The Patriot Act: Turning Citizens Into Suspects Since 2001

If you know me personally, you might have been following the posts I made in the last few years following the Steve Kurtz/Critical Art Ensemble case. The case was thoroughly and utterly ludicrous from the beginning, and only became more so by the minute. The accusation and prosecution of Steve Kurtz was quickly followed up with the prosecution of other scientists involved with Critical Art Ensemble in an attempt to add fuel to the prosecution's ever-fizzling fire. If you ask me, it had nothing to do with the list of accusations and everything to do with the issues being researched. The defendants incurred overwhelming legal expenses and were put through four years of this mess for nothing but ever-changing invented charges, and while the court has ruled in Steve's favor, he still has a lot of trouble to go through and red-tape to deal with, and hopefully he will eventually at least get his belongings back. I have seen how that's gone before but I'll hope it turns out better for Steve. This is the kind of thing that really gets my blood boiling.

Well there are other things.....

But seriously.

Also the fact that he was put through all of this immediately following the loss of his wife.

Being busy with your own life makes it difficult to find time to do something about things like this...To my idealistic disappointment, I've learned no one can do it all. (Although it doesn't seem to steal my determination to try.) But I think it's better to do something than nothing at all. And better late than never.

I admire people who stand up for what is right, and do something even if it wasn't causing direct trouble in their own lives. That reminds me of this quote, attributed to a pastor named Martin Niemoller who lived in Germany under Hitler.

"They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

SO, with great relief on Steve Kurtz's behalf,
here is the press release I just received.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11, 2008

CONTACTS:
Email: media@caedefensefund.org
Dr. Steven J. Kurtz: (716) 812-2968
Lucia Sommer, CAE Defense Fund: (716) 359-3061
Edmund Cardoni, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center: (716) 854-1694

ARTIST CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES IN PRECEDENT-SETTING CASE
Department of Justice Fails to Appeal Dismissal
Kurtz Speaks about Four-Year Ordeal

Buffalo, NY--Dr. Steven Kurtz, a Professor of Visual Studies at SUNY at
Buffalo and cofounder of the award-winning art and theater group Critical
Art Ensemble, has been cleared of all charges of mail and wire fraud. On
April 21, Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara dismissed the government's entire
indictment against Dr. Kurtz as "insufficient on its face." This means that
even if the actions alleged in the indictment (which the judge must accept
as "fact") were true, they would not constitute a crime. The US Department
of Justice had thirty days from the date of the ruling to appeal. No action
has been taken in this time period, thus stopping any appeal of the
dismissal. According to Margaret McFarland, a spokeswoman for US Attorney
Terrance P. Flynn, the DoJ will not appeal Arcara's ruling and will not seek
any new charges against Kurtz.

For over a decade, cultural institutions worldwide have hosted Kurtz and
Critical Art Ensemble's educational art projects, which use common science
materials to examine issues surrounding the new biotechnologies. In 2004 the
Department of Justice alleged that Dr. Kurtz had schemed with colleague Dr.
Robert Ferrell of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public
Health to illegally acquire two harmless bacteria cultures for use in one of
those projects. The Justice Department further alleged that the transfer of
the material from Ferrell to Kurtz broke a material transfer agreement, thus
constituting mail fraud.

Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the maximum sentence for these charges was
increased from five years to twenty years in prison.

Dr. Kurtz has been fighting the charges ever since. In October 2007, Dr.
Ferrell pleaded to a lesser misdemeanor charge after recurring bouts of
cancer and three strokes suffered since his indictment prevented him from
continuing the struggle.

KURTZ SUMS UP END OF FOUR-YEAR NIGHTMARE

Finally vindicated after four years of struggle, Kurtz, asked for a
statement, responded stoically: "I don't have a statement, but I do have
questions. As an innocent man, where do I go to get back the four years the
Department of Justice stole from me? As a taxpayer, where do I go to get
back the millions of dollars the FBI and Justice Department wasted
persecuting me? And as a citizen, what must I do to have a Justice
Department free of partisan corruption so profound it has turned on those it
is sworn to protect?"

