The Man of God

John David Ashcroft, Attorney General

May 9, 1942 Born in Chicago, IL where his family had moved to be nearer to the world headquarters of the Assemblies of God church, part of the Pentecostal fundamentalist movement. He remains a devout Pentecostalist to this day. Among the Assembly of God's teachings: homosexuality is evil and causes disease; Christians should not make friends with non-Christians; people should avoid all "sexually suggestive forms of media and entertainment"; speaking in tongues is a necessary component of salvation; Jesus isn't just coming, he's coming to take over the world; mixed-gender dancing leads to evil and should be avoided; the government of the state and its laws should be predicated on the teachings of the Christian bible.

1964 Graduates from Yale.

1967 Receives law degree from the University of Chicago in 1967.

1985-1993 Serves as Governor of Missouri.

2000 Loses bid for re-election against then Governor Mel Carnahan, who died in an airplane crash about two weeks prior to the election.

2001 Is nominated as Attorney General by George W. Bush and finally approved by Congress after contentious debate.

Oct 26, 2001 Ashcroft's Patriot Act I is signed into law. After 9/11 the act is defended as a necessity in the fight against terrorism and there is little Congressional debate. It gives sweeping new powers to the government including: the right to freely monitor the activities of political and religious groups without a criminal pretext; restrictions on open hearings and the public's right to receive information through the Freedom of Information Act; permission to monitor conversations between lawyers and suspects; the ability to detain Americans in prison indefinitely without trial or criminal charge.

Jan 2002Orders that the "Spirit of Justice" statue in the Department of Justice Great Hall be covered by $8000 curtains because it has one exposed breast.

July 2002 Suggests the creation of Operation TIPS, a proposed domestic program in which government employees would inform on suspicious behavior they encounter while performing their duties. The program is criticized in the media as an encroachment on the First and Fourth amendments; and the U.S. Postal Service balks at the suggestion, refusing outright to participate. Ashcroft defends the program as necessary component to the ongoing war on terrorism but the proposal is eventually abandoned.

Feb 11, 2002 Ashcroft's office confirms that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft did indeed say, "Islam is a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for you."

Feb 7, 2003 Patriot Act II is leaked. If Ashcroft gets his wish, Patriot II will: dramatically loosen restrictions on secret government surveillance of citizens, including on phones, e-mail and bank accounts; add a "deport at will" option allowing the Justice Department to circumvent inconvenient immigration laws; expand terrorism investigations to allow the Department to revoke the rights of anyone within six degrees of separation of an actual terrorist act; criminalize the use of encrypted e-mail; increase the list of federal death-penalty crimes; allow the government to desecrate the graves of deceased victims of terrorism without permission from families; restrict access to information about corporate pollution and environmental crimes.

Sep 15, 2003 In a speech before the National Restaurant Association, Ashcroft declares: "No one believes in our First Amendment civil liberties more than this administration."