A federal judge has set a new precedent for the apparent elapse of civil rights in this… A federal judge has set a new precedent for the apparent elapse of civil rights in this time of terror.

The judge issued a subpoena to Drake University, a private school in Iowa with 5,000 students, demanding records about a forum called “Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!” held there Nov. 15, 2003 — a forum that included nonviolence training for those who would be attending a rally at the National Guard headquarters the next day.

It asks for “all documents indicating the purpose … in the meeting and … persons that actually attended the meeting … and any records of attendees of the meeting.” The subpoena also requests all records relating to the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a legal activist group that sponsored the forum.

It is shocking to see the federal government commit such an egregious violation of the rights to free speech and assembly, to see it engage in such draconian measures against some kids who want to raise what they see as legitimate concerns over the conduct of their government.

This behavior smacks of McCarthyism, of Big Brother watching closely over any who would dare dissent. Of course, this subpoena and all such anti-civil rights actions are being cloaked in the black-and-white ideology of resistance to terror: if you’re not with us, you’re with the terrorists. That kind of unwavering unwillingness to see nuance and to allow differing opinions to see the light of day has no place in America today.

It’s disturbing to see such abuses being perpetrated, and perhaps more disturbing that this news isn’t being trumpeted the world over. It’s subtle and nefarious, perhaps the way the government wants it to be.

America is supposed to be a beacon to the world, an example of why democracy is the finest form of government. We are supposed to be an example of human and civil rights, a force for good in a world of chaos.

In light of evaporating evidence of weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime — one that didn’t allow for any civil or human rights — is being foisted upon the public as the reason for the war. While that may or may not be a good reason for the continued occupation of Iraq, it’s certainly a stark irony in comparison with America’s own shrinking and cherished civil rights.