I was quite alrmed the other day reading about the bill the senate had passed giving the military the right to detain U.S. citizens indefinitly without formal charges, if suspected of "terrorism". What this tells me is that anyone of us could be shipped off to Guantanamo and never seen again if deamed a threat to the greediness of our current and future leaders. I did a little research to see exactly how this affects our constitutional rights and to see where people stood on the issue.
Bill of Rights vs. New Legislation:
1. The First Amendment gaurantees us the right to Religion, Free Speech, The Press, To Assemble and Petition the Government. New Legislation gives the Federal Government the right to suppress those that would be against it, using Military Force. Where would we all be if our forefathers had been suppressed?
2. The Fourth Amendment prohibits Unreasonable Search and Seizures and sets requirements for Search Warrants. New Legislations does away with these regulations under the Homeland Security Act. And, under this new bill what difference does it matter? You may never have a trial for the evidence to be thrown out in anyway.
3. The Fifth Amendment sets rules that call for Indictment by a Grand Jury, Eminent Domain, protects the right of Due Process, And prohibits Double Jeopordy, and Self-Incrimination. New Legislation denies Every one of the Rights layed out in this Amendment.
4. The Sixth Amendment gives us the right to a Fair and Speedy Trial that is Public, by a Jury of our peers, and to be notified of our accusations, to be able to confront the accuser, to Retain Counsel and Subpoena Witnesses. New Legislation allows U.S. Citizens to be Obducted by military force, Deported to Gauntanamo Bay and Held Indefinitely with No Charge and No Trial. This is, and has to be unacceptable.
5. The Eighth Amendment prohibits Excessive Bail, Fines, and Cruel and Unusual Punishment. New Legislation: There is current legilation in Congress that would allow for more legal Torture of Prisoners. Under the new bill, you have No right to Bond if they deem you an "Enemy of the Government."
6. The Ninth Amendment protects our Unumerated rights. Basically our Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness(Natural Rights). New Legislation allows U.S. Citizens to be caged and exposed to less than humanitary conditions as an Enemy of the State.
7. The Tenth Amendment Limits the Power of the Federal Government as defined by the Constitution of the United States of America. New Legislation gives more and more power to the Federal Government. And, limits our ability to Check and Balance the greedy war-pigs that "Represent" us.
After making these comparisons I am even more alarmed. It seems that the rights that made us who we were, are deminishing a knibble at a time. I'm afraid that by the time the majority of the population understands what they have lost in total it will be too late to remedy, without the shedding blood on our own soil. And if it comes to that, who all will be waiting to kick us while we're down? Lets look into what people have to say about this and similar situations. Benjamin Franklin had this to say "Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Thomas Jefferson "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patrtiots and tyrants." Abraham Lincoln "Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors." Committee Chairman Carl Levin cited the Supreme Court stating "The Supreme Court has recently ruled there is no bar to the United States holding one of it's own citezens as an enemy combatant." Rand Paul "If these provisions pass, we could see American citizens being sent to Guantanamo Bay," "This should be alarming to everyone watching this proceeding today. Because it puts every single American at risk." "There is one thing and one thing only protecting innocent Americans from being detained at will at the hands of a too-powerful state, our constitution, and the checks we put on government power," "Should we err today and remove some of the most important checks on state power in the name of fighting terrorism, well, then the terrorist have won." Milton Friedman "Every friend of freedom must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp, by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users and an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence." Jon Stewart "If the events of September 11, 2001, have proven anything, it's that the terrorists can attack us, but they can't take away our freedom, our liberty, our civil rights. No, only Attorney General Ashcroft can do that." I believe their is much weight in what these people have said. You may be reading this and thinking that I am a conspiracy theorist. I have put nothing in this blog but fact. My intent is not to have the people rise in arms against the government but, to have them put it in check before it comes to that. For more information please research these issues further. Never take one person's statements as fact, always verify and act on what you know to be fact and what you know to be right.
