, where about 30 women stripped off in the snow to form the words "No Bush" - an irreverent reference to US President George W Bush. Public anger The organiser of the Byron Bay protest, Grace Knight, said the women wanted Australian Prime Minister John Howard to recall forces from the Middle East. "They're desperate to let our prime minister hear how very, very angry they are at what he's doing and how much they disagree with what's happening," she told Australian radio. bbc.co.uk

Pope Tells World: Don't Resign Yourself to War February 9, 2003 By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul, speaking ahead of a flurry of Vatican diplomatic efforts to avert conflict in Iraq, on Saturday urged the world not to resign itself to war. "We have to multiply efforts. We can't stop when faced with either terror attacks or the threats that are on the horizon. We should never resign ourselves, almost as if war is inevitable," the pope said. The 82-year-old pope made his an appeal in an address to members of Italy's Sant' Egidio peace group, which brokered a deal that ended the civil war in Mozambique 10 years ago. His words also preceded what looks to be an intense period of efforts by the Holy See to avert a possible conflict. abcnews.go.com

North Korea warns final showdown with US will be a nuclear one February 9, 2003 By Shane Green An increasingly belligerent North Korea has warned of "total war" with the United States, predicting a conflict with it would develop into a nuclear one. And in a further deterioration of the nuclear crisis, the chief of the North Korean Army, Kim Yong-chun, called on his generals to win a "brilliant victory in the final showdown with US imperialists". smh.com.au

Fake Terror Alerts February 9, 2003 By John Kaminski We're as stupid as they think we are. How stupid do they think we are? Only hours after our much-praised Secretary of State is revealed to have been using material plagiarized from a college student to justify why we're going to kill thousands of people with bombs, our government issues a terror alert and expects us to believe it? And how stupid are we? We believe it. Everybody takes it seriously even though Colin Powell has been shown to have perpetrated a colossal lie before the entire world, sitting in front of the assembled multitude of rectitude at the United Nations, exposed as having tried to pass off a decade-old college post-graduate thesis as supposedly cutting-edge Department of Defense intelligence. Used before the most august leaders of the world, this is supposed to be the best we can do? For all that money in the defense budget? article

Patriot Act II -- SECRET LEGISLATION February 9, 2003 The Second Patriot Act Is Much Worse Than the First...And They Didn't Want You to Know About It...Until After They Had Sprung an Attack.The Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan group, has revealed that it has received a top-secret Justice Department document containing plans for a second and even more draconian Patriot Act which would drastically expand government's police powers. Calling for even more governmental secrecy and increased surveillance on the American people, the legislation has been kept secret from the public, pending a more conducive environment for its introduction -- say, after a terrorist attack. After an attack, when the sheeple are down on their knees kissing the jackboots of the police state and begging for more control, begging to give up their liberty for security, loving Emperor Bush and his power-mad cabinet-of-thugs would have no problem convincing the duped and frightened population that this "new" legislation would be needed in light of the current, dangerous atmosphere. infowars.com

The Gulf War (Revisited) February 9, 2003 Michael Wolff What we are watching is an outrage. A nation-the most powerful nation on the planet, a nation of 250 million people that has spent over $19 trillion on its military since 1945, a nation with thousands of nuclear weapons and chemical weapons-threatening a small, impoverished nation of 20 million people with the threat of invasion, an outright invasion in the name of "self defense." They don't want to call it an invasion or occupation. Instead, they couch their terms in Nazi-style propaganda. Invasion becomes "self-defense" and occupation becomes "liberation." Dropping tens of thousands of tons of bombs on a defenseless country is called "fighting terrorism" and "restoring freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people." The Bush Administration has tried to portray itself as the friend of the Iraqi people, "Our problem is with Saddam" Bush Sr. tells us. We only need to look back at the first Gulf War to see what's in store for the Iraqi people...enter.net

Public Schools:  Manufacturing Center For Mindless, Immoral Slaves February 9, 2003 By Rob Ronning The total takeover by the global elite’s agenda is rapidly progressing as never before in human history, and many people are becoming more aware of the significance of events as they occur.  At home, the economic situation is bleak, the threat of terrorist acts is unprecedented, and an Orwellian-style government is tracking our personal lives and transactions, while our freedoms are being systematically stripped.  Abroad, the possibility of an ‘endless war’ starting in Iraq and escalating to include the possibility of many other countries such as North Korea, Iran, Libya, and Syria ominously looms in the near future.  Those of us with children or grandchildren are increasingly conscious of these and other influences affecting the most innocent and vulnerable in our society.  Our public education systems have become training grounds for immorality, drug addiction, deviant behavior and learned violence instead of basic knowledge.  Our children certainly deserve better than this! American public schools have been sliding towards their current state for many years.  In the book entitled, The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt completely details the plot against our children by those who control the system. prisonplanet.com

