You Want Rights? Show Me The Money

Governor Walker needs to be educated on exactly what the word 'abridged' means.

Gov. Scott Walker’s administration could hold demonstrators at the Capitol liable for the cost of extra police or cleanup and repairs after protests, under a new policy unveiled Thursday.

The rules, which several legal experts said raised serious free speech concerns, seemed likely to add to the controversy that has simmered all year over demonstrations in the state’s seat of government.

The policy, which also requires permits for events at the statehouse and other state buildings, took effect Thursday and will be phased in by Dec. 16. Walker administration officials contend the policy simply clarifies existing rules. State law already says public officials may issue permits for the use of state facilities, and applicants “shall be liable to the state . . . for any expense arising out of any such use and for such sum as the managing authority may charge for such use.”

But Edward Fallone, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School, said the possibility of charging demonstrators for police costs might be problematic because some groups might not be able to afford to pay. “I’m a little skeptical about charging people to express their First Amendment opinion,” he said. “You can’t really put a price tag on the First Amendment.”

My best guess is that this idea would not stand up to a court challenge but I'm no lawyer.

Treason Or Not

I've been so busy with stuff that I am a little behind the news cycle but there is something I just have to comment on (even though my car is full of stuff from the Flea Fling yesterday, the grill is still full of ashes, and on and on).

There is a reason there is only one crime actually spelled out in the Constitution of the United States....

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.


The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

While our founders were concerned about unfair taxes, their greatest concern was for the history of the crown declaring domestic enemies as treasonous and then using that as an excuse for executing them. The assassination of the cleric Al Alwaki by the United States was a terrible miscarriage of justice and it surely has the founding fathers and mothers turning in their graves. To prevent this type of lawless assassination was precisely why treason is defined so carefully. When the government can murder a citizen without due process and then suffer no consequence we are all in terrible trouble. Just because the assassination was carried out in another country is irrelevant. This is a precedent that we should all fear. Terrorism, GWOT, "Global Battlefield", Al Qaeda, etc. etc. are all just loaded words that are used to cloud the issue that it is now apparently all right to declare an American citizen treasonous and summarily execute same without due process. Not Good.

Crickets from the Tea Party

Has anyone noticed the lack of outrage from the tea partiers over the police state now created in Arizona? For  a bunch of blowhards constantly wrangling about big government and intrusions on civil rights you would think that they would be a the forefront of outrage over this disastrous law. They can sure get worked up about all the make believe intrusions on their rights and other right wing fantasies ginned up by FAUX News, Limbaugh and Beck but they are surprisingly sanguine about the most disgusting piece of police state legislation the U.S. has seen in a long time.

All I can say is I am glad I have seen the Grand Canyon and most everything else Arizona has to offer because I won't even consider going somewhere in the U.S. where I have to carry my passport or birth certificate for fear of not being able to prove I am a legal resident.

Georgia Too?

How disgusting and how embarrassing! I didn't comment on Texas Governor Rick Perry's asinine threats out of respect for my Texas friends(anf wife)...it was just downright silly and you know how Texans can get worked up. Now, according to Jay Bookman of the AJC the Georgia Senate is even worse! This is just too much on top of yesterday's threat by the GOP governor of Texas to secede as well. The Georgia Senate voted and passed a resolution by a vote of 43-1 to secede from and even disband the United States. There is no other explanation than insanity. Here is Jay...

In fact, Senate Resolution 632 did a lot more than merely threaten to end this country. It stated that under the Constitution, the only crimes the federal government could prosecute were treason, piracy and slavery.

“Therefore, all acts of Congress which assume to create, define or punish [other] crimes … are altogether void, and of no force,” the Georgia Senate declared.

In other words, in the infinite, almost unanimous wisdom of the Georgia Senate, Michael Vick is being imprisoned illegally, Bernie Madoff should serve no time for stealing $60 billion and the Unabomber must go free. In fact, the federal penitentiary in Atlanta should be emptied of its inmates.

But wait, there’s more.

The resolution goes on to endorse the theory that states have the right to abridge constitutional freedoms of religion, press and speech. According to the resolution, it is up to the states to decide “how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged.”

The resolution even endorses “nullification,” the legal concept that states have the power to “nullify” or ignore federal laws that they believe exceed the powers granted under the Constitution. That concept has a particularly nasty legacy. It helped precipitate the Civil War, and in the 1950s and early ’60s it was cited by Southern states claiming the right to ignore Supreme Court rulings ordering the end of segregation.

Finally, the resolution states that if Congress, the president or federal courts take any action that exceeds their constitutional powers, the Constitution is rendered null and void and the United States of America is officially disbanded. As an example, the resolution specifically states that if the federal government enacts “prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition,” the country is disbanded.

In other words, if Congress votes to restore the ban on sale of assault rifles, the United States is deemed to no longer exist.

