Definition of Terms

So the Democrats have won control of the Congress, and beginning in January the Republic is once again in safe hands, eh?

WRONG!

I have resisted categorizing the current crop of government officials by their party labels. The political parties have their differences, but on the most vital issue of our time -- the runaway totalitarianism that has our country by the throat -- the dividing line is not neatly separated by (R) and (D). It is more constructive, in this context, to divide the governing class between Royalists and Anti-Royalists.

The dictionary defines "royalist" as "an adherent of a king or of monarchical government". There is no question that the entirety of the Republican Party's ruling elite consists of Royalists. They are willing to do make any sacrifice -- especially any sacrifice of your inherent liberties -- to support the monarchical designs of our Boy King and his Regent, the Dark Lord of Wyoming. In the wake of their overwelming rejection by American voters on November 7th, the Republican Royalists continue carrying out their designs for enforcing their vision of ordered and orderly society on the rest of us. Don't believe me? Check out what they were doing six days after the election:

"Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees."

This argument is made in the case of a Qatari citizen, a legal U.S. resident, who was detained five years ago as a "material witness" in the 9/11 investigation. After some time in the custody of the FBI, The Empire charged him with lying to investigators. Then, just before he was about to go on trial for those charges (which he vigorously denies), he was designated an "enemy combatant" and locked up inside a military prison in South Carolina.

To be clear, this is not some Taliban grunt grabbed off a battlefield in Afghanistan, or pro-Saddamist insurgent who was setting roadside bombs in Iraq. This man was a student at a U.S. college, who was seized on American soil (specifically, Peoria, Illinois), where he had the legal right to be. Now, the Royalists insist, he has no rights at all. They can hold him forever, without bothering to explain to him -- or anyone else -- why he is being held. He is not permitted to ask a court to review his status, or the conditions of his imprisonment. Glenn Greenwald succinctly summarizes the outrage the Royalists are perpetrating:

"There is no greater betrayal of the core principles of American political life than to have the federal government sweep people off the streets, throw them into a black hole with no contact with the outside world and no charges asserted of any kind, and simply keep them there for as long as the President desires..."

Actually, the betrayal goes even deeper. The Imperial Inquistors claim as justification for their actions the Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a particularly cynical manipulation of the laws of common sense (not to mention common decency), the government claims its treatment of this man is in full accordance with a law that wasn't even passed by Congress until nearly five years after his liberty was denied him. The Royalists would have us believe that they were complying with a law that hadn't even been written when the Clown-in-Chief designated the man an "enemy combatant."

Perhaps we should refer to him as the Kreskin-in-Chief. He apparently has the power to see into the future and know what laws will apply in the years to come.

So the Royalist position is clear -- the government has the untramelled right to grab someone from his or her home and lock that peron away forever, with no questions asked. That is not a twisted reading of the Military Commissions Act. It is, in fact, the express purpose of the statute -- to put any action by the executive against an individual beyond the reach of any oversight or review (legislative or judicial). It forbids courts from examining either the terms of a person's incarceration, or the conditions of imprisonment.

It, in short, legalizes the Star Chamber and empowers it to torture anyone it sees fit.

The Miliary Commissions Act is the most prized possession of the Imperial regime. It vests extraordinary, and uninhibited, power in the government to use against its citizens, and against legal residents of the United States, and against anyone in the world deemed an Enemy of the Crown. It is the ultimate expression (so far) of monarchical authority.

The legislation was enacted without any pretense. Every member of Congress who voted for it knew exactly what he or she was approving. As a result, I believe it can fairly be viewed as a litmus test to separate the Royalists from the Anti-Royalists. And, it should come as no surprise, not a single Republican member of the United States Senate voted against it.

More importantly, however, there were 12 Democratic Senators who also voted to enact this tyrannical measure*. They are:

Carper (D-DE), Johnson (D-SD), Landrieu (D-LA), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Lieberman (D-CT), Menendez (D-NJ), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Rockefeller (D-WV), Salazar (D-CO) and Stabenow (D-MI).

When Congress convenes its new session in January, all 12 will still be in office. They may be Democrats (with the exception of Lieberman, who returns as some sort of bastardized independent), but they are also Royalists.

Democrats won the majority in Congress, but do the math. There will be 49 Republican Senators who endorsed the omnipotent executive, and 12 Democratic Senators. That means the true majority in the Senate will be held by 61 Royalists.

Still feel like celebrating the Democratic Party's election "victory"?
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* 32 Democratic members of the House also voted for this abomination.

It's Official: American Democracy Is Dead

If you think the tide of anti-Royalist sentiment now rising across America will have any effect on the ruling junta, think again. The Imperial Regent himself has declared democracy no longer applies. When asked about the overwhelming desire by the American people to end the war in Iraq, the Power Behind the Throne said, in effect, "F*** yourselves."

"It may not be popular with the public. It doesn't matter, in the sense that we have to continue the mission and do what we think is right. And that's exactly what we're doing. We're not running for office, we're doing what we think is right." (emphasis added)

It's hard to get any more plain-spoken than that. The Dark Lord himself has proclaimed the wishes of the American people don't matter. And if the anti-Royalists are routed at the polls on Tuesday, the Boy King will pay no particular notice. His Imperiousness Cheney again (Americablog has the video; it's 50 seconds in):

"I think it'll have some effect perhaps in the Congress, but the president's made clear what his objective is. It's victory in Iraq. And it's full speed ahead on that basis. And that's exactly what we're going to do." (emphasis added)

So let's review -- the Torturer-in-Chief will ignore the clearly expressed desire of the American people to end the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq and slaughter of its populace, even if that desire is expressed by changing the majority in Congress. Such a change will have no bearing on what our Imperial masters do, and may not even effect what happens inside the United States Capitol.

The first part of that assertion is bald-faced arrogance, breathtaking in its sweep but not particularly surprising. It is the second part that may reveal more than the Overlord of the Potomac intended. Stripping the Royalists of their legislative majority, he tells us, may not have any effect on the workings of Congress. Considering that for most of the past six years Congress has been an obedient lapdog of the Imperium, it's hard to imagine that there's any way an anti-Royalist majority won't affect its actions. Yet Cheney is raising the distinct possibility that it will be business-as-usual no matter who runs the House and/or Senate.

Is there any clearer indication that the ruling junta intends to hold onto power beyond this election? (And, perhaps, beyond...) The conclusion is unavoidable. The American Experiment in self-governance has been terminated. With extreme prejudice.

Even so, I am not advocating an abdication of each citizen's responsibility as an American. Vote. Vote enthusiastically. Vote, and insist you are presented with evidence that your ballot has been properly recorded and counted. Vote, and encourage everyone you know to vote.

Then remember that the election itself is but a means to an end. The real work of reclaiming our country from this criminal gang of usurpers merely begins on November 7th. It won't end until they are all behind bars.

Preferrably at someplace like Guantanamo, where they can learn first-hand about the efficacy of their own "alternative interrogation techniques".