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Sunday, April 25, 2004

Unbrandish and Carry

Here's a letter I sent to David Lillehaug, former U.S. Attorney and cohost of TPT's "Face to Face" TV show.

Dear David,

Not sure if this came up in one of your shows, but in a newspaper commentary a while back, you wrote that the new Conceal and Carry law is so lax that a person can legally sling a rifle over his or her shoulder and walk down the street, as long as he or she doesn't brandish the weapon. If this is true, then I think it would make a great protest statement, as long as it is sufficiently publicized to head off a tragic overreaction by law enforcement or vigilante citizens. If a real stir is desired, time the protest to coincide with a visit from the President. This should drive home the point that the cowboy Republican mentality makes the country less secure for everyone.

Thanks,
Tom Cleland

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

The Iraqi Newspaper shut down by the US

Why did the US shut down the Iraqi newspaper Al Hawsa? The following quote is what I have so far:
"If the Coalition forces are going to keep on presenting us with such messages... they can just dream about any sort of end to terrorism. And they can also dream that we will stay quiet and step down from what we believe."

This quote, by itself, can be interpreted in different ways. To me the first sentence just says that terrorism will probably continue, not that anybody should initiate it, and the second sentence just says that people will not stay quiet, which could mean nonviolent protests.

It sounds like there's more context to the Al Hawsa statement. Does anyone know how we can get a copy of the whole article? Did Al Hawsa print other things that could be considered seditious?