Tag: Constitution

Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision striking down the District of Columbia ban on hand gun ownership. Contrary to what some may think, the world has not been turned on its head, except that a rallying cry for the NRA and other forces that have used gun control as a wedge issue against Democrats for decades has been partially neutered.

The Court held that the second amendment right to bear arms is an individual, not just a collective right associated with having a state militia. But, it is still a limited right and is not totally disconnected from the concept of a militia. The court basically held that at the time of the founding the weapons that people had for personal protection are the same weapons they brought to their service in the militia. It is those weapons that the court says are covered by the Amendment.

cross posted from The Dream Antilles

This morning’s Docudharma Times led off with a New York Times story about the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.  It’s worth reading all the way through.  I found it extremely disturbing, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.  Hence, this essay is an expansion of this comment.

As Viet71 appropriately noted in the comments, the Times story

tries to put a “human face” on the CIA torture of prisoners by focusing on a CIA interrogator who doesn’t seem to be such a bad guy at all.

The writer displays absolutely no disgust for the topic about which he writes and paints a fairly calm picture of the CIA renditions and harsh methods.

There is no mention in the article of high-level administration approval of torture.

All in all, I believe this article is aimed at causing people to believe that what the CIA did in these renditions just wasn’t that bad.

In other words, the story appears to be propaganda for the acceptance of CIA behavior in extraordinary renditions illegal extraditions and harsh interrogation techniques torture.

I agree with the comment.  How, I wonder, can the arrest, detention in a secret prison in Poland, illegal extradition, and yes, torture, of Khalid Shaikh Mohammad not provoke outrage?  How, I wonder, did we end up with a story focusing on the “good cop” in the interrogation, and virtually ignoring the “bad cops”, the ones with whom the “good cop” was acting in concert in the interrogation, the “knuckledraggers” who admittedly, repeatedly abused the prisoner?  Do we just overlook the war crimes and human rights violations? Are we numb?

route66 has a diary up about today, Flag Day here in these United States.

I was going to post up something I found recently that attempts to explain some recent occurances on the meaning of ‘Patriotism’, and a tie in with ‘route66’ diary is appropriate on this day.

After all I’m one of the millions, in this country, who have been called ‘UnPatriotic’ for having not walked in lockstep with the criminal cabal, and their followers, who have led this country into it’s extreme failed policies of an Occupation built on Lies and Fixed Intelligence and done in All Our Names!

I’m at the Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy in New Haven for the week, with the first session tutorial about to get underway, Mike Godwin of the Wikimedia Foundation presenting on “Constitutional Law in Cyberspace.”

(Mike’s best known as author of “Godwin’s Law.” Any references to Hitler or Nazis will be noted.)

My 1st effort at liveblogging, we’ll see how it goes.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a friend of the court brief today urging a federal court to uphold the denial of a patent that would, if awarded, violate freedom of speech. In the brief, the ACLU argues that Bernard L. Bilski is seeking a patent for an abstract idea, and that abstract ideas are not patentable under the First Amendment.

“The court must ensure that any test it uses in determining whether to award a patent is in line with the Constitution,” said Christopher Hansen, senior staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group, who filed the brief. “If the government had the authority to grant exclusive rights to an idea, the fundamental purpose of the First Amendment – to protect an individual’s right to thought and expression – would be rendered meaningless.”

ACLU

As we know, much of the Constitution has been suspended, as has Habeas Corpus.

Most recently, the First Amendment has virtually been destroyed. Details are here:

https://www.docudharma.com/show…

This means that American citizens have lost Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, and Freedom of Religion.

Yesterday I asked “What would Jefferson and Franklin do?” – say? think? regarding these perilous times in a diary called “You Can’t Be Serious”. Some respondents posted pictures of frogs, cake, horse faces and nose picking to demonstrate their cheer and suggested that we all need a good laugh, some entertainment. Some cherry-picked quotes to prove that Franklin, and Jefferson were really jolly sorts.

We are taught to remember these inventors as kite-flyer and gentleman farmer, so some of that is true. But a further look afield yields riches.

Franklin considered the suspension of rights and values very carefully. What he had to say about that is in Franklin’s own essay, below the fold. As you read it, you will see now closely his times were like our own. (Emphasis is added by me re Habeas Corpus, freedom of speech and freedom of religion.)

Eric Larsen tells us of the dangers we face in this magnificent three-part essay – with which, I think, the Framers would agree.

http://www.ericlarsen.net/food…

Your Congresscritter can be contacted here http://www.congress.org/

If you love America, there is nothing to laugh about, and every reason to get busy saving Liberty.

“A Republic – if you can keep it”

~ Ben Franklin

As you may know, the First Amendment of the Constitution has virtually been suspended. Among other things, this means that Americans no longer have Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.

Yesterday I asked “What would Jefferson and Franklin do?” regarding these perilous times in an essay, “You Can’t Be Serious”.

Some respondents presented cherry-picked quotes to demonstrate that Franklin, and Jefferson, were really jolly sorts. But, as is so often the case with quickly provided internet responses,  they didn’t do their homework.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/…

Republicans have been gang-raping the Constitution since December 12, 2000, when five Supreme Court justices appointed George W. Bush President of the United States. The BushCheney crime family’s brutal assault on the nation’s founding document began immediately, and was cheered on and supported by a Republican-led Congress that whooped in drunken bloodlust every time the administration flagrantly violated the highest law of the land.

The Republican Congress cheered encouragement every time Americans’ civil liberties were violated. The Republican Congress roared approval at every demeaning abuse of the rule of law. They pushed to the front of the mob any time there was an opportunity to have their own crack at the battered, dazed body politic, who couldn’t believe what was happening to it, who couldn’t believe that it could be violated so relentlessly, so repeatedly, so thoroughly, over and over and over again, and no one put a stop to it.

So I walked into the kitchen last night to make dinner and I could hear my mom helping my little brother with his history homework in the other room. He’s in 8th grade, learning about American government. She was teaching him how the presidency and Congress work, what the amendments are, etc. She told him how the president has to take an oath before he takes office.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

But it’s all bullshit.