bye bye american pie

Sept. 29, 2006

Bye bye American Pie

Do you remember learning about the Magna Carta when you were in grade school? Faint recollections of it being the basis of modern law should stick in your brain. Since 1215 the writ of habeas corpus has been the corner stone of human rights. That is a person, any person has the right to appear in court and face their accuser. The Republican congress over threw that law yesterday. In a real sense, George Bush is now a legal dictator. He can throw any body he wants to in jail without any due process.
This aberration of the constitution and Geneva Convention was supposedly done to fight terrorism, but in process destroys our democracy. Consider that presidents take an oath to ‘protect the constitution’. Bush turns that around and says his job is to protect the people and shreds the bill of rights in the process of playing on our fears. ‘Give me liberty or give me death’ is no longer our battle cry.
Bush is essentially covering his ass, because of the war crimes he has already committed. The privilege has now been granted him to torture with impunity. So-called enemy combatants could be someone who donates to a Muslim relief organization, a clergy person who is a peace advocate, or non-violent protesters. Now (innocent until proven) people can be disappeared (rendition) without a trace and tortured without recourse.
Politicians who opposed this bill are called unpatriotic and weak on terror. I would say supporters of this bill are saboteurs of the constitution and strong on fear. We are no longer the land of the free and home of the brave, but land of the restrained and home of the afraid.
I am greatly saddened and would say vote these scoundrels out of office, but of course we are faced with the specter of two stolen elections already. Touch screen voting eliminates a paper trail and any evidence of a fair election. Diebold machines are easy to program to fix the vote. Honestly, I feel pretty helpless, I can only pray and dialogue and hope and call my congressperson and carry a sign.

BOMB IRAN –NO!!!!!

ps the Democrats have since won congress, but the privitazation of elections still looms as a danger to democracy,
'caging' is a repubilican trick where they mail certified letters to black disticts and if the letters are returned they remove them from the voting roll, most of these people are democrats and many are soldiers in IRAQ