Posted on 08/29/2002 1:00:30 PM PDT by feelin_poorly
Not one single American has lost a right that they didnt already have before this Administration took office.
That is the bottomline. Not Padilla, Not Taliban Johnny not the I spent the first six months of my life in America Saudi in Norfolk. Everything done with all of them is according to present law, constitutionally sound.
Until you have a single ruling made by the Supreme Court that anything currently taking place is unconstitutional then by definition the above statement is fact. It may well be that they do make a ruling in the future that something being done was unconstitutional but until that time you have no basis to assert that the Bush Administration is knowingly and intentionally violating anyone's constitutional rights.
Plain and simple.
There has been a tremendous amount of Federal Government creep in our country that has occurred ever since the civil war. It is something to vigilantly monitor and address but it is separate from the current discussion of preventing further terrorist attacks against our nation and removing Saddam Hussein from power. The spirit of the two and the motivating factors involved are wholly separate.
No law has been past removing a single right any American has. No law has been passed that unlawfully detains any American. The closest anyone can come to implying that possibly one has been detained is by linguistically asserting that nobody knows for certainty that there isnt detained at GITMO an individual born in our country.
That is a completely laughable basis for asserting that a broad brush of anti-rights legislation [The only thing that takes away our rights] has taken hold of our Nation since September 11th . and to be discarded as nonsensical approach to discussing the subject.
TIPS isnt a law and even if it were it wouldnt remove a single right spelled out by our forefathers. Detaining Americans as Material witnesses is a legal practice and has been for decades.
Our Nation is under a very cogent threat of Biological as well as nuclear attack. This is not 1776 where well be able to rally the minutemen to protect the Nation from a developing invasion. If it is Biological or Nuclear [The ultimate threats] it is fulfilled the minute the attack is launched and cannot be effectively thwarted or contained by our Government. Prevention is the only way to orient ourselves towards and overcome these threats.
Representing the Constitution and fighting to maintain its integrity is a necessary requirement in our Nation. Adolescent, knee-jerk outbursts at the hint of responsible Government action is not. The Government is tasked to promote the welfare and maintain the peace in our nation. The threat we face requires preemption. You dont have to like that this threat doesnt fit into your little 18th 19th or even 20th Century box but it is what it is.
One person here actually implied that there would be an acceptable honor is losing his life and the lives of hundreds of thousand, possibly millions of his fellow Americans to a Nuclear attack by terrorists if his actions in promoting his interpretation of the constitution enabled it to occur.
Simply amazing
and completely contrary to any decision that our founding Fathers would make. Does any one here want to assert that Thomas Jefferson would sacrifice millions of American lives [remember that there were only three million when he was around] because our government wasnt doing exactly what he wanted it to do, how he wanted it done right here, right now?
Grow up.
The threats posed to us now develop in nanoseconds and are complete in their design in minutes. Methods simply have to be in place that can begin to grasp and prevent these threats from manifesting.
One single Nuclear detonation in Washington DC with our government in place would easily lead to worldwide economic collapse, invasion of Democratic South Korea, Israel, Taiwan and possibly even the United States itself by foreign powers as well as the immediate suspension of civil law and the ordinance of Military rule. You wanna see your rights chewed up wait for that to happen
None of that is far-fetched or unreasonable to predict. It is the logical process were terrorists to detonate a Nuclear bomb in our Nations capitol.
You may not like the fact that we now have these sort of responsibilities for other Nations but your personal like, dislike agreement or disagreement as to its constitutionality has no affect on the fact that the responsibilities are indeed there. Ignoring them or brushing them aside as unconstitutional is remarkably capricious.
At what point do you sober up and admit that the 1700s are gone and they are never, ever coming back? At what point do you sober up and admit that this Government of ours or the relationships we now have with the rest of the World will never be dismantled from within to the size of our original government or the responsibilities shrunk to pre-1800 levels?
I am the first person to fight for our freedom of speech, our right to bare arms, free press, freedom of religion etc etc. and I am also the first one to admit that in order to defend all 280,000,000+ of us [Where we are today, not where you want us to be] from the threats we face, we are going to have to evaluate what priorities we have
IMHO [And I suspect the Executive Branch of Governments opinion]the current priority is to defend this Nation from the threat of Nuclear Terrorism. It is not a manufactured threat, it is a very salient one and all else is subordinate to that defense, including your opinions, feelings and if needs be your unhindered rights.
Our Constitution is indeed the foundation that this Nation stands on but to honestly believe in the possibility of a return to the original state of national and international affairs that our Nation enjoyed when it was written and established is willfully infantile and ignorant. The argument for a return to our original Constitutional Government is by itself extremely unlikely but to argue for the desire now in light of the situation we are currently in is simply bitter and contrarian as well as not constructive.
If you do not agree then I find difficulty in you identifying yourself as either Conservative or American.
Step to the side and argue your purpose amongst yourselves but for now, Real Men are required to stand up and act [not talk] in order to defend our Nation. Right here, right now those actions will make our Nation safe
your rationale will not.
Farmer Bailout? - Nope
Bigger Budgets for Gevernment and it's underlings ? - So much for that World inFamous "Smaller Republican Government" eH?
More money for Education ? - Gotta Love that 10th Plank of the Communist Manifesto, don't ya ??
"Continued funding of World Bank" = Continued funding of the United Nations !!
"Creation of new federal bureaucracy, Dept. of Homeland Defense" - uh, I thought that the Powers of the US Government and it's Soul Purpose was the Protection of the American Citizens and her shores ??
"$400 million to help states improve voting systems" - Too Funny for Words !!
If this is King George at his best - I shudder to think about the remainder of his term in office....
...but....that's just my opinion.....
ATTN ALL MEN!!!
This thread has now become unsafe for those of us of the gentler sex. HIDE before they get UGLY!!!
Middle age women were once 20 years younger. Looks like you have something to look forward to.
wow, you sure cast judgements over a whole lot, don't you?
You weren't going on experience were you? Like, how old was your mom when she got married? Just wondering.
It's a shame that you couldn't find your sister's teeth for the picture....
Is it safe to start laughing, yet ??
For the first time in recorded history - you actually said something of value .. .. .. "Defend OUR Nation".
To Defend this Nation is the act of repelling an enemy force in the act of Attacking US - not just being guilty of spewing Rhetoric in our faces. Not listening to claims of what weapons that are believed to be in stock.
Oh the drama. I would not ask to get you banned and nothing you have said is offensive to me.
In many ways, I do see what you are saying, but I still believe I have made a point of women here who have obvious chips on their shoulders.
And I am attracted to guys my own age, or around it, not the ones my dads age. LOL.
No, but Republicans have their eyes wide open.
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