Anti-war women bare all to fight Bush policy February 8, 2003 By James Paton NEW YORK (Reuters) - Protesters are trying a nude way to stir interest in the anti-war movement. When U.S. demonstrators hit the streets to rally against a military conflict in Iraq, they often grumble that too few Americans take notice. So one group opted for an eye-catching alternative. Just after dawn on Friday, roughly 30 women scurried into the heart of Central Park, splitting up into groups to avoid arousing police suspicion. Once they reached their destination, the Bethesda Fountain, they displayed their deep misgivings about war by disrobing amid a steady snowfall. Lying down in shivering temperatures, the group of women -- students, executives and artists among them -- used their stark naked bodies to spell out the words "No Bush." yahoo.com

The killing of Jackie Elliot February 9, 2003 Last week, British-born Jackie Elliot was executed in Texas for a murder many say he did not commit. Clive Stafford Smith, the British human rights lawyer, fought a desperate battle to save him. Here he recounts the frantic last hours before the execution, as evidence mounted that he was witnessing one of the worst miscarriages of justice he has ever experienced. I never thought they would kill him. How could they? I think Jackie Elliott was innocent. Surely that should be reason enough not to execute him. Danny Hanson and Ricky Elizondo had been snitches at his trial. The police had suppressed evidence that Hanson raped Joyce Munguia; we found a new witness who said Hanson had confessed to killing her, beating her savagely with a motorbike chain. The police suppressed the fact that Hanson and Elizondo were both members of 'The Chain Gang'. They ganged up on Jackie, after they had used a chain on Joyce. Elizondo got 10 years, came out, and when he met Joyce's mother on the street he spat on her. Hanson's deal was even better: for testifying, he never spent a day in jail. Yet Texas wanted to kill Jackie. As for our coalition for mercy, in more than 300 capital cases, I've never seen anything like it. All 12 jurors signed our petition asking for DNA testing - in the end, none wanted Jackie to die. How could Texas make unwilling jurors vote to kill someone, and then not respect their wishes? guardian.co.uk

America in a Trance (Or America the Stupid) February 8, 2003 Despite our urgent recommendation to the contrary, the American people have seen fit to turn Congress into a Bushonian Rubber Stamp. What does this mean? The Bushonian Regime will begin to rape and pillage the nation’s social security trust fund once again. Also they have already announced that they will continue to denude the people of their civil rights and liberties by bringing before Congress the three pieces of legislation they could not get passed in the previous Congress, namely 1/ The National Identity Card act, 2/ The act to overturn Posse Comitatus and 3/ The act to formalize the creation of the Office of Homeland Security. Lest we forget the short term memory of America the Stupid (or America in a Trance), when it comes to the Office of Homeland Security, we should always remember George Bush’s Immortal Words on September 26 almartinraw.com

ACLU Says New Ashcroft Anti-Terror Proposal Undermines Checks and Balances February 8, 2003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: media@dcaclu.org WASHINGTON - Earlier today, the Center for Public Integrity released what it said was draft legislation from the Department of Justice that would further expand the powers granted to the government in the name of fighting terrorism.  The ACLU continues to analyze the draft legislation but from our preliminary read of the bill, it would do serious harm to civil liberties. The ACLU’s statement follows: “The initial USA Patriot Act undercut many of the traditional checks and balances on government power -- the new Ashcroft proposal threatens to fundamentally alter the Constitutional protections that allow us to be both safe and free,” said Gregory T. Nojeim, Associate Director of the ACLU Washington National Office.  “By seeking to overturn court-approved limits against police spying on political and religious activities, allowing for increased government surveillance and the ability to wiretap without going to court, the latest Ashcroft proposal would do serious harm to civil liberties in America.” aclu.org/SafeandFree

Commentary: Is Bush competent? February 8, 2003 By Martin Sieff (UPI) -- Is George W. Bush a competent president? And is he a lucky one? In terms of his personal political effectiveness, the answer to both questions remains a resounding "Yes!" But if one asks whether that luck and competence also carry over to the great nation he leads, the answer appears to be an unnerving "No." Consider, the president inherited a United States blessed with peace, prosperity, a booming stock market and a healthy annual budget surplus. It now has none of those things. upi.com

After Powell’s speech Media pundits in lockstep behind US war drive February 8, 2003 By Patrick Martin The speech by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council Wednesday had little impact on international public opinion and the worldwide opposition to an American war against Iraq. Outside of the United States, media commentators and government officials—except those, like Tony Blair, already committed to war—dismissed the speech as a series of unsupported, and largely rehashed, allegations based on unverified sources. A columnist in a leading German newspaper, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, said that one could not convict even a chicken on the basis of the “proofs” advanced by Powell. The Secretary of State’s arguments met none of the basic rules of evidence or standards of jurisprudence normally required to convict and punish an individual defendant, let alone to bomb and kill tens of thousands and lay waste to a nation of 23 million people. wsws.org

