Detainee bill lifts Bush’s power to new heights / President now has legal authority even courts can’t challenge — Welcome to Rome, folks. You may be witnessing history although nobody is actually telling you about it. And this is just the beginning as long as our Congress is nothing more than yes-massa stooges.
This has nothing to do with terrorism, otherwise they would find Bin Laden. It’s about power. And hey, where are all those “liberal” newspapers and activist judges when this sort of thing happens? Another myth.
With the final passage through Congress of the detainee treatment bill, President Bush achieved a signal victory Friday, shoring up with legislation his determined campaign against terrorism in the face of challenges from critics and the courts.
Rather than reining in the formidable presidential powers that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have asserted since Sept. 11, 2001, the law gives some of those powers a solid statutory foundation. In effect it allows the president to identify enemies, imprison them indefinitely and interrogate them — albeit with a ban on the harshest treatment — beyond the reach of the full court reviews traditionally afforded criminal defendants and ordinary prisoners.
Taken as a whole, the law will give the president more power over terrorism suspects than he had before the Supreme Court decision this summer in Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld that undercut more than four years of White House policy. It does, however, grant detainees brought before military commissions limited protections initially opposed by the White House. The bill, which cleared a final procedural hurdle in the House on Friday and is likely to be signed into law next week by Bush, does more than allow the president to determine the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions; it strips the courts of jurisdiction to hear challenges to his interpretation.
Oh yeah, the liberal federal judge myth. We had 8 years of Regan appointing judges. 4 years of the first Bush. We had 8 years of Clinton but the Right controlled the Senate, so he was only able to appoint judges that leaned Right. And of course the 2 terms of Bush the 2nd leads to even more Right-Wingers on the bench.
Can someone explain to me where all these left wing judges came from?!
Anyway, the problem for W is not that judges are liberal, it’s that they have enough brains not to go along with his BS. Which tells us a lot about W’s BS.
I would be very surprised to see the courts uphold this as applied to US citizens arrested on US soil. In fact, the Justice Department is so uncertain of its legal footing that, before this law even passed, it transferred Jose Padilla from military to civillian custody and began regular old criminal proceedings against him.
This is a bad law, no doubt, but people who start running around hysterically denouncing it as the beginings of Presidential Dictatorship don’t know US history. there have been greater and more dangerous violations of civil liberties in the past, a couple of which are mentioned in the linked article – internment of Japanese Americans and the Alien and Sedition Acts. Lets not forget the repression of anti-war dissent during WW1, the first Red Scare of the 1920s, when a person’s political beliefs could get them deported to the USSR (even if they did not come from there), and McCarthyism.
Like I said, this is bad and will lead to abuses (since the current president is not real reflective in using the powers he has), but the End is not Nigh.
The price of gas is low, and that’s about all much of the nation gives a damn about. Maybe I’m just getting old, a bit bitter, and have this basic mistrust of anyone in authority.
Another “enabling act”.
Doesn’t surprise me. Of course look at Lincoln’s trangressions of power, shutting down newspapers, arresting congressmen, and tons more to entertain you if you care to delve into it.
Of course he is an american saint, maybe old George will achieve that status in years to come.
Is it just me or is the United States becoming more a nation of Stephen King’s “The running man” where violence towards others is a form of entertainment?
America isn’t your fathers country anymore. This WILL lead to dictatorial abuses. Absolute power corrupts absolutely is not just a trite saying. I challenge anyone to show an exception.
I agree, “Our” congress is nothing more the yes-massa stooges who are in the pockets of Lobbiest.
#2 comment about “but people who start running around hysterically denouncing … don’t know US history” is the same type of argument/label “bushies” gave to those disagreeing before/during/still about the Iraq invasion. More hot air from blustering hypocrites.
The Pentagon’s own panel of lawyers advocated against this crap legislation. They’re aware — from experience and intent — how this legislation will fail all reasonable tests before the Supreme Court, how this will only serve to place our military personnel in greater danger.
But, since there is little likelihood of these Kongressional Kreeps or their families ever straying into harms’ way — like they give a tinker’s damn.
Some in the media are still doing their job.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MoRjbIQMXGQ
Welcome to Rome, and the visogoths are on the way.
Did the new Rome season on HBO start early then?
Well finally the legislators came to their senses next step is to pass a few laws against the ACLU and their frivolous lawsuits that hinder our basic freedoms under the guise that the majrt beliefs hinder the minority beliefs. As an example does the expression IN GOD WE TRUST is it offensive to you ?
#6. No, it is simply true. these things are on a pendulum, waxing and waning. If violations of civil liberties set us inexorably on our way to dictatorship, it would have happened a long time ago.
