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Previously: Democracy and the Constitution Democracy in America Conservatives and Christianity CS Hall of Fame |
I guess nothing surprises me anymore. The Republican Congress along with the Cheney administration has now officially done away with the right of habeas corpus, and few people even seem to care. Last time I looked, that's a right that is guaranteed in the Constitution of this country. Or I guess I should say "was guaranteed". I even seem to recall that the lack of habeas corpus was one of the main reasons why we fought the Revolutionary War 200+ years ago. You have to wonder why it was so important back then, if we can do without it so easily now. So we now live in a country where the President can throw anyone he likes in to prison and throw away the key, for absolutely no reason at all. All he's got to do is declare you a terrorist, and you disappear. And of course in this day and age of "You're either for us or against us" that pretty much makes anyone who disagrees with the President fair game, doesn't it? Good thing we've got that huge budget surplus so we can build a lot of new prisons to hold all these people. And just to make sure there was no doubt left about the type of country we now live in, they have also legalized torture. So not only can they throw anyone they don't like in prison for no reason at all, they can also do to you pretty much whatever they want to in the way of torture, as long as they don't kill you. Virtually every civilized country in the world has adhered to the Geneva Conventions for over 100 years -- and in all fairness, I guess you have to say that all "civilized" countries still do. What with the right of habeas corpus now gone, and torture of prisoners a standard fare, one can hardly call us "civilized" anymore, can you?
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