The Compleat Tyrant
There has been a truly shameless spectacle playing out in Washington the last few weeks. The Royalists are staging naked aggression against the most sacred principles of the American republic, and no one has seemed willing to call them on it. Only in the 59th minute of the 11th hour have putative Anti-Royalists bothered to raise an objection. As a result, there seems to be nothing that will prevent the United States Congress from abandoning the people who elected it to the tryannical whims of our Boy King.
Both House and Senate have now voted to grant the Pretender-in-Chief that which he most covets -- the untrammeled and absolute right to declare anyone anywhere in the world an "enemy of the crown". Those so designated may be abducted, confined, tortured, even killed, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. There is no appeal, no review, not a single check or balance on this Imperial whim.
That is not a statement of hyperbole. It is a fact, as noted by Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman in the Los Angeles Times:
"The compromise legislation, which is racing toward the White House, authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights."
Glenn Greenwald quite properly names the authors of this traitorous outrage:
"...we are legalizing tyranny in the United States. Period. Primary responsibility for this fact lies with the authoritarian Bush administration and its sickeningly submissive loyalists in Congress. That is true enough. But there is no point in trying to obscure the fact that it's happening with the cowardly collusion of the Senate Democratic leadership, which quite likely could have stopped this travesty via filibuster if it chose to (it certainly could have tried)."
King George the Tyrant is bringing to reality a long-held Royalist dream -- to strip Americans of any right to question the actions of their overlords. That right is embodied in the writ of habeas corpus, a legal protection enshrined as the cornerstone of self-governance as far back as the Magna Carta. It has been under attack by Royalists for decades. Consider:
"Up to now, if you are in prison, you have had the protection of the writ of habeas corpus – the centuries-old legal device by which people wrongfully imprisoned or sentenced to death could raise violations of their constitutional rights or present new evidence that could exonerate them.
If President Bush has his way in the . . . legislation pending before Congress, you won’t have this protection any longer."
That warning -- which could have come from any of a myriad of legal scholars today, had they the fortitude to speak -- was actually written 15 years ago by a criminal defense attorney. He was referring to the FIRST President Bush. As events now unfolding demonstrate, the rotten apple does not fall far from the poisoned tree. And it didn't take long for the Royalists to seize upon the 9/11 attacks to increase their drumbeat for Congress to dispense with the inconvenience of the writ.
"The government’s assault on habeas corpus began six days after September 11, when Attorney General Ashcroft circulated draft legislation — what would soon become the Patriot Act — that included provisions for suspending the writ."
Five years later, Ashcroft can tell his king, "Mission Accomplished". And the legislation doesn't stop at destroying a fundamental liberty. That's a toy only the Boy King and his Crown Prince get to play with. They're the ones -- and the only ones -- who can declare a person an enemy of the crown, order the chosen victim imprisoned and subjected to "alternative interrogation techniques" indefinitely -- until death , if it strikes their fancy. No, there's a little something buried in this odious confection for the rest of the Imperial Court's hired thugs, as CNN's Jack Cafferty explains:
"President Bush is trying to pardon himself. Here’s the deal: Under the War Crimes Act, violations of the Geneva Conventions are felonies, in some cases punishable by death. When the Supreme Court ruled that the Geneva Convention applied to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees, President Bush and his boys were suddenly in big trouble. They’ve been working these prisoners over pretty good. In an effort to avoid possible prosecution they’re trying to cram this bill through Congress before the end of the week before Congress adjourns." (emphasis added)
Yes, King george is granting his most loyal retainers absolution in advance for any depravities they might commit in the coming years, and immunizing them from retribution for crimes already committed. Once the Imperial hand scrawls the name of our Usurper King on the bottom of this measure, then, there is nothing, and no one, to stop him from doing anything he bloody wants. Any elected official, law enforcement officer, or private citizen who dares to voice even the mildest of criticisms can be whisked off to the new American gulag and taught the true meaning of patriotism. And it's all perfectly legal.
How many times will we hear that defense in the coming years? As if getting a sniveling group of cowards masquerading as members of the United States Congress to abandon any semblance of principles and any pretext of upholding the Constitution somehow makes such filthy business wholesome and clean. "It's perfectly legal," we'll be told. "We are following the law," we'll be assured.
It is the first duty of the oppressor to make oppression "legal". That charade has given the color of law to acts of depraved inhumanity for centuries. If you've forgotten, here's a refresher course:
Slavery in the United States, 1776-1861. Perfectly legal.
Apartheid in South Africa, 1948-1994. Perfectly legal.
The Disappeared in Argentina, 1976-1983. Perfectly legal.
The Holocaust in Europe, 1938-1945. Perfectly legal.
The Crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem, circa 30 AD. Perfectly legal.
