Monday, June 3, 2002

Ashcroft and 'J. Edgar' Mueller Go Fishing Safire's editorial points out the problems with Ashcroft's new loose FBI regulations. "To fabricate an alibi for his nonfeasance, and to cover up his department's embarrassing cut of the counterterrorism budget last year, Attorney General John Ashcroft -- working with his hand-picked aide, F.B.I. Director 'J. Edgar' Mueller III -- has gutted guidelines put in place a generation ago to prevent the abuse of police power by the federal government." "But under the new Ashcroft-Mueller diktat, that necessary hint of potential criminal activity is swept away. With not a scintilla of evidence of a crime being committed, the feds will be able to run full investigations for one year. That's aimed at generating suspicion of criminal conduct -- the very definition of a 'fishing expedition.'" Also: be sure to look at the ACLU's recently-released "Insatiable Appetite" Report. 7:07:32 PM

Pennsylvania Town Zoning Against Church A small Baptist church in Pennsylvania has been protected from 'no church' zoning restrictions under federal laws intended to protect religious spaces from religious free-exercise abuses by local governments, according to the New York Times article. The intent to allow smaller churches the opportunity to have their own buildings and grow. 6:59:52 PM

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of this liberty;...

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