Justice or Just Us?
 

We should have gotten our first clue with the $8,000 drape. While Justice traditionally wears a blindfold, a bra is optional. Attorney General John Ashcroft, the man appointed to his post after losing a state election to a dead man, however, was offended by the statue of the Spirit of Justice in the Hall of Justice with one bare aluminum breast, reminiscent of Janet Jackson's costume mishap at the Super Bowl, and ordered the drape. Janet is lucky she hasn't been sentenced to perform forever behind a matching $8,000 drape.

Keep in mind that Mr. Ashcroft, a member of the Assembly of God Church, an evangelical, fundamentalist church, had himself anointed with cooking oil by Clarence Thomas before taking office. The Assembly of God Church, teaches sexual purity outside of marriage and cites James 1:14,15 "but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:14,15). I guess Mr. Ashcraft has an evil desire when it comes to aluminum nipples. He most likely was a bottle baby.

The Attorney General is also credited for having prepared the Patriot Act. That repressive document has nullified half of our basic rights as spelled out in the Bill of Rights. It was supposed to be a tool to help identify and catch terrorists, but more recently, it has been used or proposed to punish dissent by Americans who publicly oppose actions taken by this administration. The FBI served subpoenas on a college who had a forum opposing the war with Iraq. They called for the college to name those who organized as well as those who attended the forum. That interferes with our right to free speech, our right to peaceably assemble, and our right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

In the president's home town of Crawford, Texas, there is an ordinance that violates the First Amendment. In a news report, "Crawford Police Chief Donnie Tidmore testified that a person wearing political buttons without a permit could violate the city ordinance that requires prior notice before a protest or parade." That testimony helped convict 5 people who were attempting to stage a protest against the war and other policies of the Bush administration. They were stopped before the protesters assembled, but apparently wearing a button opposing the president is enough for an arrest. If this isn't oppressive tyranny, it's the closest we've gotten. Since the Patriot Act, I suppose those 5 should consider themselves lucky not to have been incarcerated without benefit of legal representation and held indefinitely.

It should be a matter of great concern, that the Attorney General of the United States, a man responsible for the enforcement of federal law, is a rigid zealot in the manner of the "Grand Inquisitor", Torquemada who spawned such persecution and torture of those who held a conflicting view in the fifteenth century. Mr. Ashcroft should pay a little more attention to one of the biblical quotes promoted by the Assembly of God Church,

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." (Zechariah 4:6).

Justice should not be just for those who hold the religious views of this administration.

2-20-04