410 Comments

Thank you again, Mr. Rather, for another remarkable piece. My sister's father-in-law from CA was put in a camp in Utah, and her future mother-in-law's family was relocated to Texas. Thanks to Chinese friends, they did not lose all their property, which years later sold for enough (millions) to ensure a nice retirement for them. They are still alive and well in the Bay area -- about 5 years older than you. While the $20K was nice, it did not make up for the horrific land grab that occurred during this shameful period in history. Many families lost everything. The Smithsonian had a wonderful exhibit on this many years ago -- around 1990.

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Forget great. Let's work on making America kind again.

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Thank you, Dan. Please keep sharing your extensive knowledge and experience of history that as many as possible can be informed, reminded, and encouraged not to repeat injustices of the past nor create new ones for present and future.

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When did we get so cruel????

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I hate to be so negative, but, unfortunately, it isn't a new phenomenon.

It almost seems as though Americans are at their best when there is a catastrophic event, such as 911, and then we just go back to the unfortunate status quo, everyone for themselves. It is everywhere

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An excellent lesson well told. One wonders why the Alien and Sedition Acts weren't repealed after the Supreme Court's decision. Same applies to the Comstock Act of 1873. When we talk about a dysfunctional Congress the reference is usually to an inability to enact new legislation or fulfill minimum requirements like passing a budget instead of a Continuing Resolution, but the potential abuse of these laws illustrates the problem when Congress doesn't police its own past performance and clean up the act. Another area needing attention is the large number of Authorizations for the use of Military Force still open and available for abuse.

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Thank you for the history lesson.

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Diversity is a strength not a weakness!

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Another mark of shame upon our country. One in which we vilify fellow human beings in order to boost our importance and influence. Shame shame shame. Not for first time and not, sadly , for the last. We should appeal to God, The Great Spirit, Nature and Harmony NOW.

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It's time to abolish the Alien & Sedition Act, which has been weaponized selectively, over multiple centuries, to harm entire classes of people, or vocal individuals who advocate views unpopular during crises, such as wartime. Eugene Debs, a prominent labor activist and Socialist, was jailed for years for merely saying that WWI was a capitalist tool! Journalists Max Eastman and Emma Goldman, who held similar liberal views, were also thrown into prison for opposing the war. Not unlike the Patriot Act, the law is, on its face, discriminatory, and designed only to enable governmental over reach.

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Thank you for the history and civil liberties lesson. I guess now is the time to up the monthly donation to the ACLU. This was a perfect reminder of our strength in times of adversity.

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Very cool. Also interesting: if you do some searches on 'women code breakers World War 2 cryptography' or similar words, you'll find that there was a large contingent of brilliant, totally unrecognized African-American women who made vitally important contributions at Arlington Hall VA and other government cyber cracking installations (like a U.S. Bletchley Park). They were kept segregated and their names hidden after the war. They should be rewarded by some public recognition.

John T. Cullen JTC Sheep Heil!

johntcullen.substack.com

https://www.johntcullen.com

https://www.galleycity.com

MARA Make America Real Again

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He will fail in all he attempts. That is certain. That is Trump's track record. Never lose sight of just how incompetent he is. Never forgive his enablers.

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Thank you Dan Rather for this reminder of the fragility of freedom and also for paying honor to Mitsuye Endo who courageously fought to correct this atrocity done to American citizens who happened to be of Japanese ancestry.

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Thank you Dan and Team.

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Dan, your commentary is spot on! It portrays the incoming regime as cruel and so very un-American! Shame on those you allowed this to happen!!!!

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A about 10 years ago my husband and I vacationed to San Francisco. We visited Alcatraz of course but we also visited Angel Island, known as the Ellis Island of the west. They detained about 80 thousand Japanese during the war. I remembered that it saddens me that America was so shallow and cruel.

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