For 791 years, ever since King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede, the crown jewel of English common law and later our own system of law under the U.S. Constitution, habeas corpus, has reined supreme. Now, because of their unnecessary fear of a few ragtag terrorists, a disbelief in, and an unwillingness to follow the Constitution, Republican lawmakers have overturned the single most important protection of law available to our citizenry. F.D.R. was correct, all we have to fear is fear itself. Now the President of the United States has unlimited, unrestrained powers to imprison anyone he simply dislikes. All he has to do is lie about that person, and that person can be deprived of freedom, property, and even life. How is this different from any other despot ever known in history? This hour of shame is cast upon all of us. The law King George signed today takes away our freedom of dissent because of an artificially inflated sense of fear promoted by a Republican administration determinedly seeking to continue in positions of political power that they are clearly are ill equipped to perform. Now the United States is no different from the very worst of nations anywhere on the planet. Another George, George Orwell, predicted this time of nightmare and gave us a warning in his book, “1984”. Remember the slogans from that book: War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. The decision has been made that the strongest nation on earth, with the largest military establishment on earth, is unable to militarily defeat our miniscule terrorist enemies. The decision has been made that we could not defeat the terrorists because we were so constrained by our own laws. Instead of finding a way within the law, we have now instead changed the law, and have irretrievably embarked upon a journey to become like our enemies. If copying someone is the highest form of flattery, Osama must be chortling in his beard. He said that he would destroy us, and now he has enlisted the aid of our own politicians to do his dirty work. Nikita Khruschev and the USSR military couldn’t do it. Osama ben Laden is doing it. The facts are that King George W. Bush has now seized all the powers of life, unlimited and unrestrained imprisonment, torture, and death over non citizens and citizens alike. Hail the King! Bow low ! Grovel. Abase yourself, or you could lose all your rights. To merely disagree is to risk all. There is no limit to which these craven Republican cowards will go. Look at what they have already done to people who dared to disagree with them. Their past performance does not bode well for our future when all the restraints on their behavior are removed. Next they’ll be water boarding Democrats attempting to run for office. Today October 17th, 2006, Black Tuesday, is the most shameful moment in the history of the United States of America since its founding. Sand Creek, Wounded Knee, broken treaties, and the last helicopter out of Viet Nam were simple child’s play compared to suspension of a basic tenant of our Constitution and placing the lives of our citizens under the irresponsible whim of a clearly deluded President surrounded by hordes of incompetent, pandering “yes” men. Yes, there have been times when habeas corpus has been suspended before. Those were clear instances of immense immediate national danger. President Lincoln did it during the Civil War. The United States is not in any sense in that kind of danger today. We have a problem of how to deal with non-military combatants captured on the battlefield. Why can we not simply say that since they were out of uniform of a recognized military organization of a nation state, that they are spies, and quickly and quietly execute them and then dispose of the bodies? We are only one small step away from internal destruction by politically motivated accusation. If the powerful currently in office don’t like you, or do not wish to relinquish their power, or desire your holdings, or possessions, or just find you standing in the way- then they’ll accuse you of aid to terrorists to destroy you. There is no power so habituating as that of unlimited power. We are very close to reverting to a time when, like that before the Magna Carta, the only right was that belonging to the mighty.
(c) Copyright 2006: George Wallace recently published a book on religion which lashes out at nearly all of the comfortable ideas about God, the trappings of organized religion, and the priesthood. His pithy comments and suggestions for a return to a God-centered personal religion will interest everyone. This article may be freely reprinted so long as all copyright attributions, and the full content of this resource box are included. www.OhGodIsThatYou.com
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