The World Says No to War February 8, 2003 Saturday, February 15th Assemble at noon First Avenue from 49th Street north New York City For outreach materials, ride and housing boards, endorsers, and an inspiring collection of links to Feb. 15 protests around the world, use the links in the right-hand column. Hundreds of thousands of people will converge on New York City, joining with millions of others around the world in a global day of opposition to President Bush's planned attack on Iraq. The New York City Police Department has offered a permit for the First Avenue location, which is within sight of the United Nations. This assures us of a secure assembly point for the protest. However, the Police Department has thus far refused to provide a permit for a march. We insist on our right to march to express our opposition to this war and expect to be successful in our vigorous political and legal efforts to obtain a march permit. unitedforpeace.org

Financial Collapse: War for Cover February 8, 2003 Terrorism was spawned in the same circles of elite who allowed the now gigantic financial debt bubble to build up to their advantage. Their debt bubble which has bankrupted the U.S. economy, is now well overdue for collapse and cannot be sustained. The War on the terrorism they created for their own purposes, is now being urgently sought as a cover for the imminent collapse of their also sponsored, biggest financial debt bubble in human history nex.net.au

Poultry pay puts fast food giant in dock US chicken supplier on trial for importing illegal workers February 8, 2003 Duncan Campbell One of the world's largest chicken producers, which is a key supplier to McDonald's, is on trial in Tennessee accused of conspiracy to import illegal workers, mainly from Mexico, to work at its plants throughout America. "This trial is about corporate greed," said the prosecuting lawyer, John MacCoon, in his opening remarks at the trial in Chattanooga of Tyson Foods. The prosecution claims that Tyson, which has a turnover of $23bn (Ł14bn), brought illegal workers into the country who could be paid low wages, would not receive sickness or injury benefits, and could be sacked without compensation. guardian.co.uk/usa

The war on the poor February 8, 2003 Bush's compassionate conservatism borders on loan-sharking WASHINGTON -- When democratic nations face foreign policy challenges, their leaders usually pursue domestic policies designed to promote social solidarity and national unity. Winston Churchill, to pick one of history's most important examples, was acutely aware of the need to rally Britain's poor and working classes and give them a stake in victory over Hitler. And so it was under the auspices of the last century's greatest conservative that the foundations of Britain's robust system of social insurance were laid. After Secretary of State Colin Powell's powerful presentation at the United Nations on Wednesday, it's hard to doubt that the United States is on the verge of war with Saddam Hussein. Although many Americans still have qualms about this war, most agree with Powell that Saddam is both inhumane and dangerous. But there is a great difference between Churchill's war leadership and President Bush's. Churchill recognized that a time of war places a special obligation on the governing classes to those who benefit least from a nation's social and economic arrangements. Bush, on the other hand, is doing all he can to benefit the economic elites and, through stealth, to undercut government's commitments to the least fortunate. workingforchange.com

North Korea threatens US with 'total war' 07 February 2003 By Phil Reeves America's intelligence agencies and those of its allies in north-east Asia were trying to establish last night whether North Korea had fulfilled its threat to fire up an atomic reactor they believe to be capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium. In a war of words yesterday, Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, described the Communist government as a "terrorist regime". Pyongyang warned there would be "total war" if America launched a pre-emptive attack on its nuclear facilities. But the White House shrugged off North Korea's comments. "The United States is very prepared with robust plans for any contingencies," Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said. independent.co.uk

Bush goes noo-ku-ler February 7, 2003 Comedians continue to joke about President Bush's inability to pronounce the word "nuclear." But there is nothing funny about the reports that the Bush administration is contemplating the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons in Iraq. U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has it exactly right when he argues that the administration's posturing "could quickly spin out of control." The senior senator correctly argues: "The use of nuclear weapons in Iraq in the absence of an imminent, overwhelming threat to our national security would bring a near-total breakdown in relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world. At a minimum, it would lead to a massive rise in anti-Americanism in the Arab world and a corresponding increase in sympathy for terrorists who would do us harm. Our nation, long a beacon of hope, would overnight be seen as a symbol of death, destruction and aggression." madison.com

In New Advertisement, ACLU Calls for Stop to Attorney General’s Assault on Civil Liberties February 7, 2003 NEW YORK - In a hard-hitting new national print advertisement that depicts the Attorney General as an extremist "editor" of the Bill of Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union today called on the American people to "stop the Ashcroft assault on our civil liberties." "Attorney General Ashcroft took an oath of office to protect the Constitution and he has not upheld that oath," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "Instead he has shamelessly used the tragic events of September 11 to advance his radical ideology in a way that has not made us any safer and has certainly made us less free." Superimposed over a torn image of the Bill of Rights, the advertisement juxtaposes a historic portrait of "The Authors" (the Founders, seated around a conference table) with a photograph of "The Editor," Attorney General Ashcroft, making a scissors-like gesture with his fingers. It lists some of the liberties Ashcroft has slashed in his response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and urges Americans to act before their remaining freedoms disappear. "Today, the government can get a secret warrant to search your home without telling you until long afterwards," the advertisement reads. "Today, the government can monitor your Internet use, read your emails, examine your online purchases with minimal judicial oversight. Today, you can be detained without access to a lawyer, without being charged with a crime. Today, John Ashcroft has authorized the FBI to monitor your political activities, to send agents into your house of worship. We can only guess what tomorrow will bring." aclu.org