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The last decade has witnessed a rapid and increasingly menacing escalation of attacks on core social and democratic rights. The installation of Bush as president by the Supreme Court, based on a decision to stop the counting of disputed ballots in Florida, set the stage for further violations of constitutional principles.

Exploiting the events of 9/11, the Bush administration has moved to repeal, with bi-partisan support in Congress, critical elements of the Bill of Rights. In late September 2006, both houses of Congress passed legislation authorizing drum-head military trials of so-called “alien enemy combatants” that deny defendants the protections of both the Geneva Conventions and habeas corpus.

David North, Marxist author and chairman of the editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site, will examine the relationship between war, the intensifying levels of social inequality within the United States, and the move towards police state methods of rule.

Lectures will be held in the following locations:

Portland, Oregon

Thursday, November 2, 7:30 pm
Portland State University
Smith Memorial Student Union
Room SMU 333
1825 SW Broadway

Pasadena, California

Sunday, November 5, 2:00 p.m.
Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church of Pasadena
Ross Chapel
301 North Orange Grove Blvd.