What you are seeing here are Republicans intentionally inciting violence just like they did during the campaign. They began egging their followers towards violence during the presidential campaign, and continue to increase the inflammatory language using their shills like Glenn Beck and the rest of Faux News. Today they had the gall to call for the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to no longer investigate known domestic terror threats. These people are crazy!

Serious Republicans better wake the fuck up and get this extremism under control because the GOP has a serious problem with extremists, not just in its midst, but among its leadership and its key allies in the faux media (FOX News, Limbaugh, the blogs, and the religious right). Maybe they don't realize ( and maybe they don't care) but there is ample evidence that there are some extreme followers who are listening and need very little to move them toward severe violence. Now that they're calling on the government to ignore known terrorist threats, it's only a matter of time before something serious happens and they won't be able to hide from their responsibility for it. If they really want to be the party out of power then let something happen that can clearly be associated with the continuos calls for secession and violence emanating from the GOP and they will know the gutter permanently.

While I wasn't born in Georgia I have lived here long enough to be embarrassed by this. I can truly say that when I read this I was actually speechless.

It's the Constitution

Once again Krugman is right. Obama doesn't have a choice under the oath he will take next Tuesday to ignore the crimes of Bush and his cronies. It's not about what is convenient and comfortable for Obama and his team. It's about the Constitution and what the long term consequences of ignoring the laws that have been broken are.

Now, it’s true that a serious investigation of Bush-era abuses would make Washington an uncomfortable place, both for those who abused power and those who acted as their enablers or apologists. And these people have a lot of friends. But the price of protecting their comfort would be high: If we whitewash the abuses of the past eight years, we’ll guarantee that they will happen again.

Meanwhile, about Mr. Obama: while it’s probably in his short-term political interests to forgive and forget, next week he’s going to swear to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” That’s not a conditional oath to be honored only when it’s convenient.

And to protect and defend the Constitution, a president must do more than obey the Constitution himself; he must hold those who violate the Constitution accountable. So Mr. Obama should reconsider his apparent decision to let the previous administration get away with crime. Consequences aside, that’s not a decision he has the right to make.

I'm as big a fan of live and live as the next guy but this is about the rule of law and there should be consequences for breaking it or ignoring or wiping your feet with it.

It Can't Happen Here

Looking around the web and reports from friends highlights the fact that something very bad is happening in Minneapolis-St. Paul. There's something coming down in Minneapolis-St. Paul that looks very menacing-- real "Can't Happen Here" fascist, gestapo tactics that look they are coordinated from on high-- with FBI and Homeland Security participation.

Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald are in Minneapolis and have some first hand reports. Looking pretty ugly. There are a bunch of posts up at Firedoglake about all of this.

Can't Happen here my ass!

Update: Here is the story of how Amy Goodman was arrested at the RNC. Ugly!
You can watch Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! talk about her arrest and the arrest of two of Democracy Now! producers here at Skippy's place

Your Papers Citizen

It's only a matter of time before it's "Your papers citizen?". Steve at YDD has the dope but let's just say the Department of Hopeless Insecurity has just lowered the bar one more time. Here is a snip but you really need to read the whole thing at Steve's.

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

[snip]

The policies state that officers may "detain" laptops "for a reasonable period of time" to "review and analyze information." This may take place "absent individualized suspicion."

The policies apply to any and everything that can store digital or analog information such as flash drives, IPods, cell phones, BlackBerry's you name it. Notice they have just brushed aside "probable cause" and "unreasonable search" with nary a sniffle for our lost rights.

Madam and I are heading across the pond on Tuesday and this little jewel made me decide to leave the laptop at home. The Fallenmonk will go dark for a couple of weeks unless someone wants to volunteer to play in my sandbox while I am away.

Nice Knowing You Fourth

Yesterday's Senate vote on FISA was not a surprise. We knew they were going to throw the 4th Amendment in the trash. The fight isn't over yet and while this battle is lost for now, there are more to fight. One thing yesterday's vote firmly established however, is that it should convince you or anyone else that the idea that our leaders are going to "lead" in the fight to preserve our civil liberties and preserve the Constitution is complete bullshit. Barack Obama and all the others are only going to step up and do the right thing when we give them a reason to do so and not until we do so.

We, as U.S. citizens, need to come together in a purposeful coalition and create the political climate where to do anything less than support our Constitution and the sacred rights of its citizens is the only way a politician can survive and keep his or her job. Until we make it the "smart" thing to do politically the politicians are going to listen to other interests and not the American people.

What can you do now?

• Donate to AccountabilityNowPAC through ActBlue
• Pledge to return on August 8 when they detonate the money bomb
• Sign on to have your blog or website listed on the sponsor page
• Spread the word by placing one of these logos on your web page

It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, or Green or any other of the myriad constituencies in this countty. It is to all our advantage that we insure we hold politicians to their oath to uphold the Constitution. Upholding the founding principles of our country is not partisan. It is necessary if we are to preserve and cherish this union.

h/t Firedoglake

What Constitution?

