Ashcroft: Religious, political groups could be watched

By The Associated Press

12.03.01

WASHINGTON — Attorney General John Ashcroft warned yesterday that religious or political groups normally free from government intrusion could be monitored by agents if they are suspected of engaging in terrorism.

"People who hijack a religion and make out of it an implement of war will not be free from our interest," he declared as government officials took to the Sunday news shows to debate America's new anti-terrorism police powers.

"We're going to do what we need to do to protect the American people," Ashcroft said on ABC's "This Week" when asked whether restrictions designed in the 1970s to protect religious and political groups from government monitoring were being eased.

"If a religion is hijacked and used as a cover for killing thousands of Americans, we're interested in that," he said.

"We will respect the rights of political freedom and religious freedom, and we are deeply committed to that,” he said. “But for so-called terrorists to gather over themselves some robe of clericism ... and claim immunity from being observed, people who hijack a religion and make out of it an implement of war will not be free from our interest."

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2001

Answers

Yea a little 8 year old comes to my door selling cookie dough! Says its for school. Boy pretty shady to me! I'm wondering why the dough and not the cookie? I smell a terrorist threat!! Our president warned us to be on lookout so I jump into action! I throw her to the ground and put my foot in back of her neck! She puts up a fight but I finally manage to take all that terrorist money from her!!!! I don't need no FBI!!! I'm sending the loot to the young Republicans cause thats the only honest group to me!!!!.....Kick butt ..Kirk

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2001

Too funny Kirk.

Meantime, I am so alert it is becoming a health hazzard. Anyone else?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

Anytime I hear about anyone telling the American public that "we are doing it for the public good . . .", I get awfully nervous. I would love to tell the "public servants" to please just run the country, and leave me the heck alone, I can deal with the "people out to get me" using my own wits.

Yeah Anne, between the terrorists out to get us, computer hacker viruses out to get our computer files, and telephone "courtesy calls", I am becoming a curmudgeon before my time.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

Nah, I'll never let the collective bastards get me down, of course living in the boonies helps relieve alot of the worries, but that is the primary reason we moved here, too many idiots doing too many idiotic things too close to us!

Of course, there are always those pesky airliners that could fall out of the sky on us, about the same chance as an asteroid hitting us I gather :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

My church denomination has been socially active for hundreds of years. I'm sure being on the FBI list is nothing new for it. Nevertheless, this sounds like a blanket excuse to get all over Islam. What a weird world we have become.

I wonder how those strict Constitutionalists who voted for Bush feel about this twist (among many) compared to those executive orders, etc., that Clinton was making that made them so uncomfortable?

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

That bastion of journalistic integrity, the New York Post, ran an article last month stating that the anthrax letters were sent by an extremist Pagan group located in Indiana. They retracted the story the next day. We do have a group in southern Indiana called the Elf Lore Family (ELF) which is sometimes confused with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). I do know that the FBI has contacted Elf Lore Family at least twice since the story broke, as well as our local representatives of Pagan Pride Day, Alternative Religions Education Network, and Witches Against Religious Discrimination.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

I can't even count the number of groups I belong to that could probably be considered a threat by the gov, since that's usually their reason for existing in the first place.......to protest government policy. It's not gonna shut me up, but I think the whole thing is very very sad, especially when I read the polls that keep indicating how almost everyone cannot see the forest for the trees. I hope they're made up; its awfully depressing to think people are really that gullible.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

I guess I am doomed!!! I would sooner melt into the landscape than join the "shrub club" so I imagine I would be considered a real "threat" if I were not such a chubby old Mennonite.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001