Said Kurtz's attorney, Paul Cambria,  "I am glad an innocent man has been
vindicated. Steve Kurtz stared in the face of the federal government and a
twenty-year prison term and never flinched, because he believes in his work
and his actions were those of a completely innocent man. Clients like him
are a blessing, and although I have had many important victories, this one
stands at the top of the list."

As coordinator of the CAE Defense Fund, a group organized to support Kurtz
from the beginning of the case, Lucia Sommer sees the end of the prosecution
as bittersweet, and like Kurtz, is thoughtful about the broader significance
of the case:  "This ruling is the best possible ending to a horrible
ordeal--but we are mindful of numerous cases still pending, and the grave
injustices perpetrated by the Bush administration following 9/11. This case
was part of a larger picture, in which law enforcement was given expanded
powers. In this instance, the Bush administration was unsuccessful in its
attempt to erode Americans' constitutional rights."

Referring to the international outcry the case provoked, involving
fundraisers and protests held on four continents, Sommer said, "The
government has unlimited resources to bring and prosecute these kinds of
charges, but the accused often don't have any resources to defend
themselves. This victory could never have happened without the activism of
thousands of people. Supporters protested, vocally opposed the prosecution,
and refused to let it go on in silence. And without their efforts at
fundraising, Kurtz and Ferrell would not have been able to defend themselves
from these false accusations."

Sommer added that the next step for the defense will be to get back all of
the materials taken by the FBI during its 2004 raid on the Kurtz home,
including several completed art projects, as well as Dr. Kurtz's lab
equipment, computers, books, manuscripts, notes, research materials, and
personal belongings.  The four confiscated art projects are the subject of
an exhibition entitled SEIZED on view at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
in Buffalo, NY, through July 18:
http://www.hallwalls.org/visual_shows/2008/show_seized.html.

BACKGROUND TO THE CASE

The case originated in May 2004, when Kurtz's wife Hope died of heart
failure as the couple was preparing a project about genetically modified
agriculture for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Police who
responded to Steve Kurtz's 911 call deemed the Kurtzes' art materials
suspicious and alerted the FBI. Kurtz explained that the materials (legally
and easily obtained basic life science equipment and two harmless bacteria
samples) had already been displayed at museums throughout Europe and North
America with absolutely no risk to the public. However, the following day,
Kurtz was illegally detained for 22 hours on suspicion of bioterrorism, as
dozens of agents from the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Homeland
Security, Department of Defense, ATF, and numerous other law enforcement
agencies raided his home, seizing his personal and professional belongings.
After a federal grand jury refused to charge Kurtz with bioterrorism, Kurtz
and Ferrell were indicted on two counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire
fraud concerning the acquisition of  of harmless bacteria for one of
Critical Art Ensemble's educational art projects. (Critical Art Ensemble is
the recipient of numerous awards for its projects, including the prestigious
2007 Andy Warhol Foundation Wynn Kramarsky Freedom of Artistic Expression
Grant, in recognition of twenty years of distinguished work:
http://www.creative-capital.org/index2.html.)

The Department of Justice brought the charges in spite of the fact that the
alleged "victims of fraud"--American Type Culture Collection and the
University of Pittsburgh--never filed any charges or complained of any
wrongdoing, and the fact that in bringing the charges the Department of
Justice was acting completely outside its own Prosecution Policy Relating to
Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud
(http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/43mcrm.htm).


For more information and extensive documentation, including the Judge's
dismissal, please visit: http://caedefensefund.org 

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anias Nin

More from Return to Love: (Marianne Williamson)

"When Michelangelo was asked how he created a piece of sculpture, he answered that the statue already existed within the marble. God Himself had created the Pieta, David, Moses. Michelangelo's job, as he saw it, was to get rid of the excess marble that surrounded God's creation.

