By Senator Charles R. Duke Colorado District 9 SAY GOODBYE TO THE BILL OF RIGHTS The air had hardly cleared from the bombing at Centennial Park in Atlanta when the major networks were quoting an unnamed FBI source as blaming "some nut case, or militia" as the probable responsible party. This is similar to their behavior following the Oklahoma City bombing and has even been mentioned following TWA Flight 800. Is it likely or even probable that the militia could have been involved in any of these incidents? Although it is certainly possible, in that no one has yet been convicted for any of these crimes, this writer has seen no evidence that would even implicate someone from the political right. In fact, history tells us it is much more likely that bombings are a tool of the political left. What are the characteristics of militia that diminish the probability of their participation in violent activities? First and foremost, most militia believe strongly in our Constitution. It is the Second Amendment that gives citizens the right to keep and bear arms. A strong belief in our Constitution also means a belief in the other parts, as well. One can not pick and choose those elements of our Constitution that we wish to follow and those we wish to ignore. The only way one element of our Constitution has any value is if the entire document has value. It is all or nothing. Either the entire Constitution applies or none of it applies. A prime goal of most legitimate militia is the restoration of the entire Constitution. The idea that one could violate the Constitution in order to restore the Constitution is ridiculous. Those who blame the militia for these logically nonsensical views know little or nothing about the militia. Most militia are also deeply religious and incorporate Christianity as their guiding ideology. Religious pursuits have certainly been the cause of more deaths than practically any other. Terrorism itself is essentially a way of life for religious factions in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and a myriad of other places. But terrorism is counter to the teachings of Christianity, which fosters "turn the other cheek" and "walk the second mile" as personal philosophies. A Christian can not be true to his or her religion and simultaneously promote violence. To believe in both is a contradiction. Bombings, however, are a proven favorite tool of terror for the extreme left in most societies around the world where such threats exist. In the U.S. in the 1960's, the Students for a Democratic Society, through their radical faction, the Weathermen, used bombings as a means to effect radical political change. Calling themselves the New Left, SDS participants strongly opposed the Viet Nam War and advocated the use of LSD, marijuana, hashish, and mescaline as social catalysts. Other occult pursuits, including mysticism and witchcraft, were frequently followed by those in the movement. More recently, the accused Unabomber suspect, Theodore Kaczinski, has been clearly identified as being from the extreme political left. The writings of the Unabomber, who is yet to be proven to be Kaczinski, advocate an end to America's rampant consumerism and to our technology-based economy. If America were to adopt these changes, it would certainly represent radical change of the status quo, which virtually defines the political left. In contrast, there is no known case anywhere in the United States of a militia member being involved in an act of violence. Even in our nation's most tragic bombing case to date, the Oklahoma City bombing, suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols have no known connection with militia, or any other group in the political right, anywhere. Could this attempt by the media, 92% of whom are shown by surveys to align themselves with the political left, and some in Congress and the Administration, some of whom were youths in the '60s, to focus on our nation's right hand be just a smoke screen to deflect our attention from asking what our left hand is doing? The data from occurrences in our nation's past strongly suggest this just might be the case. Your Bill of Rights is about to be trashed by the United States Congress as the liberal extremists there seek new and creative ways to make government stronger under the colors of combating terrorism. House Speaker Newt Gingrich stated on national television following the Atlanta bombing that President Clinton could not ask for terrorist legislation strong enough that it would not be supported by the U.S. House. The sad part is that not one act of terrorism will likely be averted by virtue of the sacrifice, because conceivably the wrong people will be blamed. End