Posted on 12/02/2001 8:50:01 AM PST by H.Akston
Bob Barr just said on Sam and Cokie's show that the Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution, and the Constitution covers "persons", not just citizens, and "the Bill of Rights applies to all persons on our soil."
You apparently can't read very well. Okay, here's what it says: "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The fact that it just defined who is a citizen doesn't change the fact that at this exact point is says "person". A person's a person, no matter how small, or foreign. You seem to think that since it says "citizens of the United States" at another point, that magically changes the letters P-E-R-S-O-N into some other set of letters. It doesn't.
I already addressed the preamble thing, and habeas corpus is neither here nor there.
I would submit that it is you who is a moron.
He's not. You're in the running, however.
here's what the BATF says on the subject...
The first seven words of the Constitution indicate who is establishing it for the United States of America, nothing more.
Those who established it first declared:
"WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness --"
Many of them wanted some of those "unalienable Rights" listed in the Constitution and thus the Bill of Rights.
The same Men who justified establishing this government to insure the Rights give by the Creator to us all did not later deny them to non-citizens. One must believe their use of the words "citizen" and "person" in the Constitution are contextually appropriate for clarifying their intent.
Well, the first part of your education is that you don't need apostrophes for plurals, just possesives and contractions. :-)
The second part is, the military tribunals apparently aren't the same thing as military courts per the UCMJ. They don't follow the same procedures, and, more importantly, don't have the same standard of proof and rules of evidence. So what you already know doesn't necessarily apply.
Look dude, the U.S. Constitution was drafted to cover 'US Government' and it was mandated for the US Citizens! You know ... government of the people! You seem to think that every dickhead who comes to this country falls under some protective blanket of rights. Well they don't, especially not when they are trying to deprive US Citizens of their inalienable rights .. you know ... life, and etc! When they operate in total contravention to international law, or civil law - they forfeit any rights they have except those which are designated by higher authority. I would submit that you need to go back and study the Founders intent before you pile on the liberal bandwagon.
Instead, the Government has only been given a handful of powers; the Bill of Rights technically WASN'T EVEN NECESSARY. Nowhere in Article I was Congress given the power to establish a religion.
There is this, "To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings."
I agree with that, though I wish we would amend the 5th amendment to state clearly that captured enemy forces are part of the exception stated within the 5th amendment.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
The part I have in bold should be changed to say :
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, our own or those of our enemies, when in actual service in time of War or public danger;
Many refuse to admit that we are at war. We have been attacked and our citizens killed.
Some guy known only as "Colt .45" is asking for credentials.
It doesn't matter who I am. It matters what the Constitution says. If it says person, it means person.
Look dude, the U.S. Constitution was drafted to cover 'US Government' and it was mandated for the US Citizens!
You're confused. The fact that it covers the government doesn't mean its restrictions on the government are void when the government does something to a non-citizen.
You seem to think that every dickhead who comes to this country falls under some protective blanket of rights. Well they don't, especially not when they are trying to deprive US Citizens of their inalienable rights .. you know ... life, and etc! When they operate in total contravention to international law, or civil law - they forfeit any rights they have except those which are designated by higher authority.
You're getting at something true, but you mess it up almost beyond recognition. Yes, you should be punished when you violate others' rights (or, to put the same thought in other terms, when you commit fraud or initiate the use of force), i.e., you should lose your life, your liberty, or your property. That doesn't mean you lose your right to a fair trial, for an obvious reason. The whole point of a trial is to find out if you're guilty or not. At the start of the trial, that's not considered to have been established. You know, "innocent until proven guilty"
I would submit that you need to go back and study the Founders intent before you pile on the liberal bandwagon.
Since you obviously don't know very much about the Constitution, you're the one who needs to do some study.
They were given practically unlimited power over the capital, but not, of course, over anything else.
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