Friday, November 03, 2006
Bill of Rights, Quaint History or the Foundation of Society
by Mike Van Dam
I think the Republicans, rank and file, at least don’t really know what is going on. They trust their leadership and march in step. If a Democratic president tried to pass the legislation they have passed they would be up in Arms. I believe they are being deceived and led down the primrose path in the name of Homeland Security under the most expoited terrorist threat; they have been blinded by the Red White and Blue.
The Republicans will be horrified to learn how many rights they have lost. If the Executive, particularly under a democratic president, starts to attack their second amendment rights under the guise of domestic terrorism, with the massive power they have invested in the Executive Branch they have set themselves up for their worse nightmare.
This Administration makes a mockery of the Constitution; they have gutted the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments to detain anyone, anytime, no questions asked. They have also shown direct disdain for the 8th amendment in the claim of the necessity for cruel and unusual tactics, in dealing with terrorists. No its not punishment but it is cruel and unusual, in a prison cell and clearly not in the spirit of the constitution. They have attacked the press, 1st amendment, demanding reporters’ sources. How is it we got through the entire cold war with massive espionage and information wars, and reports were encouraged to use discrimination while coercion wasn’t necessary.
This however is only superficial to the fact that the corporate media is already greatly sanitized and either co-opted or cowed, which while we still have free speech technically, the spirit of the amendment has been broken. And with the battle over language in H.R. 5122, The Armed Forces Appropriations Bill of 2007 this year we saw the expressed desire for the authority to use the Armed Forces domestically anytime, anywhere for purposes of keeping the peace. In this way the 2nd and 3rd amendments could come under attack in short order.
In this case we have a Bill of Rights in name, but it doesn’t apply to the Executive branch of the Federal Government, for which it was specifically written to protect us from. Are we in a war on Terrorism? Indeed I think we are! We are under siege from the very source the founders of our Republic were the most concerned about. I believe we need as many Americans as possible that can be awakened from the trance of blind patriotism. And as many Americans as possible to awaken to an appreciation of the so-called Free Land we are living in.
The hard liners will try to make it a left right issue, while it is really our Bill of Rights that is at stake. Congressman Ron Paul, R Texas did not vote for the Patriot Act and I believe there are a growing number disillusioned by this administration. I think the framers of the constitution knew that someone or group would try to do this someday and they tried to defend against it. Never the less it seems that their work is now under attack. The Republicans are so hungry for power and willing to be led by fear they have cut themselves loose from the very framework that insures security for us all.
I think the Republicans, rank and file, at least don’t really know what is going on. They trust their leadership and march in step. If a Democratic president tried to pass the legislation they have passed they would be up in Arms. I believe they are being deceived and led down the primrose path in the name of Homeland Security under the most expoited terrorist threat; they have been blinded by the Red White and Blue.
The Republicans will be horrified to learn how many rights they have lost. If the Executive, particularly under a democratic president, starts to attack their second amendment rights under the guise of domestic terrorism, with the massive power they have invested in the Executive Branch they have set themselves up for their worse nightmare.
This Administration makes a mockery of the Constitution; they have gutted the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments to detain anyone, anytime, no questions asked. They have also shown direct disdain for the 8th amendment in the claim of the necessity for cruel and unusual tactics, in dealing with terrorists. No its not punishment but it is cruel and unusual, in a prison cell and clearly not in the spirit of the constitution. They have attacked the press, 1st amendment, demanding reporters’ sources. How is it we got through the entire cold war with massive espionage and information wars, and reports were encouraged to use discrimination while coercion wasn’t necessary.
This however is only superficial to the fact that the corporate media is already greatly sanitized and either co-opted or cowed, which while we still have free speech technically, the spirit of the amendment has been broken. And with the battle over language in H.R. 5122, The Armed Forces Appropriations Bill of 2007 this year we saw the expressed desire for the authority to use the Armed Forces domestically anytime, anywhere for purposes of keeping the peace. In this way the 2nd and 3rd amendments could come under attack in short order.
In this case we have a Bill of Rights in name, but it doesn’t apply to the Executive branch of the Federal Government, for which it was specifically written to protect us from. Are we in a war on Terrorism? Indeed I think we are! We are under siege from the very source the founders of our Republic were the most concerned about. I believe we need as many Americans as possible that can be awakened from the trance of blind patriotism. And as many Americans as possible to awaken to an appreciation of the so-called Free Land we are living in.
The hard liners will try to make it a left right issue, while it is really our Bill of Rights that is at stake. Congressman Ron Paul, R Texas did not vote for the Patriot Act and I believe there are a growing number disillusioned by this administration. I think the framers of the constitution knew that someone or group would try to do this someday and they tried to defend against it. Never the less it seems that their work is now under attack. The Republicans are so hungry for power and willing to be led by fear they have cut themselves loose from the very framework that insures security for us all.
