Losing the Bill of Rights
With the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in New York and Guantanamo moving to Illinois, the Bill of Rights are being locked away again. It’s a shame how many people don’t see the Pandora’s box being opened when we allow our government to disregard the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. With many (mainly Conservatives) blasting the decision to try Mohammed on American soil and close down the unConstitutional Guantanamo Bay detention facility, one has to wonder what we are thinking. “Terrorism” is still a federal crime in the U.S. code.
Given that federal officials now wield the power to treat one federal criminal offense—terrorism—as either a crime or an act of war, there is no inherent reason why such power cannot be expanded to encompass other federal crimes, such as drug offenses. In fact, given the interrelationship between drug dealing and terrorism, one can easily imagine that federal officials will eventually expand their war on terrorism powers to the war on drugs. All that’s needed is the right crisis. It’s a matter of time before the president and Defense Department find ever more uses for this alternate system of justice that conveniently sidesteps the Bill of Rights.
Read an excellent article here, Losing the Bill of Rights.
