Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner (WI, CD-5, R)
The Republican Party march from traditional conservatism toward theoconservative neofascism
has any number of followers, but few leaders as dangerous to American ways as James Sensenbrenner.
Let us consider a few of the more subversive pieces of legislation to emit from Congressman Sensenbrenner and his committees. A short list of some key themes:
- Reviving the Fugitive Slave Act
- Inform on Your Own Children or Go To Jail
- The Suppression of Marriage Act
- Stepping Toward a Police State: National Identity Papers
- Assisting Arbitrary Prosecution
- Increasing Prison Sentences Without Rational Limit
much more below the fold. Yes, I do go on a bit. And my libertarian inclinations are sometimes visible.
1)
Reviving the Fugitive Slave Act: Once upon a time, America had legislation compelling the citizens of every state to return slaves to their owners. The orthodox notion of a Federal Republic is that _state laws stop at the state line. You cannot be prosecuted in Massachusetts because something is illegal in California. The Fugitive Slave Act set this doctrine on its head, compelling the people of Pennsylvania to return fugitive slaves to the Simon Legrees of Virginia.
Congressman Sensenbrenner's H.R. 748, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.748: revives the perversion of the Fugitive Slave Act, only worse. The Fugitive Slave Act did not force free states to adopt slavery. H.R. 748 forces states without a parental notification law to notify parents--even if that requirement was opposed by the voters and legislature of both states.
Under this law--I'll let the Congressman speak for himself
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 748, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. Laws that require parental notification before an abortion can be obtained by a minor are overwhelmingly supported by the American people.
As recently as March 2005, 75 percent of over 1,500 registered voters surveyed favored requiring parental notification before a minor could get an abortion. In fact, the 2004 Democratic nominee for President said on ``Meet the Press'' this year, ``I am for parental notification.''
Across the country, medical personnel and others must obtain parental consent before performing routine medical services such as providing
aspirin or including children in certain activities such as field trips and contact sports.
Yet, today, people other than parents can secretly take children across State lines in violation of parental notification laws for abortion without their parents even knowing about it.
Introduced by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, or CIANA for short, will protect the
health and physical safety of young girls and protect fundamental parental rights. This legislation contains two central provisions,
each of which creates a new Federal crime subject to $100,000 fine or 1 year in jail or both...
The second section of CIANA applies to cases in which a minor who is a resident of one State presents herself for an abortion in another State that does not have a parental involvement law. In those circumstances, the bill requires the abortion provider to give one of the minor's parents, or a legal guardian, notice of the minor's abortion decision before the abortion is performed. The purpose of this section is to protect the fundamental right of parents to be involved in a minor's decision to undergo a potentially dangerous medical procedure. A parent will be familiar with their daughter's medical history and able to give that information to a health care provider to ensure that she receives safe medical care and necessary follow-up treatment.
2) Inform on Your Own Children or Go To Jail. One of the orthodox needs of every authoritarian police state is a systematic organization of informers, striving to ensure that every criminal -- in the eyes of the tyrant -- act is caught and punished. Stalin glorified the child who informed on his own parents. Now, thanks to HR 1528, any American who witnesses certain victimless crimes must report them or go to jail. The sentence is increased for parents who do not inform on their children. To quote from HR 1528 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.1528:
`SEC. 425. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person who witnesses or learns of a violation of sections 416(b)(2), 417, 418, 419, 420, 424, or 426 to fail to report the offense to law enforcement officials within 24 hours of witnessing or learning of the violation and thereafter provide full assistance in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of the person violating paragraph (a).
`(b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be sentenced to not less than two years or more than 10 years. If the person who witnesses or learns of the violation is the parent or guardian, or otherwise responsible for the care or supervision of the person under the age of 18 or the incompetent person, such person shall be sentenced to not less than three years or more than 20 years.'.
3) The Suppression of Marriage Act The basic notion of marriage is that the persons who are marrying are forming a new family, so that spouses love and protect each other. In the recent case of the Schiavo Family in Florida, it was properly the husband who made hideously painful decisions on behalf of his long-gone wife. Congressman Sensenbrenner and his Congressional allies sought to use the Federal Congress to suppress the Schiavo marriage, and to use the Federal legislature to make the decision their theoconservative extremist controllers demanded. All this appeared in the form of S. 686 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.1528: with its SECTION 1. RELIEF OF THE PARENTS OF THERESA MARIE SCHIAVO as brought to the floor of the House by Congressman Sensenbrenner.
4) Stepping Toward a Police State: National Identity Papers In classic motion pictures set in World War II Europe, you can tell that one someone marches along saying "Your Papers! Please!" that no matter how handsome the actor the character is one of the film's heavies in the film. In Stalin's Russia, to travel from town to town, you needed the correct internal passport. Even Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Taney, writing in the Dred Scott decision, made this point: peaceable law-abiding American citizens have the right to travel where they will, and do not need permits or passes to do so. National Identity Papers are Unamerican.
Now Congressman Sensenbrenner has given us the REAL ID Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.418:
passed into law without debate in the Senate that converts every Driver's License into a necessary tool for creating police state oppression.The REAL ID act also shows what Republican heoconservatives actually think of Federalism: States are the tools of the Federal government to help create the Republican police state, in which no one may travel by any means without a Stalinist internal passport.
5) Assisting Arbitrary Prosecution A basic principle of the law is that the same criminal act should always be published the same way. Republicans propose to turn this principle on its head. If they like the way your state prosecutes a crime, they let your state do it. If they don't like it, they propose that the United States government gets to perform the prosecution. Consider H.R. 1279, GANG DETERRENCE AND COMMUNITY PROTECTION ACT OF 2005
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.1279: and in particular its section
Most importantly, it increases penalties to deter violent gang crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, and assault.
The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act would give the Attorney General discretion on whether or not to try a juvenile in Federal court
as an adult if they are 16 or 17 years old.
That's not a section saying that henceforth murder, rape, kidnapping, and assault are only Federal crimes, and that state laws on the topics are waived. That's a section saying that these people will be prosecuted by the whim of the Attorney General. Perhaps someone will be prosecuted. Perhaps they will not. It's entirely arbitrary. Arbitrary law enforcement is the basis of tyranny.
6) Increasing Punishment Without Rational Limits And now we come to the evidence that the Republican theoconservatives are, in their heart of hearts, people who actually get their jollies from inflicting pain and suffering, especially on children and young people.
from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.1279: H.R. 1279, GANG DETERRENCE AND COMMUNITY PROTECTION ACT OF 2005
The penalties include ... 30 years for kidnapping or rape, and 20 years for assault. In addition, this legislation includes juvenile justice reform to ensure that adult crimes, with adult motives, are prosecuted with adult penalties.
So a 17-year-old can get twice his years on earth thus far for rape, and more than his years on earth thusfar for assault.
As an exercise, I will let you all find the section where the prison sentence for a specific crime is increased from one year to ten years. This is not about punishment. This is about people who delight in inflicting pain on others, confident that their children--will the Attorney General of the United States is not about to prosecute a Congressman's child, as witness the son who was caught carrying large amounts of a seriously illegal crystalline controlled chemical substance.
If you glory in Reviving the Fugitive Slave Act, Forcing People to Inform on Their Own Children or Go To Jail, Suppress Marriage, Create National Identity Papers as Part of a March Toward a National police State, Assisting Arbitrary and Random Prosecution, and Increasing Prison entences Without Rational Limit, Congressman Sensenbrenner is your man.
Otherwise, just say no! to the Apostles of Neofascism. Support candidates who will send Republicans to their ill-deserved retirements.
Republicans. They're not the radical right.
They're subversive , plain and simple.
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