Source...
So, basically, the AG of the United States says that we have no Constitutional right to Habeus Corpus. Not some crackpot who runs www.creepingsocialsim.com or www.govtwillgetus.com, but the ATTORNEY GENERAL of the US.
No matter how seemingly shocked I am by the brass of Bush, the Neocons, and the mess that constitutes the Executive Branch, they always find new ways of shocking me with their disregard of history, their desire to rewrite it, and their view that democracy and its safeguards (checks and balances, separation of powers, sep of church/state) as nuiscances to their goals.
Bold mine:
If you all remember, the most recent version of the Patriot Act stripped away Habeus Corpus. Apparently, Senators Specter and Leahy are attempting to restore those rights (Source) I'm guessing the hearing had something to do w/ this bill?
Funny, isn't it usually the conservatives who are worried about big govt. usurping our rights?
So, basically, the AG of the United States says that we have no Constitutional right to Habeus Corpus. Not some crackpot who runs www.creepingsocialsim.com or www.govtwillgetus.com, but the ATTORNEY GENERAL of the US.
No matter how seemingly shocked I am by the brass of Bush, the Neocons, and the mess that constitutes the Executive Branch, they always find new ways of shocking me with their disregard of history, their desire to rewrite it, and their view that democracy and its safeguards (checks and balances, separation of powers, sep of church/state) as nuiscances to their goals.
Bold mine:
"The Constitution doesn't say every individual in the United States or every citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas,'' Gonzales told Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Jan. 17.
Gonzales acknowledged that the Constitution declares "habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless ... in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.'' But he insisted that "there is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution.''
Specter was incredulous, asking how the Constitution could bar the suspension of a right that didn't exist -- a right, he noted, that was first recognized in medieval England as a shield against the king's power to dispatch troublesome subjects to royal dungeons.
Later in the hearing, Gonzales described habeas corpus as "one of our most cherished rights'' and noted that Congress had protected that right in the 1789 law that established the federal court system. But he never budged from his position on the absence of constitutional protection -- a position that seemingly would leave Congress free to reduce habeas corpus rights or repeal them altogether.
If you all remember, the most recent version of the Patriot Act stripped away Habeus Corpus. Apparently, Senators Specter and Leahy are attempting to restore those rights (Source) I'm guessing the hearing had something to do w/ this bill?
Funny, isn't it usually the conservatives who are worried about big govt. usurping our rights?