So it is with you. The perfect you isn't something you need to create, because God already created it. The perfect you is the love within you. Your job is to allow the holy spirit to remove the fearful thinking that surrounds your perfect self."

That feels simple.
Just let go of fear.
Starve it of attention.
Replace it with something better.

Fearful thoughts create fearful actions. Ironically, fearful thoughts and (even unintentional) actions (and non-action, which is still action) many times just get you what you're afraid of in the first place.

Sometimes it FEELS difficult to let go of fearful thoughts. The actions are simple. The difficult part for me is ignoring the fearful emotions that get in the way, sabotaging any action taken by listening to all that fear in my head!! I feel safer using my mind (than my emotions) to determine which ones to accept. It's A-list-only here, darlin'! ;) Mentally, I know that it's better to act out of love than out of fear. I know that if I want the results of acting from love I have to act from love.

I didn't build my bike thinking about and shopping for rollerskates, obviously. I thought about my bike, (dreams of chain rings dancing in my head), what I wanted it to look like, what parts I want, where to get them, where to get the best deal, where to find tools, where to work on the bike, how to do it, digging around behind bike shops and in dumpsters and on side streets, going to yellow bike. Okay, I just wanted to talk about my bike. ;) It's the cat's meow. It's not fancy at all. I just put a lot of myself into thinking about it and into enjoying it. I love my bike. Back to love.

So we know that it's better to act out of love than out of fear. It accomplishes so much. So have courage and put aside the fears. Mark Twain said, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear." If you're an adrenaline junkie, add this to your list. I feel my heart racing just thinking about it. I feel the fear coming on just thinking about being less fearful. It also helps if you have a death-wish. This way you know if you don't make it, you'll just revert to where you came from. ;)

Seriously. This is what makes life exciting.

Love is not for the faint of heart.

so love vs. fear. ..... go scare yourself and then come tell me about it. ;)
I feel like my excitement battery is overflowing and going to explode.

"I saw angel in the marble and carved until I set him free" - Michelangelo

From "Return to Love", by Marianne Williamson:

"You are a child of God. You were created in a blinding flash of creativity, a primal thought when God extended himself in love. Everything you've added on since is useless."

(Emphasis added by me.) I'm not sure everything I've added on since is useless. I'm not sure what she had in mind, but what about things like self-control, and love? It doesn't always come naturally to do those things. Sometimes it's the opposite of what you'd rather do. Assuming the potential for love is naturally there, and only covered by other things, I agree- the rest of it is undesirable.

It could be argued that children are more loving.. Having less experience with fear, and fear from others, children are more innocent, and have more of a tendency to share than to protect, to love than to fear.

Do you think we are born loving and slowly become fearful, or that we are born naturally unloving?
Everyone has the potential to love, so I can't say we're born without love.

I think it would be more accurate to say that we come with the unavoidable tendency to do unloving things- to act out of fear or indifference. Which is what separates us from love. So we are infected with fear or laziness.
Another way of putting it: fear and indifference (which is the opposite of love) are sins- (sin is something which separates from God)- God is love. If you are separate from love, you are separate from God.


Whatever spiritual substance we are made of, (I don't mean our souls, but spirit) it is the same in all of us. Everything in life is interconnected. Some people believe we ARE God. Some mean that literally, and others mean it as though we are all PART of God. Are we part of God, or just LIKE God? What exactly does it mean to be made in God's likeness?

Is it that what we are formed from creates in us a reflection of the characteristics of God? Kind of like DNA?

truth and forgiveness

here is a story I like very much.

