October 31, 2002

Senator Wellstone's Memorial Service and other thoughts

A lot of disgust with the Democrats' handling of Senator Wellstone's death and the associated memorial service can be described by one word hypocrisy. The Democrats trounced on Coleman for attacking Mondale before the funeral, and then used the occasion of the funeral to conduct a campaign rally. It wouldn't even surprise me if I heard that they wanted a donation to be invited.

But here's another instance: Remember how John Ashcroft was vilified for saying that he was going to allow the FBI to monitor religious and activist organizations, in the name of fighting terrorism? My reaction to that was "well - I don't really like spying, but FBI agents are citizens, and are free to visit and join churches and organizations, so how are they going to keep them out if they don't want them there?" Given the support given to eco-terrorist groups by groups like PETA (link), I'd kindof like to see some more undercover work being done, actually.

Well, for all the vilification of John Ashcroft, what does the Unitarian Universalist Association recommend its activist-members do? Monitor (i.e. spy on) the Religious Right! I like these two the best, especially since they most closely match what the FBI is doing:


  • Monitor Religious Right activities by dropping in regularly to read bulletin boards in Christian bookstores, or by visiting a conservative fundamentalist church in your local area.

  • Listen carefully to conversations in public places.

Posted by joelfuhrmann at October 31, 2002 01:15 PM
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