On Sunday (Last week, I can be a bit slow, not that anyone reads this bullshit anyways) Venezuela’s “President” Hugo Chavez was handed a narrow defeat in is attempt to change his country’s constitution so that the power he holds over that country would actually be printed on paper. While freedom’s victory was narrow, it is none the less important victory for the people of Venezuela.
For now, Chavez’s socialist revolution has been put on hold, and the people in this country who think that his way is the right way will hopefully start to see that this bankrupt way of thinking for what it truly is. The way the people on the street in Venezuela live it.
For the freedom agenda, this stands as a huge victory. One that shows that regardless of your country, all people want to be free. Unfortunately, while democracy is celebrating her victory in Venezuela, it seems she is being clubbed everywhere else, including this country.
In Pakistan, Perevez Musharff has relinquished his outright control of the military and has announced that he will lift emergency rule on December sixteenth with elections to be held on January eight. These “free and fair” elections will take place with a judiciary that he appointed. As the opposition leaders plot there next move, there is a healthy dose of skepticism, hence talk of boycotting the election. While the best approach would be to show up and vote, then cry fowl when the election (surprise) comes out rigged they’ll have a leg on stand on. While the steps of the Bush’s number one supreme ruler are disheartening, the most egregious attacks on the constitution comes courteously of the United States House of Representatives.
On October 24 or this year the house passed H.R. 1955, the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown terrorism prevention Act of 2007. (The full text of which can be read here: H.R. 1955) H.R. 1955 passed in the House with the overwhelming vote of 405 to 6!
While there is a provision in the law, stating that the civil liberties of U.S. citizens should be protected, you see that there is plenty of gray area where the words of

“Any measure taken to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence and homegrown terrorism in the United States should not violate the constitutional rights, civil rights, or civil liberties of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents”

dissenting citizens can be used against them. Taken in its most literal translation, the law can be used against any grass roots groups to silence their views.

‘...ideologically based violence’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual’s political, religious, or social beliefs...

To give you a picture, this could possibly be enforced upon a group of union workers blocking a factory entrance, or abortion protesters blocking a woman on her way to exercise her right of choice (yes, I believe in their rights too).
We can hope that this law would not be enforced as thenewstarget article suggests, but it does give us something to think\worry about. We must do our part to fight this attack on our freedom. Something does have to be done to protect ourselves from those who want to harm us, but giving up our constitutional rights is not the way to do it.