Governed by Fear

In his first inaugural address in 1932, President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously warned: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." His was a positive vision of a future in which fear would be put in its place by a society that believed in itself. Today, whether through color-coded terror alerts, the specter of mushroom clouds, or the fears of new global pandemics, our political leaders seem intent on inciting our fears.

But what does it mean to govern by fear?

In the last of NY Salon's series of conversations about fear in contemporary society, The Nation's Christopher Hayes, The Economist's Megan McArdle and Sociology Professor Frank Furedi will discuss the social, cultural, and political dimensions of fear in a special talk this Tuesday in New York City, March 20, 7:00 to 8:30pm, The New School, New York City

Featuring:
Christopher Hayes, Puffin Writing Fellow, Nation Institute; Contributing Writer, The Nation
Frank Furedi, Professor of Scoiology at the University of Kent in Canterbury
Megan McArdle, Countries Editor, The Economist
Moderated by Jean Smith, Director, NY Salon

Click here to read speakers papers and for further info.

Repeal 2006 Military Commissions Act

[from] NC Coalition for Peace and Justice Listserv
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 (text online at thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c109:4:./temp/~c109IVm4h3::), passed late last year, abolishes habeas corpus for citizens and non-citizens alike and legalizes torture.
Demand that it be repealed by signing the Durham Bill of Rights Defense Committee's petition to NC politicians, online at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/stopMCA/petition.html

There are paper petitions at Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill, and soon at The Peoples Channel, the Durham Food Co-op, and elsewhere. There will be a Durham BORDC meeting Saturday afternoon (there is also a Chapel Hill BORDC branch).

The petition is focused on politicians representing the Triangle, but anyone can sign, and it would help if interested people elsewhere in the State start petitions or campaigns as well.

The text of the petition is:
We oppose the Military Commissions Act of 2006. This is an unjust law that violates the basic human rights of citizens and non-citizens. It does away with habeas corpus rights (to a prompt court hearing to determine whether one's imprisonment is legal, to know what charges have been brought, and to have legal counsel). It also gives the executive branch power to allow interrogation techniques that violate the Geneva Conventions and human decency. No one should be subject to arbitrary arrest or to detention without a prompt and fair trial, and no one should, under any circumstances, be subject to torture.

Michael Pollock