Disciples of the Dragon: The R-13 factor

From the onset of history, mankind has struggled against tyranny. To speak of the past as the good old days of sensible government and our for fathers marvelous intentions is fashionable.

Knowing the truth, and still believing , is demented. From the time when Mennonites were imprisoned for refusing to fight the Indians in the Colonial era, to the high tech Fascism and seizure without trial today.

Americans and America have been in a struggle for power whether this is just human nature, a conspiracy, or the trail to Armageddon is yet to be seen.

Life in pre-revolutionary America had its own forms of repression. On May 13 1725, Massachusetts passed the New Worlds first official censorship law. It prohibited newspapers from publishing anything relative to war without government consent. When the English colonies began conscription, the Quakers and other religious pacifist where arrested for refusing to fight Indians. Roger Williams, of Massachusetts was convicted of crime and banished from that state for offense of a political nature

'Public Occurrences' a newspaper published by Benjamin Harris was closed by the government in 1690. The Boston City council took offense at his portraying a negative image of colonial life. On independence day July 4 1797, the Senate passed three bills . These became law and would be known as the Alien and Sedition acts. The laws were composed of the Alien Friends Act. Which allowed the president to deport any alien that was judge dangerous to peace.

The Alien Enemies Act allowed deportation of any Alien from a country with whom we were at war. Aliens were never deported under these acts.

The Sedition act was seemingly enacted to thwart criticism of the pro federalist Adams administration. The act criminalized criticism of the president, but not the Vice president Thomas Jefferson a leader of the anti federalist movement. This act led to the arrest of two dozen, and seventeen prosecutions of anti federalist.

First arrested was an anti federalist congressman of Vermont, Matthew Lyons. He was fined $1,000 and sentenced to four months in Jail. While in Federal prison he ran a re-election campaign. He won by a two to one margin over his federalist opponent.

A member of the NY state assembly, Jediah Peck , was also arrested. His crime was circulating a petition asking for the repeal of the sedition act.

Thomas Adams editor of the Anti federalist Boston Independent Chronicle, the second most important paper to the anti federalist movement, was arrested, but died before his trial.

The bill terminated on the last day of the Adams Administration. When Jefferson became president he pardoned all those prosecuted on the sedition act.

Yet Mr Jefferson wasn't so kind to his political opponents. Two years after the pardons six of Jefferson's political opponents were indicted under Common Law Seditious Libel.

Jefferson also motivated the impeachment of Samuel Chase. Based on Mr Chase' statement attacking the Jefferson Administration. The editors of the Port Folio newspaper were indicted, as was the editor of the federalist paper The Wasp. Forty years later Congress reimburse the editor of the wasp for fines paid.

Matters returned to relevant normal for that period of time. A time that forbid women the right to vote. The time of oppression and genocide of the Indians. A time of slavery of African Americans.

A time of virtual slavery for the poor whites called indentured servants. etc etc.

During the Civil war, the first confiscation act passed congress on August 6 1861. Under this act, slaves where taken but not freed. They became property of the Union government general Hunter, Union commander of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida issued an order saying, all slaves under his command be set free. Lincoln heard of this order, and revoked it. Lincoln returned the previously freed slaves to slave status.

On July 17 1862 the second federal confiscation act passed. This act freed the slaves of rebel confederate states. It had no effect on the slave states that stayed in the Union.

After the Civil war the congress took a bold step to intervene in state affairs. Subverting states rights. Congress dissolved several state legislatures and replaced them with a military Government.

This was due to the fact these states blocked the reconstruction plans of the federal government. Congress also passed legislation barring the Supreme Court from having appellate jurisdiction of habeas corpus petitions arising under the Reconstruction act.

A Mr McCradlle was jailed by a military government. He had brought a Habeas Corpus action to the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the government action. The Supreme Court upheld its Habeas Corpus limitation in 1869.

In 1877 President Hayes sent troops to Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Missouri to break rail strikes. The Troops again were dispatch by President Cleveland to crush the 1895 Pullman porters strike.

On June 15 1917 Congress enacted the Espionage Act. This law is still active today. This act gave the government the power to punish any anti-war commentary or opinion.

On June 12 1919 Attorney General A Mitchell Palmer requested that Congress give $500,000 to fight radicalism. Congress approved the money on the 19^th of July. Palmer then announced the creation of the General Intelligence Division (GID) to monitor alleged radicals.

Socialist Victor Berger of the Milwaukee Leader served as the first elected Socialist member of congress 1911-1913. Because of socialist beliefs, however he was indicted under the Espionage Act in 1918. The Congress refused him a seat by a 391 to one vote. A new election was ordered Berger again won his seat, and Congress again refused him a seat. Still another election was held. Berger won his seat by an even greater margin. The governor of Wisconsin refused to hold another election fearing burger would win again. Berger was never seated.

In 1924 the GID Became the FBI. J Edgar Hoover became director. Hoover claimed that the new FBI would not spy on innocent people, as had the GID. But on August 23 1936 Roosevelt Ok'd the first domestic spying done by the FBI.

On Jan. 2 1920 2,700 'dangerous' radicals in thirty three states were rousted. Weapons seized were three pistols, and 3 bombs, which were actually iron bowling balls, thirty-nine people were arrested at a meeting that was held or organize and plan the set up a co-op bakery.

