"Reichstag fire, the burning of the Reichstag (parliament) building in Berlin, on the night of Feb. 27, 1933, a key event in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship and widely believed to have been contrived by the newly formed Nazi government itself to turn public opinion against its opponents and to assume emergency powers. Hitler had secured the chancellorship after the elections of November 1932, but his Nazi Party had not won an overall majority. He therefore obtained Cabinet consent to fix new elections for March 5, 1933. Meanwhile, his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, is supposed to have devised the scheme whereby 10 agents led by Karl Ernst were to gain access to the Reichstag through a tunnel leading from the official residence of Hermann Goring, Reichstag president and Hitler's chief minister, who was then to conduct an official investigation, which would fix responsibility for the fire on the Communists. The supposed arsonist was a Dutchman, Marinus van der Lubbe, whom some have claimed was brought to the scene of the crime by Nazi agents. Others have contended that there was no proof of Nazi complicity in the crime, but that Hitler merely capitalized on van der Lubbe's independent act. The fire is the subject of continued debate and research."[1]

"On Feb. 28, 1933, the day after the fire, Hitler's dictatorship began with the enactment of a decree "for the Protection of the People and the State,"which dispensed with all constitutional protection of political, personal, and property rights. Though the ensuing elections still did not give the Nazis an outright majority, they were able to persuade the Reichstag to pass an Enabling Act (March 23) whereby all its legislative powers were transferred to the Reich Cabinet by a vote of 444 to 94, so sanctioning the dictatorship."[2]

The Reichstag itself was the supreme legislative body (lower chamber) of the republic of Germany until 1949. In 1934, the Reichsrat, the upper chamber representing the German states, was abolished, along with the sovereignty of those German states.[3]

German philosopher, George William Friedrich Hegel's (1770-1831) dialectic --  "The mind arrives at the truth by a dialectical process (usually known as the 'Hegelian triad') composed of three recurrent stages" -- a theory based on Socratic-influenced principles which held that every human idea contains its own internal contradictions (thesis v. antithesis) that must struggle to create a new idea (synthesis).  In Hegel's view, this dialectic process was also the means by which humans forge history [4].

Out here in the country, I have heard it observed that no matter where you live, most folks know more about sports and/or entertainment than about our government, our elected representatives, or our own constitution.

On Friday, October 26, 2001, our President signed into law The USA Patriot Act, HR3162.

"Today, we take an essential step in defeating terrorism while protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans," Bush said during [the] signing ceremony.

But wait......Congress and the US Supreme Court had been out of telephonic and electronic communication with the entire country for over a week, dismissed due to an Anthrax scare at Tom Daschle's office, October 15. [5][6]

On October 22rd, Congress was told to return and representatives were instructed to approve HR3162, a bill no one had heard of before October 23.  The American people had not even heard of this bill, nor did they, until the actual signing ceremony on October 26.

 Earlier, October 3, there had been talk of another bill, HR2975 (here). On Monday, October 22, 2001, however, despite the anthrax chaos, there were four House versions of HR 2975, also called the Patriot Act. No one who returned to work October 22 knew which version or parts of those versions would be introduced. On October 23 the House introduced HR 3162. On Wednesday Oct. 24th the House passed HR 3162 (357-66). The American Public at large had absolutely no opportunity or time to read the House-passed version HR 3162, nor to comment or debate the bill's provisions before it was sent to the U.S. Senate the next day, where it was immediately passed by a vote of 98-1 as a Conference Report.  Legally leapfrogging over usual delays and procedures, on October 26, President Bush signed the 'USA Patriot Act' into law. [7]

Most American people were actually unaware of HR3162's  existence until we heard about it on Friday morning October 26, just before the presidential signing ceremony broadcast by TV affiliates around the nation.  There was no time to question our congressional representatives concerning it, either, nor was there any way to get a hold of them telephonically or electronically.  Efforts by members of congress to obtain copies HR3162 were stonewalled by the very committee that wrote [HR3162]. [8]

John Dean, former White House counsel, writes, "There is a concept in the legislative process called "regular order." It is the time- tested procedure to make certain that our laws are carefully considered. The USA PATRIOT Act was jammed through the House and Senate, with those calling for regular order being labeled unpatriotic."[9]

In fact, most of the congressmen who voted on it, never saw a copy of it before it was signed into law, Friday, the 26th.  And it should be noted that because of the anthrax scare both the House and Senate document rooms that track legislative bills were not open for the public to call to learn about HR 3162. [10]

In an interview with Washington Times Insight reporter Kelly O'Meara, Republican Representative from Texas, Ron Paul, stated that at the time congressmen were asked to approve a bill they had not heard of previously, HR3162 had not even been printed.  And members of the House could not read it before they were compelled to vote on it.  While observing that most of HR3162's provisions had little to do with fighting terrorism, representative Paul went on to say how he believed the bill's curious unavailability was somehow connected to its particularly offensive nature, specifically section #213, which gives the federal government unbridled ability to spy on anyone without first obtaining proper search warrants. [11]

