Viet Dinh, Assistant to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for Legal Policy, U.S. Justice Department:

"Our job here is to defend freedom."

Don Feder, Syndicated Columnist:

"Don't you just hate it when the war on terrorism interferes with political correctness and liberalism's equality fetish?"

Katie Corrigan, Attorney for the ACLU:

"This backdoor national ID would require a massive national database of highly sensitive information available to every [Department of Motor Vehicles] in the country. This would be ineffective in the fight against terrorism and represent a dangerous threat to our freedoms."

Bob Levy, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute:

"I think it’s a commentary on how smart the framers were. They didn’t create a country run by polls. There are certain rights, like privacy, that 51 percent of the people can’t take away just because public opinion has shifted in the heat of the moment."  

Sulaiman Al-Hattlan, Saudi journalist and political analyst:

"America now has a moral imperative to remain the same: a land of personal freedom, a place of diversity and a dream for millions of a bright future."

Thomas L. Krannawitter, The Claremont Institute:

"The challenge we face today is ignorance regarding the conditions of freedom, and all that is required to preserve freedom from threats both foreign and domestic. The elite opinion in America -- from the most distinguished professors in our most distinguished universities, to political intellectuals and pundits, to those in the media and Hollywood -- would counsel us to talk with our enemies rather than killing them."

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani:

"Although I have to leave you as mayor soon, I resume the much more honorable title of citizen of New York, and citizen of the United States."

Tate Preston, vice president at Datacard Group:

"In the 19^th century, it was sufficient to ask who you are. In the 20^th century, it was sufficient to show who you are. In the 21^st century you will have to prove who you are."

Ted Olson, United States Solicitor General:

"These individuals are tyrants, and so they hate democracy. They are bigots, zealots, and persecutors, and so they hate America’s freedom tolerance, and respect for all people. The terrorists of Sept. 11 live and flourish in darkness. They cannot survive in the liberating and inspirational sunlight of American freedom and democracy."

George W. Bush, President of the United States:

"Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat."

Representative Barney Frank (D — Massachusetts):

"The rights of the people who have done terrible things are hard to defend. You have to keep pointing out, the question is the process to determine whether they’ve done the terrible things."

United States Attorney General John Ashcroft:

"To those who pit Americans against immigrants and citizens against noncitizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve."

United States Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist:

"In any civilized society the most important task is achieving a proper balance between freedom and order. In wartime, reason and history both suggest that this balance shifts in favor… of the government’s ability to deal with conditions that threaten the national well-being."

Alexander Hamilton, writing on national security powers in Federalist No. 23:

"These powers ought to exist without limitation… The circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are infinite; and for this reason no constitutional shackles can wisely be imposed on the power to which the care of it is committed."

Supreme Court decision in the case of Korematsu v. United States:

"…hardships are part of war, and war is an aggregation of hardships. All citizens alike, both in and out of uniform, feel the impact of war in greater of lesser measure. Citizenship has its responsibilities as well as its privileges, and in time of war the burden is always heavier."

Former Representative Bill McCollum (R — Florida)

[A new all-encompassing national identification system] "contradicts some of our most sacrosanct American principles of personal liberty and expectations of privacy and is far in excess of what is needed to provide us with the security and protections we all want."

Representative Tom Tancredo (R — Colorado)

"Unfortunately, there are some in this country who believe both individually and institutionally that our Star-Spangled Banner represents something less than freedom, liberty and defiance in the face of our enemies."

United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia:

"The court's job is to uphold the Constitution and you don't call that off in times of crisis. Would the framers have allowed this practice?"

President of the United States, George W. Bush:

"Our citizens have new responsibilities. We must be vigilant. ...We will defend the values of our country, and we will live by them."

Irwin H. Schwartz, President of the National Association of Defense Lawyers:

"We call ourselves a nation of laws and the test of a nation of laws is whether it adheres to them in times of stress."

Representative C.L. "Butch" Otter (R — Idaho):

"This [anti-terrorism bill] is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech and the Fourth Amendment protection of private property… Some of these provisions place more power in the hands of law enforcement than our Founding Fathers could have dreamt and severely compromises the civil liberties of law-abiding Americans. This bill, while crafted with good intentions, is rife with constitutional infringements I could not support."

