Dec 15th, 2008
Posted by Caroline Fredrickson, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:55pm

Marching Toward Justice on the 217th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights

(Originally posted on Huffington Post.)

Our march toward justice has been long and not without setback, but as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once reminded us, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." His words have special resonance for me today, the 217th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, as this dark period in history draws to a close. Under the guise of safety and security, we have endured continual assaults on the basic principles on which this country rests: civil rights and liberties, open and limited government and a basic respect for the rule of law. Come January, Americans could have an opportunity to restore the vitality of our Bill of Rights, and resume the struggle to turn America into the place that Dr. King dreamed of where "justice runs down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

From the moment he takes office, President-elect Barack Obama will have the power to close the Guantánamo Bay prison, shut down the military commissions, stop abusive interrogations and prohibit the rendition of people to countries where they are likely to be tortured. These practices are a disgraceful perversion of everything good and decent this country stands for.

Indeed, our nation's founders fought a revolution to escape England's secret courts and gruesome brutality. They sought to create a society that prohibited the government from holding someone in jail indefinitely without charge, that allowed the accused to challenge the state's evidence against him or her, and that protected citizens from intrusive and unwarranted searches and seizures. These principles have played a vital role in making America a country "of laws and not of men."

But just over two centuries later, the Bush administration decided that it was above the law – at Guantanamo Bay, in the military commission process, and in the torture and rendition of those in our custody. We have imprisoned people at Guantanamo whom even the Department of Defense admits have no connection to terrorism or Al Qaeda. And, the president has refused to shut down the CIA's secret "black site" prisons or to acknowledge the illegality of water torture.

When our nation's founders ratified the Bill of Rights 217 years ago today, they knew that justice could not be served in secret, and that conviction and punishment doled out in the shadows inexorably leads to illegitimacy. Our commitment to civil liberties and the rule of law are not just the measure by which the world judges us but they are also the foundation on which our freedom and democracy rest. President-elect Obama has the power, on his first day of office, to restore the Bill of Rights and bend the moral arc a little closer towards justice. We, as Americans, must make sure he doesn't get led astray.

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Tags: Bill Of Rights, Civil Liberties News, guantanamo, Military Commissions, Rendition, Torture, Torture and Abuse

1. ATTENTION ACLU##### Says:
   Dec 17th, 2008 at 12:42pm

   Attention ACLU: The second amendment individual right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms is still part of the Bill Of Rights.

2. Vic Livingston (scrivener) Says:
   Dec 18th, 2008 at 1:03pm

   It appears that the government has used the Patriot Act and other provisions of the “war on terror” to conduct extensive “extrajudicial targeting” of U.S. citizens — perhaps for reasons of politics as opposed to national security — resulting in the denial of due process and unremitting harassment that some victims describe as “torture.”

   Persons subjected to these abuses often describe themselves as victims of so-called organized community or gang stalking. I have tried to post two articles that describe this mainstream journalist’s experiences as victim of such extrajudicial targeting and severe harassment that could be described as a form of torture. My posts keep getting taken down. I don’t know if ACLU is doing this, or if its site is being hacked by a third party entity.

   I once again will attempt to post links to my articles, and renew my plea to the ACLU to provide legal assistance to me and to the untold thousands of other Americans who have been subject to extrajudicial targeting and organized community/gang stalking at the apparent direction of government agencies.

   http://www.nowpublic.com/world/american-gestapo-state -supported-terrorism-targets-u-s-citizens
   http://www.nowpublic.com/world/targeting-u-s-citizens-govt-agencies -root-cause-wall-street-financial-crisis
   http://www.nowpublic.com/world/zap-have-you-been-targeted-directed- energy-weapon-victims-organized-gang-stalking-say-its-happening-usa-1< /p>

   OR IF LINKS ARE DISABLED:

   members.nowpublic.com/scrivener RE: “American Gestapo,” “Targeting of U.S. Citizens,” “Directed Energy Weapons”

   Since my communications are subject to interception and tampering (surveillance is only the beginning, ACLU), I would appreciate hearing from ACLU blog readers; please post messages to the “comments” section of my articles. Thank you.

3. ray allen Says:
   Dec 22nd, 2008 at 11:24am

   id like to know how one goes about sueing the aclu.

4. th Says:
   Feb 13th, 2009 at 1:41am

   Here here i agree america needs to sue the aclu for all the lives they have ruined so a criminal of a violent crime could get out of jail early. the honest hard working people of this land need to unite and stand up for the values they believe in and stop the pansies who cry because a prisoner doesn't have cable.

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   Dec 27th, 2009 at 2:14am

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