By 1921 33 states passed Red Flag statues. These laws barred anyone from displaying red flags, or any other anti government symbol. Upton Sinclair was arrested for reading the 'Bill of rights' at a San Pedro rally.

By 1924 there where 121 known political prisoners in the United States. Finally, in Gitlow Vs New York the Supreme Court for the first time ruled that the First amendment applied to state governments. The ruling, however did not secure freedom of speech for very long

J. Edgar Hoover formed the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in May of 1938. Many years later president Truman would say of the HAUC "The House of Un-American Activities is the most Un-American thing in America."

From 1945-60 HAUC issued 5,000 subpoenas, five times greater then all other committees combined. HAUC also questioned 3,000 witnesses, at two hundred thirty public hearings, Of one hundred eighty seven contempt charges of Congressional committees, one hundred and seventy four came from HAUC. One hundred and forty two failed in the courts. Un-American thoughts included, such as

absolute social and racial equality, eradication of private property rights, believing in the abolition abolition of inheritance, belief that the duty of the government was to support the people. Such thoughts though disliked by many Americans, freedom of thought is constitutional.

Among the friendly witnesses called by HUAC was Matthew Cvetic. He finger three hundred as communist or communist sympathizers. Mr Cvetic was later found to be mentally ill. Another witness an FBI informer who proudly boasted he lured his friends and his family into the communist party, then bust them.

HAUC published a report claiming the new left and black liberation movements where prepared to mount an armed insurrection. The report recommended the use of the Smith Internal Security Act's concentration camps provision to temporally imprison those who held unpopular beliefs. When attempting to validate HUAC charges adequate evidence could not be located.

On 1941 Hoover intensified his attack on the NAACP. To satisfy this end, the FBI used one hundred and fifty informers. Eight hundred bugs, and three thousand wired taps. They also obtained NAACP membership and financial records.

In Minneapolis in 1943, 18 members of the Socialist Workers Party where convicted of belonging to a subversive party. In a 1950 decision the Supreme Court ruled that the government should have guidelines for fighting radicalism. This decision led to the banning the writings of Thomas Jefferson from government libraries during a period of time when this ruling was in effect.

After the end of the war (WWII) Attorney General Tom Clark, asked the FBI to an emergency detention program for dissidents. In 1948 26,000 citizens were identified for arrest. Another list was made in 1972 15,000 names for summary arrest. Between March1947 and December 1952 the FBI conducted over six and one half million security investigations on peaceful Americans citizens.

In 1947 the President vetoed the Taft Hartly Act. Congress overrode this veto. Taft Hartly was an act that would control the power of the labor movement.

In 1948 twelve communist party members where indicted under the Smith Act of 1940. The Smith Act, also known as the Alien Registration Act.

The McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950, according to Truman's statement when he vetoed , would put America in the thought control business.

The Landrum-Griffen Act of 1957 lumped together the crimes of robbery, murder, rape, and being a member of the communist party equally.

The 1954 Communist Control Act outlawed the communist party. Not to be out done by all this, President Truman started a loyalty program for Federal workers by the issuing of E.O. 9835, resulting in 2,200 Federal employee's being fired, and 4,315 resignations.

To further disrupt the communist party operation Cominfil was to infiltrate the party. Operation Hoodwink turned the mob against organized labor.

In 1947 and 1950 the CIA gave money to the Corsican syndicates who controlled the heroin trade. The money was given in order to break Italian Unions.

Restricting Public access to documents by two Executive Orders. Harry Truman's E.O. 10290 of Sept 25 1951. Extended the military secrecy classification to certain civilian police agencies. These classifications were Top secret-security, Information-secret, Security Information-Confidential, security information restricted.

On November 10 1953 a revised classification system took effect with Dwight D Eisenhower's E.O. 10501. This included only three Top Secret, Secret, and Confidential. The Atomic energy act 1954 added a fourth Restricted Data. The FBI and other Agencies had their own classification system, Strictly Confidential, Sensitive, June, and even Do Not File.

Hoover attempted to provoke La Cosa Nostra to kill Entertainer/Civil rights proponent Dick Gregory. On March 25 1965 in Selma, Alabama Viola Liuzzo, a white mother of three, was killed by a carload of Klans men. FBI informant Gary Thomas Rowe was a member of that group. Rowe was placed in the Witness protection program, even thought evidence points to Rowe as the killer.

In 1964 Congress passed a weak Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). The act allowed the withholding of documents for national security reasons. FOIA was strengthen in 1974 to include a provision causing an agency to prove the release of information would be a threat to national security.

Nixon's E.O. 11652 of March 8 1972 weaken FOIA by changing the act so that information would not be released that could be reasonable expected to do damage to national security. On June 2 1977 the Justice Department sent out a memo saying the FBI could not exempt information from released documents just to hide illegal activity.

Carters E.O. 12065 (7-3-78), required anything that was classified as confidential would have to show identifiable damage to national security. If damage could not be proved the document could not be classified. Thus again strengthening FOIA.

Reagan greatly weaken the act once more by signing E.O. 12556 on April 9 1983. This action allowed the FBI to withhold information as they saw fit.

Under both liberal and conservative administrations, over many decades of freedom, personal rights, have continually been Jeopardized. This has been especially so with people who have thoughts, ideals, and morals that run counter to the power structures wishes.

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