From Gopal's Eternal Brother And Other Stories for Children by Sri Chinmoy
Once there was a great king named Vishwamitra. One day he learned that there was a saint in his kingdom whom everybody adored. The name of this saint was Vashishtha, and everyone gladly touched his feet. Now, although Vishwamitra was a very great king, nobody used to come and touch his feet. People were afraid of him, and they would tremble before him. But with Vashishtha it was different. People gladly touched Vashishtha's feet with deepest appreciation and admiration. So Vishwamitra was extremely jealous of Vashishtha. Vashishtha was a very great saint. After praying to God for many, many years, Vashishtha had realised God and could speak to God face to face. Vishwamitra knew that this was the reason why everybody was adoring Vashishtha instead of him, so he too started praying to God. He prayed to God for a couple of years very seriously, often fasting but still he did not realise God. Then he became impatient. He went to Vashishtha and said, "You have realised God, but I have not been able to. I wish you to tell the world that I have also realised God, like you."

Vashista replied, "How can I say that?" "You can say it," the king insisted. "If you tell people, everybody will believe you, because you yourself have realised God. You know who God is you speak to God. Tell everyone that I have realised God. Otherwise I shall kill your children!" Vashishtha said, "You can kill my children, but I cannot tell a lie." Vishwamitra was a most powerful king. One by one he had the hundred sons of Vashishtha killed. The hundred sons were very well educated, kind and spiritual. They had studied the Vedas, the Upanishads and other religious and sacred books. Nevertheless, the notorious king killed them all. Even after doing this Vishwamitra was not satisfied because Vashishtha still refused to announce that he had realised God. After a few months he thought, "This time he has to tell the world that I have realised God, or I shall kill him!" With this idea in his mind he went to Vashishtha's small cottage. Before knocking at the door he stood outside quietly listening to the conversation inside. Arundhati, one of Vashishtha's wives, was saying to her husband, "My lord, why don't you say that Vishwamitra has realised God? If you had said it I would still have all my children. They were such nice, kind, devoted children. They were all jewels. But just because you wouldn't say that he has realised God, he has killed all my children, and who knows what he will do next!" Vashishtha said, "How can you ask me to do that? I love him. He has not realised God. How can I tell people that he has realised God? I love him and that is why I cannot tell a lie." Even though Vishwamitra had killed the hundred sons of Vashishtha, the father could still say that he loved him! When Vishwamitra heard what Vashishtha said, he came running in and touched Vashishtha's feet, crying, "Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, my lord. I never knew that anyone on earth could love a person who had killed all his children." Vashishtha placed his hand on Vishwamitra's head and blessed him. He said, "Today you have realised God, because today you know what love is, what truth is. God is all forgiveness. I am forgiving you because the God in me is forgiving you. Today you have realised God." What do we learn from this story? We learn that the ideal of forgiveness is the supreme ideal. When we pray to God we see God's qualities: love and forgiveness. When we receive love and forgiveness from God we can behave like God towards other people. Vashishtha's hundred sons were killed, yet even then he loved Vishwamitra. Then, when Vishwamitra begged for forgiveness, Vashishtha gave it immediately, as well as giving him his inner Light, Joy and Power. Like Vashishtha, we always have to forgive people when they do wrong things. In this way we give them our Light, our Truth, our Joy. From this story we also learn the importance of associating with holy men. When we are in the company of a spiritual person, even for a second, what transformation takes place in our life! Our life is changed in the twinkling of an eye.

love>fear

I don't know where to start. Anywhere might work.

I have a lot to say but I think deviants anomalous will speak for itself.
I've been reminded several times recently not to wait for the perfect moment, so here it is.
deviants anomalous is about love being greater than fear. It's about questions, honesty, progress, improvement, growth, curiosity, adventure, building bridges..and more questions. it's about the edge of everything, where you think you're a square, but the squares think you're a circle and the circles just think you're weird. and a little too square-looking. the sometimes road-less traveled, digging deeper, being real. It's about choosing love- not fear, love as activism, love in general. It's a little off-center. because the center just didn't fit quite right.

since this is the first post of 2008, which is the Year of the Rat on the Chinese calender, I will leave you with this video from Badly Drawn Boy.