Representative Ron Paul (R — Texas):

"The insult is to call this a ‘patriot bill'… I thought it was undermining the Constitution, so I didn’t vote for it — and therefore I’m somehow not a patriot. That’s insulting."

Representative Bernie Sanders (I — Vermont):

"I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and I’m concerned that voting for this [anti-terrorism] legislation fundamentally violates that oath."

Elizabeth McLaughlin, September 11 widow:

"I don’t think contributors to the various September 11^th funds thought that their donations would be caught up in so much red tape and become a source of frustration to families."

Representative W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R — Louisiana):

"Well, just keep in mind the Red Cross is a federally chartered institution. They can only go so far and, at some point, if they continue to persist in the notion that they can raise money for one purpose and use it for another, they may just find themselves in big trouble."

Representative Ron Paul (R — Texas):

"America’s heart and soul is more embedded in our love of liberty, self-reliance, and tolerance than by our foreign policy, driven by powerful special interests with little regard for the Constitution."

Pat Buchanan:

"Either we abandon the utopian globalism of open borders and ‘ally-ally-in-free’ immigration or we lose the war on terrorism and our freedoms with it."

Nat Hentoff:

"But the crucial question is: How many Americans care what is happening to their liberties? Does the Constitution matter? The new anti-terrorism law, signed by the President, is the worst attack on the Bill of Rights since World War I."

Michael Rao, President of Central Michigan University:

"The university’s removal of any items considered offensive or vulgar by some is not condoned. The university is taking steps to assure students in the residence halls that their right to post materials and express opinion on their room doors is protected."

Donald Rumsfeld, U. S. Secretary of Defense:

"I recognize the need to provide the press -- and, through you, the American people -- with information to the fullest extent possible. In our democracy, the work of the Pentagon press corps is important, defending our freedom and way of life is what this conflict is about, and that certainly includes freedom of the press."

Representative Bob Barr (R–Georgia):

"It is a key balancing act we have to engage in as a nation right now. It would be very easy to forget about personal liberties and worry only about the national security."

Former President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower:

"Freedom from fear and injustice and oppression will be ours only in the measure that men who value such freedom are ready to sustain its possession — to defend it against every thrust from within and without."

President of the United States George W. Bush:

"We will plant that flag of freedom forever by winning the war on terrorism, by rallying our economy, and by keeping strong and adhering to the values we hold so dear — starting with freedom."

Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan:

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

Representative Ron Paul (R – Texas):

"I believe only a free society can ever be truly secure. The goal should be to make terrorists feel threatened, not the American people."

Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert (R –Illinois):

"It's not our intent to close up shop. We're going to be here and do the work. You know, one of the things the terrorists would love to do is to take away our freedom, our liberty, and part of that freedom and liberty is have elected people elected by the people to do the work in this nation. And we're not going to relinquish that duty."

Senator Russ Feingold (D — Wisconsin):

"It is crucial that civil liberties in this country be preserved otherwise the terrorists will win the battle against American values without firing another shot."

George W. Bush, President of the United States:

"The danger is here now not only from a military enemy, but from an enemy of all law, all liberty, all morality, all religion. For us, too, in the year 2001 an enemy has emerged that rejects every limit of law, morality and religion."

Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense:

"They died then because of how they lived as free men and women, proud of their freedom, proud of their country and proud of their country's cause, the cause of human freedom."

Nat Hentoff:

"Americans have only the dimmest notion of what their constitutional freedoms are — and what it took to get them…[and] the willingness to surrender what we’re supposed to be fighting for is a recurring part of our history."

Senator Robert C. Byrd (D— West Virginia):

"We must, therefore, be as constant in our vigilance of the Constitution as we are strong in our battle against terrorism."

Representative Bob Barr (R—Georgia):

"Let us not rush into a vast expansion of government power in a misguided attempt to protect freedom. In doing so, we will inevitably erode the very freedom we seek to protect."

