Eshoo Obfuscation
Way back in early July I attended a town hall meeting featuring my local Congresscritter, Hon. Anna Eshoo. At the meeting she said she reads and answers all her mail, both e and snail. She also treated each question from the audience with respect, no matter how lunatic fringe it was.
So I decided to write her and ask a decidedly paranoid question. It took her almost a month, but she (almost) answered my question. Here's the email I sent:
Hello Congressperson Eshoo,
Thanks for holding the Town Hall meeting this morning, and especially for reading every question card, regardless of content. You handled them all with grace.
I have a somewhat off-the-wall question for you which came up in email from a friend who had just seen "Fahrenheit 911".
What, if anything, are the Democrats in Congress doing to prevent the Commander in Chief from seizing power by declaring martial law if the elections don't go his way? I know it sounds alarmist, and the thought of a coup in America goes against all precedents, but Bush has shown that he is willing and eager to abuse his military command, and he is, after all, doing all he can to paint John Kerry as a traitor for his anti-war activities. And he has already shown that he has no problem with locking people up and throwing away the key (Guantanamo).
and this is her answer:


So I decided to write her and ask a decidedly paranoid question. It took her almost a month, but she (almost) answered my question. Here's the email I sent:
Hello Congressperson Eshoo,
Thanks for holding the Town Hall meeting this morning, and especially for reading every question card, regardless of content. You handled them all with grace.
I have a somewhat off-the-wall question for you which came up in email from a friend who had just seen "Fahrenheit 911".
What, if anything, are the Democrats in Congress doing to prevent the Commander in Chief from seizing power by declaring martial law if the elections don't go his way? I know it sounds alarmist, and the thought of a coup in America goes against all precedents, but Bush has shown that he is willing and eager to abuse his military command, and he is, after all, doing all he can to paint John Kerry as a traitor for his anti-war activities. And he has already shown that he has no problem with locking people up and throwing away the key (Guantanamo).
and this is her answer:


no subject
It is reassuring to know that all of our little voices in the wilderness might be melding into a chorus that will have to be listened to. The alternative is more than grim.