I think each individual measure should be dealt with on its own merits, not on the basis of assertions that we are on a “Roman” or “Weimar” path. Those who make reckless analogies to the lessons of history are doomed to be blinded to the differences.
All that being said, on its own merits (rather than anything else), this rots.
Timbo, Hillary was a Stalinist? And an active Stalinist, yet? What did she do, operate secret prisons?
Oh, wait, it is Our Leader, President Bush, who operates secret prisons. And holds people in prison without telling them why. And orders his minions to torture them.
Looks like the “Conservatives” already have their despot with emergency powers to wreak havoc on the US Constitution.
Ah, secret prisons, the pride of every true American Patriot.
#11 Yes, I perform all my witchy rituals in coordination with Hillary Clinton’s menstrual cycle, then I eat Bocca burgers in front of my ACLU shrine and hate America… that was sarcasm by the way.
#15. Actually, Hillary was a Goldwater Girl.
Arguably, not as bad as a Stalinist, although there are more documented instances of Goldwater advocating the use of nuclear weapons.
You managed to forget the pardon for all the warcrimes. There are a few other gems in there.
Im sure we’ll get to see if those rex84 camps are real or not.
I have no problem with this. These terrorist think nothing of killing inocent people for their cause. Our laws mean nothing to them, so they shouldn’t have any of our protection either. F them.
#12, As an example does the expression IN GOD WE TRUST is it offensive to you ?
Yes. Because the implication is all others have to pay cash.
#20 I have no problem with this. These terrorist think nothing of killing inocent people for their cause. Our laws mean nothing to them, so they shouldn’t have any of our protection either. F them.
Comment by gquaglia — 9/30/2006 @ 7:50 pm
As our troops and allies have killed with impunity. As our leaders have broken the law without consequence. And as you have condoned the imprisonment and torture of innocents simply because for whatever reason they found themselves suspected of terrorism. By your own words, you are undeserving of the protections of the American Constitution.
People like you are actually worse then the terrorists.
Oh c’mon now. Everyone knows from Jay Leno that Bush is just a funny and benign good ol’ boy.
RBG
#1 Do you mean those consevative judges Ginburg and Breyer that Mr Clinton appointed ;
#24 I don’t care about that either, since probably most Arabs sympathize with the terrorist anyway.
#20 I have no problem with this. These terrorist think nothing of killing inocent people for their cause. Our laws mean nothing to them, so they shouldn’t have any of our protection either. F them.
Comment by gquaglia — 9/30/2006 @ 7:50 pm
Canadian citizen Mahar Arar was stopped in September 2002 on his way back home while transferring flights in New York. The US government took him to Syria where he was jailed and tortured for more than a year, according to a Canadian government report .
Arar is not a terrorist. He has no connection to any terrorists. He has no information about any terrorists or terrorist plans. Yet Our Glorious Leaders ordered him tortured anyway.
Are you happy, gquaglia? Do you feel safer knowing that your government tortures innocent people?
“Do you mean those consevative judges Ginburg and Breyer that Mr Clinton appointed”
Wow, he was in office for 8 years and you can name two judges. That’s amazing!
For your next trick can you pull a brain out of your ass? I thought you could.
Now don’t you feel good, you learned two things today. One, that the world is not black and white, like Fox News wants you to believe it is. And two, you’re an idiot.
Dvorak,
Quit drinking the DNC Kool Aid! Wake up and smell the coffee!
There are bad people whom are trying to kill us – Americans! These laws are for terrorists not Americans!
Dork – so much for watching you on Cranky Geeks any more!
When the press gave Bush a free-pass on the Patriot Act and the Iraq war, they used the excuse that they had been swept up by 9/11.
What is their excuse now for giving a free pass to this un-American shameless power grab?
#5 Is it just me or is the United States becoming more a nation of Stephen King’s “The running man” where violence towards others is a form of entertainment?
Think about it … NASCAR (where impending death is considered fun for the whole family) is also where Bush and the torture-gang have their biggest support.
The understanding goes like this…
Russia is gone we need to REMAKE the USA.
All in all,
We heard about King Bush about 1 month ago.
We already understand he is a puppet.
Yes, several other Presidents during war time used abusive and dictorial powers. As has been mentioned above. So i wont reiterate.
The point that makes this power grab different should be looked at in the context of what else is going on in society. In a nutshell these boobs within the beltway have so screwed this country up and are so corrupt, that this is what is coming down the pike to cover their asses and keep people in line when it all goes South.
>traditionally afforded criminal defendants and ordinary prisoners.
And these aren’t criminal defendants or ordinary prisoners. War has its own rules.