Isn't amazing how the GOP can so completely show their ignorance or even their total disregard for the Constitution? It is no wonder the current administration so blithely tramples over it at the drop of a hat.

Today:

WASHINGTON—Former secretaries of state James Baker III and Warren Christopher say the next time the president goes to war, Congress should be required to say whether it agrees. The co-chairmen of a bipartisan study group have proposed legislation that would require the president to consult lawmakers before initiating combat lasting longer than a week, except in cases of emergencies.

1787:

Article I, Section 8

The Congress shall have Power ...

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

H/t the Great Orange Satan

Independence Day

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Happy 232nd America!

We are a little off the mission right now but it looks like we have a new skipper coming aboard. Next 4th will look a lot more promising.

This half page ad ad appeared yesterday in the New York Times h/t to Firedoglake

INDEPENDENCE DAY
July 4, 1776 - 2008

When in the course of human events the government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established, it is the Right of the People to alter it and demand restoration of those Constitutional Principles that have so long assured their Liberty, Safety, and Happiness. Therefore, on the anniversary of our Independence, we offer this new declaration for our times.

The history of this president is one of arbitrary usurpations of power, the effect of which is to establish tyranny through false promises of gerater security.

He has created a multitude of secret programs and sent swarms of petty officers to spy on Americans in a misguided effort to combat foreign terrorism. He has invested these agents with sweeping new powers to monitor our conversations and ransack our personal papers and effects without judicial supervision or any reason to believe -- as the Constitution requires -- that a crime has been committed.

He has further claimed the power to disregard legislation that Congress has passed.

He has suspended the laws and treaties against torture, authorized the kidnapping of mere suspects, and transported hundreds of prisoners beyond seas so that no independent judiciary could question the legality of their mistreatment.

He and his supporters in Congress have granted amnesty to the officials who unleashed torture and humiliation upon helpless prisoners, to the disgrace of our nation.

He has denied these prisoners access to attorneys, family, and friends and has claimed the right to try them before military tribunals specifically designed to disregard the most basic principles of law.

He has imprisoned thousands of lawful immigrants for months without charges, under brutal conditions, until his agents, rather than independent courts, decide that they posed no threat.

He has wrapped his usurpations of power and his deprivations of liberty in thick cloaks of secrecy, thereby showing contempt for the rule of law and the proper functions of Congress, the courts, and the press.

At every stage of these oppressions we have sought redress, but our petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.

We, therefore, resolve to resist these usurpations by all lawful means at our disposal. We insist that the powers of our national government be shared by all branches of that government and not concentrated in one alone. And we call upon Congress, the courts, and the press to reassert their constitutional functions and restore the promise that is America.

To these ends, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Rolled Again!

I'm about to hit the road again and head home to Atlanta. While I am driving (and trying to stay awake) the House will be having a sham debate and voting on George Bush and Steny Hoyer's disastrous and fatally flawed FISA bill. This bill is a complete cave in to the criminal George Bush and his equally criminal minions. It gives him and the telecoms everthing they want. I had mistakenly thought that the days of cowering before Bush were over but it looks like I was seriously wrong. I mean really, Bush's approval rating is 29%. But even though he is a complete lame duck he has somehow managed to roll the Democratic Majority Leadership one more time. Do you think Shrub has pictures of them doing disgusting things with animals or something? What other excuse could there be?

Last night on Keith Olbermann Keith's guest, legal scholar Jonathan Turley, called the new bill an "evisceration of the Fourth Amendment." He also stated "This bill has quite literally no public value for citizens or civil liberties."

This is not the way to start a weekend. If you can you might try calling your Congressman...I've emailed mine but he is a Shrub toady so it was a waste of time.

Supreme Court: Gitmo detainees have habeas rights

Update: If you want to understand how important this ruling by the Supreme Court is then go read Glenn Greenwald and get the perspective from a Constitutional lawyer.

This is a good thing...

From the Washington Post

The Supreme Court today rebuked the Bush administration for a third time for its handling of the rights of terrorism detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying those in custody there have a constitutional right to challenge their captivity in federal courts.

By a 5 to 4 vote that brought strongly worded and remorseful dissents from the court's conservative justices, the majority held that an alternative procedure designed by the administration and Congress was inadequate to insure that the detainees, some of whom have been imprisoned for six years without a hearing, receive their day in court.

"The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote. "Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law."

Justice Antonin Scalia took the unusual step of reading his dissent from the bench, calling the court's decision a "self-invited . . . incursion into military affairs," and was even stronger in a written dissent joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.

"America is at war with radical Islamists," Scalia wrote, adding that the decision "will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed."

All I can say is...about damn time!