Over the last two decades, and increasingly since 2001, there has been a trend to turn over our precious liberties to Big Government and Big Business in the hope of being protected from our external enemies (and the non-establishment enemies such as drugs, street crime, pornography, etc.) by a benevolent Decider. Even the 700 year old right of Habeas Corpus, dating from King John's reluctant signing of the Magna Carta, has come under attack, by the government of our own nation. And surprisingly, even the opposition party, which normally upholds the individual rights of "average" citizens, has not objected strenuously, being afraid of the accusation "soft on terrorism" as they were of the accusation "soft on Communism" in the 1950's.
Has it not occurred to anyone in the opposition party that, if the provisions already in the law (but not in the Constitution, which does not matter if the Supreme Court is rigged to approve them, or never sees a test case) were fully used, by this or any future President (of either party), electoral approval would be irrelevant? For example, if Nixon had been able to use the Patriot Act, or its reauthorized (and strengthened) version, or the Protect America Act, we would never have known about Watergate, and the innocent security guard who caught the burglars would have merely disappeared, and died in a military prison, never heard from again!
Or is it possible that key Democratic members of both Houses of Congress have already been informed that, were they to stand up to the President and vote to restore Habeas Corpus for all persons arrested without charges, they themselves or their families would be secretly marked as "unlawful enemy combatants" and thus disappear into the black hole of Guantanamo forever?
Our only hope may be the truly conservative Republicans; may they realize what may happen if, for example, President Hillary Clinton were to use these same provisions against their party's faithful in the future, and vote accordingly! Of course, they may be confident that, with the GOP control of the media, the requirements to be allowed to vote, the counting of the votes on electronic machines (e.g. Ohio), and as a last resort, the ability to arrest legally protesting dissidents as "unlawful enemy combatants", there will never be another Democratic President to worry about, despite any future changes in the will of the People.
Remember, the government that has more power to protect you also has, if it chooses to use it, more power to oppress you. Funny how the same people who worry about government taking a few extra thousand from the millionaires and billionaires as their share of creating a generally prosperous society in which to earn their money do not worry about government taking everything, i.e. liberty itself, from people of little means. Benjamin Franklin warned us that those who would give up essential liberty to gain temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. That is precisely why the Founders limited the power of all branches of government individually and as a whole.
Anyone want to discuss this? Tell me why I should be glad that the President has the power to designate anyone as an "unlawful enemy combatant" and not ever have to publish, much less prove to anyone but himself, that that person really is a terrorist, before imprisoning that person, and never has to allow that person a chance to answer any charges (if there are any).