Our Imperial Master is now poised to join this ghastly parade. The moment this abomination becomes the law of the land, the United States of America will disappear. In its place will be a wholly unrecognizable country where there are no laws, only the iron fist of the despot.
God help us all.
Both House and Senate have now voted to grant the Pretender-in-Chief that which he most covets -- the untrammeled and absolute right to declare anyone anywhere in the world an "enemy of the crown". Those so designated may be abducted, confined, tortured, even killed, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. There is no appeal, no review, not a single check or balance on this Imperial whim.
That is not a statement of hyperbole. It is a fact, as noted by Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman in the Los Angeles Times:
"The compromise legislation, which is racing toward the White House, authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights."
Glenn Greenwald quite properly names the authors of this traitorous outrage:
"...we are legalizing tyranny in the United States. Period. Primary responsibility for this fact lies with the authoritarian Bush administration and its sickeningly submissive loyalists in Congress. That is true enough. But there is no point in trying to obscure the fact that it's happening with the cowardly collusion of the Senate Democratic leadership, which quite likely could have stopped this travesty via filibuster if it chose to (it certainly could have tried)."
King George the Tyrant is bringing to reality a long-held Royalist dream -- to strip Americans of any right to question the actions of their overlords. That right is embodied in the writ of habeas corpus, a legal protection enshrined as the cornerstone of self-governance as far back as the Magna Carta. It has been under attack by Royalists for decades. Consider:
"Up to now, if you are in prison, you have had the protection of the writ of habeas corpus – the centuries-old legal device by which people wrongfully imprisoned or sentenced to death could raise violations of their constitutional rights or present new evidence that could exonerate them.
If President Bush has his way in the . . . legislation pending before Congress, you won’t have this protection any longer."
That warning -- which could have come from any of a myriad of legal scholars today, had they the fortitude to speak -- was actually written 15 years ago by a criminal defense attorney. He was referring to the FIRST President Bush. As events now unfolding demonstrate, the rotten apple does not fall far from the poisoned tree. And it didn't take long for the Royalists to seize upon the 9/11 attacks to increase their drumbeat for Congress to dispense with the inconvenience of the writ.
"The government’s assault on habeas corpus began six days after September 11, when Attorney General Ashcroft circulated draft legislation — what would soon become the Patriot Act — that included provisions for suspending the writ."
Five years later, Ashcroft can tell his king, "Mission Accomplished". And the legislation doesn't stop at destroying a fundamental liberty. That's a toy only the Boy King and his Crown Prince get to play with. They're the ones -- and the only ones -- who can declare a person an enemy of the crown, order the chosen victim imprisoned and subjected to "alternative interrogation techniques" indefinitely -- until death , if it strikes their fancy. No, there's a little something buried in this odious confection for the rest of the Imperial Court's hired thugs, as CNN's Jack Cafferty explains:
"President Bush is trying to pardon himself. Here’s the deal: Under the War Crimes Act, violations of the Geneva Conventions are felonies, in some cases punishable by death. When the Supreme Court ruled that the Geneva Convention applied to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees, President Bush and his boys were suddenly in big trouble. They’ve been working these prisoners over pretty good. In an effort to avoid possible prosecution they’re trying to cram this bill through Congress before the end of the week before Congress adjourns." (emphasis added)
Yes, King george is granting his most loyal retainers absolution in advance for any depravities they might commit in the coming years, and immunizing them from retribution for crimes already committed. Once the Imperial hand scrawls the name of our Usurper King on the bottom of this measure, then, there is nothing, and no one, to stop him from doing anything he bloody wants. Any elected official, law enforcement officer, or private citizen who dares to voice even the mildest of criticisms can be whisked off to the new American gulag and taught the true meaning of patriotism. And it's all perfectly legal.
How many times will we hear that defense in the coming years? As if getting a sniveling group of cowards masquerading as members of the United States Congress to abandon any semblance of principles and any pretext of upholding the Constitution somehow makes such filthy business wholesome and clean. "It's perfectly legal," we'll be told. "We are following the law," we'll be assured.
It is the first duty of the oppressor to make oppression "legal". That charade has given the color of law to acts of depraved inhumanity for centuries. If you've forgotten, here's a refresher course:
Slavery in the United States, 1776-1861. Perfectly legal.
Apartheid in South Africa, 1948-1994. Perfectly legal.
The Disappeared in Argentina, 1976-1983. Perfectly legal.
The Holocaust in Europe, 1938-1945. Perfectly legal.
The Crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem, circa 30 AD. Perfectly legal.
Our Imperial Master is now poised to join this ghastly parade. The moment this abomination becomes the law of the land, the United States of America will disappear. In its place will be a wholly unrecognizable country where there are no laws, only the iron fist of the despot.
God help us all.
posted by wally at 5:08 PM
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