Why should so important a document be kept out of reach and away from scrutiny?  And what about that imperative for Congress to approve the bill anyway?  As a writer, I feel certain that any document 30,000 words long, containing 1000+ highly technical sections, would take a long time compose.  It would be about the equivalent of writing and editing Gone With the Wind.  Reading and considering such an important piece of legislation with 1013 sections should take even longer.  To have accomplished all of this in four days time seem impossible, let alone 24 hours.  Yet we are being expected to believe that this is exactly what Congress was able to do.

(Chronology of  HR3162 is given at: http://www.ala.org/washoff/patriotchron.html)

FYI, there are currently two excellent web sites which contain the complete USA Patriot Act for your own scrutiny.  Could it be that the content of The USA Patriot Act is questionable?  It is my hope that every Amercian citizen read and familiarize himself and herself with this bill. Of its incredible length and curious origins, however, I find most notable are the ABSENCE of  "sunset clauses," vital to the reversal(s) of certain constitutional suspensions.  While there are some sunset clauses in technically benign areas, their absence from certain significant sections, is startling. [12]

For those of you with inquisitive minds, the Thomas Law web pages includes HR2975, S1510, & HR 3162, in their entirety, as well as the other legislation.  However, on Infowars.com, you will find a critical analysis of several particularly odious sections of HR3162.  (Infowars is a favorite web site for substantiating the credibilty of media-proffered data.  It is a vast, meticulously informative, scrupulously researched, highly opinionated, website---though not for the faint-hearted).

We should all learn what The USA Patriot Act truly says, for this legislation affects us all, and will affect our children.  It may not be what it has been cracked up to be.  Don't rely on what you hear to inform you.  Don't believe me. Read it for yourselves.   If we the American people, can take time to learn the vital statistics of our favorite sports and entertainment icons, should we not be at least as knowledgeable of our own constitution?

ANTITHESIS = President sets up Homeland Defense, hastily signs U.S. Patriot Bill (without congressional foreknowledge while they are excused from work and contact due to anthrax scare), sends the bulk of our military might overseas (to fight a war congress did not officially declare), leaving US soil and US borders insufficiently protected.

SYNTHESIS = our government accepts Russian, Chinese, and other foreign troops on US soil,  NATO AWACS planes flying overhead [13] patrolling US "regions" , government eagerly anticipates mass protection (vaccination) against anthrax, small pox, hoof and mouth; sets us FEMA "holding facilities, promotes face scanners and national ID cards to further insure our safety (aka, Smart Cards, already in use in the military), microchip implants, aka, Digital Angel, etc., released to public,
November 2001, in our cell phones, automobiles, and humans*.
"Keep track of your children and loved ones, pedophiles and criminals, with Digital Angel!!!"

(*Advanced Digital System's Digital Angel microchip can be implanted right in your doctor's office.  It is about the size of a grain of rice.  Insertion under the skin doesn't even require stitches.  When activated by a radio scanner, the chip would emit a radio signal of its own form under the skin which would transmit stored data to a nearby Internet-equipped computer, or via a telephone.  Future versions will emit a tracking beacon and/ or serve as a form of personal ID.) "There are enough benefits that outweigh the concerns people have about privacy," claims Applied Digital Chairman and CEO Richard Sullivan." [14]

"Some see new opportunities for high-tech security after the highjacking attacks on New York and the Pentagon killed nearly 3,300 on September 11.  The attacks brought new support for the use of such technology by government and more interest in its future commercial applications." [15]

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PART 1(1/25/02) --"Frogs in the Pot..."

PART 2 (2/02/02) --"The Man Who Would Be King"

PART 3 (4/24/02) --"Our Search for Global Order"

PART 4 (5/01/02) -- "May Day, May Day"

PART 5 (5/13/02) -- "Telling Truth by Her Flower"

PART 6(6/03/02) -- "Going Back to the Garden"

PART 7 (8/06/02) -- "Heaven on Earth"

PART 8 (9/12/02) -- "The Real War Being Waged Against Us"

PART 9 (12/31/02) -- "New Year's Eve Memories of 2002"

PART 10 (01/12/03) -- "Live Now--Pay Later"

PART 11 (02/19/03) -- "Patriot Act 2 and Concentration Camps"

PART 12 (02/21/03) -- "Things Have Become All Too Clear..."

PART 13 (3/19/03) -- "Not Too Clear for Some..."

PART 14 (3/26/03) -- "My Mind is Clearer Now..."

PART 15 (4/1/03) -- "Clearly Green"

PART 16 (5/20/03) -- "A Constitutional IQ Test"

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