House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R — Texas):

"We will not violate people’s basic rights as we make this nation more secure."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D—Vermont):

"We’ve won wars before and we’ve certainly retained our rights as Americans."

Senator Judd Gregg (R — New Hampshire):

"I think the terrorist attacks have shown us we need to have adequate access to what’s going on with people who are basically evil and directing that evil at us as a country, and we can handle it without undermining our freedoms."

Senator Max Baucus (D—Montana):

"This does not mean that we can allow terrorists to alter the fundamental openness of U.S. society or the government’s respect for civil liberties. If we do so, they will have won."

Senator Jeff Sessions (R—Alabama):

"We need to give them [the Justice Department] as much power as we can without eroding fundamental liberties."

Representative Bob Barr (R — Georgia):

"What we must avoid is the impulse to hastily approve wholesale changes to search and seizure, surveillance, immigration and other laws in an understandable but misguided attempt to thwart future attacks."

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D—Michigan):

"If we quickly cast aside our constitutional form of government, then the enemy will not be the terrorists, it will be us."

House Majority Leader Dick Armey:

"We are a democracy. What we are trying to save is our civil liberties."

Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D - Michigan):

"We must ensure that these acts of terror do not accomplish in a "slow burn" what the fires of the World Trade Center and Pentagon could not — subversively destroying the foundation of our democracy."

Rep. Bob Barr (R - Georgia):

"It is a key balancing act we have to engage in as a nation right now. It would be very easy to forget about personal liberties and worry only about national security. I don’t want to do that."

Rep. Frank D. Lucas (R — Oklahoma):

"If we were going to be absolutely safe we’d have to restrict people’s freedoms to the point that it wouldn’t be America anymore."

Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III:

"We can meet this terrorist threat without trampling the Constitution here or at home. In fact, the goal of the enemy would have us trample our constitutional rights. We don’t have to do that."

David Keene, President of the American Conservative Union:

"Before Congress opts to increase our security by trading off the freedoms that make this nation unique, everyone ought to step back and take a very deep breath."

Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary:

"The people who committed these acts are clearly determined to try to force the United States of America and our values to withdraw from the world. Or to respond by curtailing our freedoms. If we do that, the terrorists will have won. And we have no intention of doing so."

United States Attorney General John Ashcroft:

"We’re going to do everything we can to harmonize the constitutional rights of individuals with every legal capacity we can muster to also protect the safety and security of individuals."

1st Amendment

Victor Davis Hanson, Farmer, Classicist and Military Historian:

"Our institutions, if they do not erode entirely, can survive periods of decadence brought on by our material success, eras when the whole notion of civic militarism seems bothersome, and in which free speech is used to focus on our own imperfections without concern for the ghastly nature of our enemies."

Representative Barney Frank (D — Massachusetts):

"Take free speech: most of the tough cases on free speech involve very unpleasant people saying very obnoxious things."

Kevin J. Hasson, President of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty:

"The Framers of the [First] amendment never intended to hobble religion, only to avoid the establishment of a particular religion. A few days after writing his famous letter on the Wall of Separation, Thomas Jefferson attended Sunday church services in the House of Representatives."

Stuart Biegel, Professor at the University of California at Los Angeles:

"In times of war, there has been a willingness among Americans to give up some rights — to honor curfews, martial law and even restrictions on speech… the filtering of Internet message boards is all a part of this."

Stephen Killeen, President of Terra Lycos, Provider of Online Message Boards:

"The sentiment in the United States changed on September 11 about what’s acceptable and what’s not in terms of what you can say… [In the past] we would err on the side of ‘If it’s distasteful, let it stay,’ Now we err on the side of ‘If you want to post this kind of information you don’t have to do it here.’"

James Bopp, Minnesota GOP counsel on Republican Party of Minnesota v. Kelly:

[The case] "goes to the very core of the First Amendment: the right of the people to associate with, to listen to, and to speak with candidates for elective judicial office.’"

President of the United States, George W. Bush:

"The press in America has never been stronger and never been freer and never been more vibrant, sometimes to my chagrin, and a lot of times to my delight."
"I’ve been trying to tame our press corps ever since I got into politics, and I’ve failed miserably. They get to express their opinions sometimes in the form of news."

