U.S.: foundations of a totalitarian government- in progress

Well, it is of interest where someone grew up. And what country they are from. It gives some context to their comments.

English, you are living on a northern B.C. reserve now? Okay. Yes, I know what freezing weather is like. I personally love it! I also find it interesting that you are living on a res. I'm sure your own personal history and ideas would fascinate me, but this is not the place to ask you all those q's eh?!

Have you checked out http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ ?
It is a political forum I think you would enjoy.
cheers!

Yeah, goodfielder

We've got a lot of names for this joint. And people love to talk about the weather. As I type, it is a winter wonderland outside.

What's it like right now in your neck of the woods? :wink:

Published on Monday, November 14, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
Losing Habeas Corpus - "A More Dangerous Engine of Arbitrary Government"
by Thom Hartmann

About a year ago, an op-ed article on Al Jazeerah's website by Fawaz Turki titled "For Bush, A Hot Line To Churchill" opened by noting that Tony Blair had given George W. Bush a bust of Winston Churchill, which sits in Bush's Oval Office. Turki then quotes Churchill:

"The power of the executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious, and the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."

The oldest human right defined in the history of English-speaking civilization is the right to challenge that "power of the executive" through the use of habeas corpus laws. Habeas corpus is roughly Latin for "hold the body," and is used in law to mean that a government must either charge a person with a crime or let them go free.

And last week, U.S. Senate Republicans (with the help of five Senate Democrats) passed a bill that would begin to take down that right.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, in proposing the legislation, said, "It is clear to me from Abu Ghraib backward, forward, and other things we know about, that at times we have lost our way in fighting this war." Few would disagree. "What we are trying to do in a series of amendments," Graham added, "is recapture the moral high ground and provide guidance to our troops."

But destroying habeas corpus will not "recapture the moral high ground" or "provide guidance for our troops." It may, however, throw our troops (and citizens) into a living hell if they're captured by other governments that have chosen to follow our example.

This attack on eight centuries of English law is no small thing. While their intent was to deny Guantanamo Bay Concentration Camp detainees the right to see a judge or jury, it could just as easily extend to you and me.

Finn d'Abuzz wrote:

What happened to the Booty Babe in the fishnets?

Whoa!

Now Englishmajor is all cosmic like.

Ooohhhhh, Finn. I'm so disappointed in you. Didn't you read the article? Think it might give you nightmares?

Yeah, I like being all cosmic. Those fishnets were uncomfortable.

Did you read Lord Ellpus' reply to me? He is right, you know. Red herrings will get you nowhere.

They will believe that they are a superpower, right up until the end. (Like Rome, eh?)

englishmajor wrote:

They will believe that they are a superpower, right up until the end. (Like Rome, eh?)

Very profound point. I've got absolutely no doubt, that the US will be the first of the democracies who's society will collapse into complete anarchy. It might take 10 years, or 200, but it will happen.