Courtesy of (surprised?) NPR - All things Considered, 11/16/01. Scroll down to the following, and listen to the whole thing in RealPlayer.

Civil Liberties
As President Bush proclaims the right to try accused terrorists outside the usual justice system, and the justice department detains people based mainly on their country or origin and age, NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on suspensions of civil liberties in the U.S., beginning in the nation's infancy. In 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts gave the president the right to expel any foreigner he considered dangerous, and made it illegal to write anything scandalous about the president or other officials. Other suspensions of civil liberties expanded the government's rights to question, search, detain and try people, often but not always during wartime. (12:30)

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Just goes to show, the name and character of the enemy may change, but basic human paranoia doesn't. [Btw (and Phil may back me up on this), Adams considered the Alien and Sedition Acts the worst of his Presidency.]

I found it heartening to hear at the beginning of the ATC piece that civil libertarians on both sides of the aisle are equally concerned. I hope that means a swift end to this extraordinary measure.

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