Subversion of the Common Law…


We are living in very dangerous times.

And, unfortunately, there is little responsible editorial to explain what has happened and is happening to the rights of man. This is the fault of our media and our government. For the most part, we are unawares that our freedoms in a thousand different ways are slipping away and may not be there when we need them; nor do we realize that there may be no going back from the unprecedented exercise of powers we are witnessing now with the establishing of precedent…

Under the president’s Patriot Act, the government can snoop randomly or arbitrarily without FISA approvals on any citizen. For the first time, we do not have the Constitution to fall back on; yet we feel that no danger could befall us because of the guarantees of a democracy.

What most of us don’t realize is that with current data mining techniques and content programs seeking key words, someone could find themselves in the position of defending themselves against shoddy, questionable evidence and having their words compete with the government’s argument….

The president through the Attorney General’s ruling can if he deems necessary pick up a citizen under suspicion of being a traitor or a would be “terrorist.” Nobody I talk to seems to understand what constitutes sufficient cause.

What constitutes being a traitor? Or a would be “terrorist?”

What is particularly vexing is this government’s ability to manipulate and interpret words for their own ends. Their intentional misuse of language to obfuscate, distract and literally mislead the public may extend to the definition of what constitutes suspicion we don’t know. Therefore, might a terrorist simply be someone who doesn’t agree with this White House and says so?

Is it enough to criticize the government to find one’s self whisked away to some unknown country where a confession could be extracted through torture?

Need we be reminded that the right to assemble and criticize our government is at the very heart of our Constitution.

Already, we have seen such rights of free discourse trampled on in the rush to judgment. It is fact that Citizens of the United States have literally been taken to foreign countries to be interrogated on the basis of suspicion only without the benefit of a fair trial. . Nor have these citizens been allowed counsel or the guarantees of habeas corpus…

It has already been discussed with utmost seriousness that under the guise of protecting the citizenry against some major outbreak, like a flu epidemic, that martial law could be invoked. One might ask whether any kind of resistance to the government’s position might justify a similar response. Anything is possible when the Executive feels free to interpret the laws as they see fit, has little appreciation for the specific meaning of language and is capable of suspending the Constitution because of the threats of ‘terrorism.’ This is a government that operates in total darkness and who says one thing and does another. It is also a government that throws accusations around liberally and sees no problem with attacking some one for disagreeing with their actions as a traitor.

. There is evidence to suggest that we may already be at the threshold of expanded new powers for the government that would give them arbitrary powers of life and death over someone charged with being a terrorist or conspirator. .

If one were picked up on “suspicion,” there would be no access to your lawyer as provided by the Constitution and no habeas corpus to assure that charges are filed through channels and little demand for proof beyond the shadow of a doubt.

No. The president’s grasp of power and attack on terrorists has resulted in a suspension of liberties that we have never seen before in this country and never thought to be possible. …

Moreover, no proof is needed, a citizen can be brought in on suspicion alone.

Several American citizens have already been charged with being terrorists but because they have not been tried in the courts, no one knows whether the government’s charges are responsible or legitimate.

What’s worse, there is no countervailing pressure for balance and objectivity. The president has assumed the normal “checks” and “balances” of congress and the courts with the citizen having little recourse.

Moreover, we were warned about such possible excesses of democracy by a French philosopher 100 years ago. The philosopher explained that while government under a democracy is a splendid thing to witness, the government may also be changed in plain sight with nobody being the wiser and transformed into a form of unilateralist government or dictatorship with comparative ease.

This is borne out by experience.

Consider data mining techniques.

What’s more, data mining techniques used by government today and relational databases make it possible for someone to be arrested on suspicion for doing hardly more than making a call to the Middle East and discussing the course of the War.

Recently, a Scavenger-type program caused the Secret Service to visit a middle class home on Long Island and demand to know who was using the computer. The housewife, frightened to death, said it was her children. The Secret Service had picked up on their computer two words, “Dead Presidents;” they did not realize that the kids were talking about a vocal group.

What is tentatively in place now is frightening because it establishes a dangerous precedent for a democracy.

Now, the president has recommended a replacement for Gonzalez who has already shown a penchant for bizarre acts including the suggestion of starting a National Court that would review the evidence against someone suspected of would be terrorism or a lack of patriotism. There is no interpretation for what such charges actually mean and there are no forms of checks and balances to review the substance of the case so that charges may be dismissed.

As a result, it appears that we are on very shaky ground here where subjectivity might rule the day at the expense of a citizens freedoms and liberties.

It seems to me that the cure is beginning to look much worse than the illness…
We should be particularly cautious as this president’s final term in office plays out….
Les Aaron