U.S. Federal District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel on the French barring the sale of Nazi memorabilia on Yahoo!:

"Although France has the sovereign right to regulate what speech is permissible in France, this court may not enforce a foreign order that violates the protections of the United States Constitution by chilling protected speech that occurs simultaneously within our borders."

Patriotic Street Artist Mike McNeilly:

"There is always someone trying to control art… They want final say over not only the content, but the message and the medium too, if you know what I mean. I say the government has no business being involoved in art, and I am lucky enough to have the means to fight them."

Jailed Writer Vanessa Legget:

"But for the near future at least, maintaining my journalistic freedom will mean sacrificing my personal liberty."

Thomas Jefferson:

"Freedom of speech cannot be limited without being lost."

"The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government and to protect its free expression should be our first object."

"One of the amendments to the Constitution... expressly declares that 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,' thereby guarding in the same sentence and under the same words, the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press; insomuch that whatever violates either throws down the sanctuary which covers the others."

"The right to hold one's own views, and to think and to decide for oneself on any question, is an essential right for a free people. A person is free to believe anything he wishes, even if in error, and may not be persecuted nor denied the right to hold public office for those beliefs. The First Amendment protections for freedom of religion, of speech, of the press and of assembly, all together protect the Freedom of Conscience."

Benjamin Franklin:

"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."

James Madison:

"The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable."

John Milton, English Poet, Writer:

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."

George Washington:

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

Hansell B. Duckett, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court:

"What this country needs is more free speech worth listening to."

Hugo L. Black, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court:

"Criticism of government finds sanctuary in several portions of the 1^st Amendment. It is part of the right of free speech. It embraces freedom of the press."

Dissenting opinion in a ruling that forced a person summoned before a congressional committee to answer the question, "Are you a member of the Communist Party?" 1961

Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice, US Supreme Court:

"Free speech carries with it some freedom to listen."

Majority opinion in ruling forbidding the closing of courtrooms to the press. 1980

William O. Douglas, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court:

"Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience?that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance."

Dissenting opinion in ruling that banned sale of obscene books. 1957

"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."

Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, US Supreme Court:

"The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech."

Mark Twain, Author:

"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either."

Eugene Debs, US Labor Organizer:

"I realize that there are certain limitations placed upon the right of free speech. I may not be able to say all I think, but I am not going to say anything I do not think."

Bergan Evans, Author:

"Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt."

Barbara Ehrenreich, Author:

"We who officially value freedom of speech above life itself seem to have nothing to talk about but the weather."

Floyd Patteson, US Boxer:

"It's not so bad for politicians and Pulitzer Prize poets and certain intellectuals in this country to sign petitions and speak out against the war in Vietnam, but when Cassius Clay did it he paid a heavy price for freedom of speech."

On Muhammad Ali being stripped of the World Heavyweight crown. 1966

Abbie Hoffman, Political Activist:

"Free speech means the right to shout 'theatre' in a crowded fire."

Colin Powell, Secretary of State:

"Free speech is intended to protect the controversial and even outrageous word, and not just comforting platitudes too mundane to need protection."

David Mamet, Playwright, Director:

"Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself."

Katharine Graham:

"The First Amendment gets strengthened by exercise."

Liberty

Kimberley A. Strassel, Wall Street Journal editorialist:

"The lynx scandal" underscores everything that’s wrong with Fish & Wildlife and the Forest Service. It shows how the agencies succumbed to a Clinton-era culture that puts ideology ahead of science. It demonstrates the undue influence environmental groups hold over the departments. It also shows how vaguely written laws like the Endangered Species Act can be used to further political agendas, even in the complete absence of hard science."

"Currently the road most Americans seem to want to take is the road to government control in the belief than government can give them more security without diminishing their liberty. Of course, that is not true. If Americans turn to government to secure their freedom at the expense of the constitution they will lose it. The Constitution and the first ten amendments -- the Bill of Rights -- make it plain that the Founding Fathers had no faith that government could be trusted to guard the rights of individuals. It is well to remember that under the Constitution government does not give us our rights; they are our birthright. It is government's job to protect those rights. Unfortunately government too often moves instead to limit them."

