I am not sure I see anything fascist about Lancie's post, he stated what does happen in wartime and the reasoning behind it.
We did fight against the Taliban in Afgnanastan therefore they are considered prisoners of war and treated according to the Geneva convention. Al-Qaeda members and others captured in war zones have been accorded rights to the courts, personally I am not sure I agree with this but it was decided in a courtroom. My main reason for disagreement would be based on the fact that aggressive and violent acts by a group or groups of people with a possible membership that exceeds that of many countries is pretty much an act of war.
We are on the verge of a new century with new things happening. What happend on 9/11 was different from anything in the past and it will take time to figure out how to deal with it and the reasons behind it.
We the people want out rights but we want "protection" at the same time. The government will always have problems of there being a fine line it should not, but does, cross at times.
Do any of you realize that the police can now enter your home without a warrant by declaring it to be a scene of domestic violence? That does not mean the arguement has to be in the house either, you can just make a comment from your yard to a neighbor, argue with your wife or have a couple of kids get into a fight, which happens if you have more than one child. There does not have to actually be any violence just the appearance there could be.
For the most part I agree with Steve but in my case I do not remove any President or political party from the equation. When it comes to "texas tea" as it was called then ALL parties and presidents will attempt to obtain and keep possession of any they can. WHY, because as was mentioned in another thread Americans want their big cars etc so must have the oil. As I mentioned earlier they all have financial investments and as Peter said, invest in oil or energy, its the hotcake these days.
I think what is happening in the US and the world in general is on a larger scale then many of us realize. There is a push, that is not really talked about, that is leading to not just a Global economy but a Global government. I have yet to determine how this would work or what the outcome would be like.
What I do see, in the US, is a strong move to discredit any President that is making an effort, the sad part is that many are making mistakes or what appear as mistakes that allows this to progress. An even stronger move is being made to remove or discredit religion altogether, the funny part about that is I am not religious but the thought that people may not have a right to choose to believe scares me. If you look closely you will see that new laws or acts are being created that take from the citizens and gives more to those from other countries.
As for the telco thing that is just more political maneuvering, think about it. If you buy a car you have a driver's license, tag, and title, your personal infomation is registered with the government. If you vote and/or register with the draft your personal information is registered with the government. If you have a Social Security card, your personal information is registered with the government. IF you own, or are purchasing a home, your information will be registered with the government. Go on the internet and you can find published numbers and addresses for anyone in the US, for 19.95 or so you can get unpublished numbers, cell phone numbers, and much more.