America the Watched
Jose Padilla should have been released when his right to a speedy trial had been violated.
When you get rid of a "bad guy's" constitutional protection, you get rid of your own. Very risky business.
What if you were picked up by the police on a tip by a person who didn't like you, denied access to a lawyer and your family, sent to Guantanomo for three years, and tortured until you were unbalanced mentally?
And then there are the prisoners who were found innocent YEARS later because dna testing proved they weren't the guy?
It isn't always the "bad guys" that get picked up and mistreated.
The problem with a police state is people start getting picked up and thrown in prison because their opinions and their influence on opinions is disliked by the government. We by and large haven't had to live in fear of this because of our constitutional rights.
So don't throw them away! If Jose Padilla can be treated like that, so can you, and you'll have the same recourse. How are we going to restore our rights? Perhaps repealing the PATRIOT act, that odious law that has the FBI snooping around our library records, would be a fine first step.
Keep your chin up, and remember, only YOU can prevent bad government, contact your legislator.
Auriel
When you get rid of a "bad guy's" constitutional protection, you get rid of your own. Very risky business.
What if you were picked up by the police on a tip by a person who didn't like you, denied access to a lawyer and your family, sent to Guantanomo for three years, and tortured until you were unbalanced mentally?
And then there are the prisoners who were found innocent YEARS later because dna testing proved they weren't the guy?
It isn't always the "bad guys" that get picked up and mistreated.
The problem with a police state is people start getting picked up and thrown in prison because their opinions and their influence on opinions is disliked by the government. We by and large haven't had to live in fear of this because of our constitutional rights.
So don't throw them away! If Jose Padilla can be treated like that, so can you, and you'll have the same recourse. How are we going to restore our rights? Perhaps repealing the PATRIOT act, that odious law that has the FBI snooping around our library records, would be a fine first step.
Keep your chin up, and remember, only YOU can prevent bad government, contact your legislator.
Auriel
posted by Auriel Ragmon | 9:59 AM
2 Comments:
I tend to think that we may eventually lose our civil rights because not enough Americans care. Some Americans have been locked up and treated badly with no trial and most Americans don't care.
--Scott
My question is what is the barrier to keep the caring from working?
The political powerful wants to keep the culture from acting against powerful interests. They are highly effective. I haven't figured out what the antidote to this is.
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