Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision

Los Angeles Times ^ | Aug. 14, 2002 | Jonathan Turley

[JohnathanRGalt]

Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision

Attorney general shows himself as a menace to liberty.

by JONATHAN TURLEY, Jonathan Turley is a professor of constitutional law at George Washington University.

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's announced desire for camps for U.S. citizens he deems to be "enemy combatants" has moved him from merely being a political embarrassment to being a constitutional menace.

Ashcroft's plan, disclosed last week but little publicized, would allow him to order the indefinite incarceration of U.S. citizens and summarily strip them of their constitutional rights and access to the courts by declaring them enemy combatants.

The proposed camp plan should trigger immediate congressional hearings and reconsideration of Ashcroft's fitness for this important office. Whereas Al Qaeda is a threat to the lives of our citizens, Ashcroft has become a clear and present threat to our liberties.

(. . . .)

Ashcroft is a catalyst for constitutional devolution, encouraging citizens to accept autocratic rule as their only way of avoiding massive terrorist attacks.

His greatest problem has been preserving a level of panic and fear that would induce a free people to surrender the rights so dearly won by their ancestors.

[Isle of sanity in CA]

P.S. and FYI: I read threads; so avoiding flagging me to a post that mentions me may not always elude my inspection.

I wasn't trying to talk behind your back. I was trying to talk about you right in front of your face (as if you didn't exist, were meaningless, etc.)

[Seydlitz]

Turley is not suing over UFOs at Groom Lake. He is representing a number of families who lost loved ones to some kind of toxic poisoning at the Groom Lake facility. His lawsuit is about the improper disposal of toxic materials and deaths resulting therefrom, it has nothing to do with UFOs.

And Freepers, are your memories so short as to not remember Turley's aggressive attacks on Bubba's legal shenigans? Turley is a lefty, but a principled one.

Unfortunately, this article does not provide enough detail on the AG's legal arguments to determine whether they are truly dangerous.

[RJCogburn]

I applaud Ashcroft and Bush for taking this tough stand against enemy combatants, whether US citizens or not.

Sure, but how do we know they really are "enemy combatants" and not just a few troublemakers on an internet web site, for example?

[headsonpikes]

Duly noted. Thanks for your frankness.

[RJCogburn]

Consider the source

I realize it has become de rigeur on FR for some to dismiss opinions or assertions of some based just on the source. While that is helpful sometimes in putting things in some perpective, I'm still kinda stuck on facts.

[rmlew]

That is the type of thinking that leads people to declare taht robbers and muderers are political prisoners.

[Isle of sanity in CA]

Isn't there any unconstitutional socialism stuff you can go after at home? I seem to remember some guy named Tony in charge over there and the Tories could really use some help.

I apologize for my seeming lack of courtesy but I've been reading posts this morning about how terrorists in the UK are having rallies, er.. I mean press conferences talking about how they are going to kick some American a## if we invade Iraq. Now I'm just a dumb, uncultured, redneck American, but I think civil liberties can and should be curtailed during time of conflict.

Perhaps we can arrange some sort of deal with Canada and Great Britain to take some of these poor mistreated prisoners off of our hands?

[RJCogburn]

LOL!

[JPJ1]

I quess the citizen militia would fall in this category if the need every occur for the people to take back their government for the socialist/marxist and globalist within our peoples houses....

[AppyPappy]

[JohnathanRGalt]

Consider the source. Jonathan Turley also is leading a lawsuit against the United States for hiding evidence of UFO's at Groom Lake.

No, that's false. -- Your attempt at the character assassination of Turley fails here.

Jonathan Turley is leading a lawsuit against the United States for hiding evidence of uncontrolled burning of dioxins and other carcinogens at Groom Lake. This lead to the deaths of several workers at the Area 51 site.

Of course, the Govt. needs to cover this up because it might release classified information about the UFOs at Groom lake.

[Isle of sanity in CA]

I'm not normally this grumpy, but I've had a bad morning between the terrorist rallies in the UK and the firefighters union crap here in the US....

Maybe a nice thermonuclear device delivered with pinpoint accuracy(not that it matters) in the middle of (pick your favorite) Bagdad, Tehran, Jebel ali(sp), Damascus, etc. would cheer me up!

BTW - post 30 says it all.

There has still not been enough retribution exacted to satisfy me.

[droberts]

So does this now give Ashcroft a free hand?

[AppyPappy]

Against Arab terrorists, yup.

[Isle of sanity in CA]

Yes. My only problem with Ashcroft/Bush is that they haven't done enough. I'm still waiting for armed pilots, an immigration freeze, mass deportations, racial profiling, etc.

My problem with some of the critics is that they are not just criticizing Ashcrofts tactics(which is fair) but are criticizing his motives. He's being portrayed as some Nazi that wanted to be AG so that he could rape the Constitution.

I have not agreed with every method that he has used, but I'm willing to give him (and my President) a lot of leeway because I trust their motivations. They are good men trying to do their best in a really F'd up situation.

[Protagoras]

I applaud Ashcroft and Bush for taking this tough stand against enemy combatants, whether US citizens or not.

Until they assign you the title. You have no rights under this system. None.

If we start to see rampant abuse of this policy, give me a call and I'll work with you.

Like the internment of American citizens during WWII? That kind of rampant abuse?

Call me from your cell.

[Protagoras]

I have not agreed with every method that he has used, but I'm willing to give him (and my President) a lot of leeway because I trust their motivations. They are good men trying to do their best in a really F'd up situation.

Once the precedent is set, you can say the same thing about President Hillary I guess.

[KC_Conspirator]

Facts? Since when is character assasination a "fact"?

[KC_Conspirator]

And your a nutjob. Thanks for illustrating it for everyone.

[zook]

Common sense. Do you know of any examples of web site people being hauled off? Let me know when you do.