Are you Guilty?

Well, are you?

I am pretty sure that I am.
I am pretty upset about it too.
Cleary, I have not been paying attention to politics as closely as I should have been. I don't think I am alone, though, Congress has been doing a nice job of looking the other way as well.
So, I am feeling a bit pissed and a bit duped.

What the hell am I talking about?

Did you really look through the Military Commissions Act, that Congress passed through a year ago?
No, of course not. I didn't either, don't feel like I am judging you.

Do you realize that it gives the executive branch complete authority to circumvent the other branches of government, suspend habeus corpus, along with the rest of your Constitutional rights.

Well, it does.
The President just has to give the word and declare you an "enemy combatant."

Sure, you are thinking "Scott, the President isn't going to say I am some 'enemy combatant'."

I am just pointing out that he could. Maybe for something you say. Maybe for taking a picture of something you shouldn't. It has aleady happened to a lucky few citizens around the country.

Maybe (for some delusional moment I'll never understand) you are confident in your current President - and trust that would never happen to either one of us. What about the next chump we dump into the big White House? Are you sure you can trust that person? They might be from the other side of the aisle.
It could (technically) be Ralph Nader!
Now how do you like that?
I would reason that any damned moderate elephant backer might be considered an "enemy combatant" by Mr. Nader.


Anyway, I am all fired up because I just finished "End of America" by Naomi Wolf. It should be required fucking reading if you have a brain and are an American citizen.





You might be aware that I am a bit analytical. I usually will read a book two or three times, to make sure I didn't miss something. There is usually a gap of a few months between readings. I have gone through this book twice in a week, then found the 467 pages of the MCA on line and skimmed through them. Every page makes me more angry and more frightened by our present political landscape.

So what am I guilty of?
I am guilty of not looking at what my legislature is doing.
I am guilty of allowing my rights to be picked from my pocket.
I am guilty of letting this administration erode the foundations of my freedoms in the name of delivering freedom to the other side of the world.

Get on it, go read this book.