Speech at Hyden, Kentucky
Speech at Hyden, Kentucky
Kenneth Stepp gave a speech to approx. 120 people March 4, 2006 in Hyden, Kentucky slamming illegal warrantless wiretaps, holding prisoners indefinitely withut charges being brought against them, mistreatment of prisoners, and allegations of holding noncombatant women as hostages in the "War Against Terror". Stepp said that those tactics of the Republican administration are against "truth, justice, and the American way." Specifically, Stepp said that the Federal Government has created a special "wiretap court" of special judges [appointed by the President] who rule on nothing but wiretap applications, and that of approx. 19,000 applications for wiretaps,they have denied them only four times. Nevertheless, Stepp complained, the Republican administration has not been satisfied with that "rubber stamp court" and has been making illegal wiretaps without seeking nor getting any warrants for the wiretaps. Concerning the prisoners being held without charges brought against them at Guantanamo Bay, Stepp said that the government should either bring charges against them or release them. Concerning mistreatment of prisoners, Stepp applauded that there had been criminal prosecutions for mistreatment of prisoners by Americans, but added that we should be sure that we do not mistreat prisoners in the future. Concerning hostages, the Democrat added that it had been alleged that the U.S. government had taken as hostages the noncombatant wives of suspected enemy soldiers in Iraq, to make it easier to capture their husbands; Stepp said that taking hostages is contrary to "the American way" and should not be done.
The Democrat added that education is the way to prosperity both for the individual and for the nation. Stepp pledged to support more revenue sharing from the Federal government to the local school boards for education, and to support more Federal money for Pell grants to support higher education.
http://steppforcongress.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_steppforcongress_archive.html