COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Service: Women
Nurse Investigated for 'Sedition' After Writing Letter to Editor
E&P Staff, Editor and Publisher
February 11, 2006
NEW
YORK Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) has asked Veterans Affairs Secretary
James Nicholson for a thorough inquiry of his agency's investigation
into whether a V.A. nurse's letter to the editor criticizing the Bush
administration amounted to "sedition."
Merely opposing government policies and expressing a desire to change
course "does not provide reason to believe that a person is involved in
illegal subversive activity," he said. Bingaman said such
investigations raise "a very real possibility of chilling legitimate
political speech."
Laura Berg, a clinical nurse specialist for 15 years, wrote a letter in
September to a weekly Albuquerque newspaper criticizing how the
administration handled Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq Wwr. She urged
people to "act forcefully" by bringing criminal charges against top
administration officials, including the president, to remove them from
power because they played games of "vicious deceit." She added: "This
country needs to get out of Iraq now and return to our original vision
and priorities of caring for land and people and resources rather than
killing for oil....Otherwise, many more of us will be facing living
hell in these times."
The agency seized her office computer and launched an investigation.
Berg is not talking to the press, but reportedly fears losing her job.
Bingaman wrote: "In a democracy, expressing disagreement with the
government's actions does not amount to sedition or insurrection. It
is, and must remain, protected speech. Although it may be permissible
to implement restrictions regarding a government employee's political
activities during work hours or on government premises, such employees
do not surrender their right to freedom of speech when they enlist in
government service."
He said he wants the matter investigated so V.A. officials will have guidance about handling similar situations in the future.
Berg signed the letter as a private citizen, and the V.A. had no reason
to suspect she used government resources to write it, according to the
American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, which last week asked the
government to apologize to Berg for seizing her computer and
investigating her.
V.A. human resources chief Mel Hooker had said in a Nov. 9 letter that
his agency was obligated to investigate "any act which potentially
represents sedition," the ACLU said.
Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico, told The
Progressive magazine: "We were shocked to see the word 'sedition' used.
Sedition? That's like something out of the history books."
In a press release, Simonson also said: "Is this government so jealous
of its power, so fearful of dissent, that it needs to threaten people
who openly oppose its policies with charges of 'sedition'?"
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