<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BURIED IN THE complex Senate compromise on detainee treatment is a real shocker, reaching far beyond the legal struggles about foreign terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay fortress. 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. This dangerous compromise not only authorizes the president to seize and hold terrorists who have fought against our troops "during an armed conflict," it also allows him to seize anybody who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States." This grants the president enormous power over citizens and legal residents. They can be designated as enemy combatants if they have contributed money to a Middle Eastern charity, and they can be held indefinitely in a military prison. Not to worry, say the bill's defenders. The president can't detain somebody who has given money innocently, just those who contributed to terrorists on purpose. But other provisions of the bill call even this limitation into question. What is worse, if the federal courts support the president's initial detention decision, ordinary Americans would be required to defend themselves before a military tribunal without the constitutional guarantees provided in criminal trials. Legal residents who aren't citizens are treated even more harshly. The bill entirely cuts off their access to federal habeas corpus, leaving them at the mercy of the president's suspicions...... </div> http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...inion-rightrail I think they're calling this "The Detainee Bill".... but a more appropriate name would be "Crap on the Bill of Rights Bill". EDIT: MORE INFO ON THIS BILL <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The new measures provide defendants with more legal rights than they had under the old system but eliminate their right to challenge their detention and treatment in federal courts. The bill forbids treatment of detainees that would constitute war crimes - such as torture, rape and biological experiments - but gives the president the authority to decide which other techniques interrogators can use. However, during a heated debate, Democrat senators accused the administration of tearing up 200 years of legal standards by removing detainees rights such as habeas corpus - the right to challenge their own detention. "This longstanding tradition of our country about to be abandoned here is one of the great, great mistakes that I think history will record," Democrat Chris Dodd told the Senate. Others backed claims by human rights groups that worry that the complex set of rules will allow harsh techniques that border on torture - such as sleep deprivation. "This bill gives an administration that lobbied for torture exactly what it wanted," said Senator John Kerry. A US army reserve office and lawyer representing a Yemeni detainee in Guantanamo Bay, Tom Fleener, criticised the loss of some rights, such as habeas corpus, to secure others, such as a detainee's right to see evidence. He said the legislation was "horrific" and that "anything short of torture" could be admitted against such detainees. </div> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5390848.stm
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">The Senate just approved this. Wake up America!</div> what bush wants, he gets.
Man, George Lucas should have waited a few decades to write the prequels. He could have used this as a blueprint.
Who knows maybe the next president will scrap this bill. Bush won't be in office next term, so who knows how it will turn out.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">Whoa, this is crazy. I seriously cannot wait until George Bush is out of office.</div> Isn't it about time someone assassinated him? Heck Lincoln and Kennedy were killed for lesser reasons.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SkiptoMyLue11:</div><div class="quote_post">Who knows maybe the next president will scrap this bill. Bush won't be in office next term, so who knows how it will turn out.</div> The last two elections in the U.S. proved the process has been corrupted. Next in line to replace George W is probably Jeb Bush. Ever since the Republican party started criticizing Clinton for being the reason for the surge in terrorism, the popularity for Bush has edged up again.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting I-Miss-MJ:</div><div class="quote_post">Isn't it about time someone assassinated him? Heck Lincoln and Kennedy were killed for lesser reasons.</div> He needs to be impeached and thrown into one his own detention centers.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">He needs to be impeached and thrown into one his own detention centers.</div> Sounds like a plan!