Alexander Hamilton, former President of the United States:

[In the event of war, Americans would] "resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe they, at length, become willing to run the risk of being less free."

Bill Gates, Founder and Chairman of Microsoft Corporation:

"When we face a choice between adding features and resolving security issues, we need to choose security."

Judge John Goger, Georgia Supreme Court:

"However well-intentioned this legislation [banning video poker machines] may be, it must be doomed. The law criminalizes a game when it is being played and operated as a game. This is the sort of lawmaking [that] poses a real threat to liberty. . . . Exposing innocent conduct to criminal prosecution because of the difficulty and expense associated with defining the illegal conduct is a dangerous precedent for crime and punishment. If approved on this occasion, the state might one day choose to employ this method of lawmaking again, and the next time the conduct might be something not quite as unpopular as gambling."

Michael Gersick, Lobbyist for the California Hearths and Home Association on the City Council of Berkley, CA banning log burning fireplaces:

"Fireplaces have been a symbol of the family since we lived in caves. I’m not ready to let someone else decide which of my domestic pleasures can be taken away from me without proof of harm."

Tony Snow:

"Risk is the inevitable product of liberty — and it's responsible not only for great tragedy, but also great triumph."

Pat Buchanan:

"The notion of a world government to defend our rights would have sent the founding fathers running for their muskets."

U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R — Texas):

"Because the American people champion liberty, more people in the world live free today than at any time in history. Yet, there is more to be done and it is America who will lead the way."

Charlton Heston:

"We are all Americans. And as Americans, we have a duty to protect the freedoms that make our union the example and the envy of the world.">

Senator Orrin Hatch (R — Utah):

"There’s no question that this country is not going to tolerate an abuse of constitutional principles."

United States Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson in his dissent on the 1949 Terminiello case:

"If the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact."

Senator Tom Daschle (D — South Dakota):

"I think the issue of civil liberties is very, very important to every member of our caucus. We’re trying to find the right balance, of course, between protecting civil liberties and ensuring that law enforcement has the tools it needs to do its job."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Pearl Harbor Day:

"When I think back to all those around their radios, as my family was that day in our living room, I am reminded that they were not only brave, but smart. In addition to physical courage, they had moral courage — the kind of courage needed to acknowledge reality, to learn from the tragedies of the past, to assess the future, and then to make all those sacrifices of time, money and self that are needed to live free."

Adlai Stevenson:

"When an American says that he loves his country, he means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect."

David Blunkett, British Home Secretary:

"We can live in a world with airy-fairy civil liberties and believe the best in everybody — and they will destroy us."

United States Solicitor General Ted Olson:

"What can possibly be wrong with the aspiration that moved the founders of this country to believe that people are entitled to self-determination, the right to choose their system of government, the right to freedom within an orderly and secure society, and the maximum liberty to pursue happiness and fulfillment?"

Thomas Jefferson:

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Edmund Burke:

"The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience."

Thomas Payne:

"When the government fears the people, it is liberty. When the people fear the government, it is tyranny."

Samuel Adams:

"Liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals."

Former President of the United States Ronald Reagan:

"We commit our resources and risk the lives of those in our armed forces...to prevent humankind from drowning in a sea of tyranny."

Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, 1960:

"I cannot agree with those who think of the Bill of Rights as an 18th century straitjacket, unsuited for this age. The evils it guards against are not only old, they are with us now, they exist today. Experience all over the world has demonstrated, I fear, that the distance between stable, orderly government and one that has been taken over by force is not so great as we have assumed."

Supreme Court Justice William Brennan:

"The framers knew that liberty is a fragile thing, and so should we."

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge:

"We must also reject the false choice of liberty versus security. We can and must have both."

John Quincy Adams:

"Posterity -- you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis:

"Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards. They did not fear political change. They did not exalt order at the cost of liberty."

Douglas MacArther:

No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.

Benjamin Franklin:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."

Ramsey Clark:

There is no conflict between liberty and safety. We will have both or neither.