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Rolling Out the Welcome Mat
Bush's approval ratings are so low they would have given King George pause, yet Congress keeps granting him all the power he wants. Their latest capitulation on FISA granted the President even more power to spy on Americans without a warrant. Count the Fourth Amendment among the many Bush has trampled on. But we still have the Third Amendment! You remember the Third, don't you? It's the one about the government not being able to quarter soldiers in our homes. Sounds a bit antiquated in this modern era but at least the government can't spend the night after their unreasonable search and seizure. The latest Civil Discourse comic imagines what may happen if the President decided he needed some leeway in that department. Nothing says "fightin' terror" quite like a soldier in the living room! It may seem far-fetched, but hey, Bush only has a few months left in office and this guy seems like he's trying to set a record for Amendments shattered.
Tags: Civil Liberties News
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Jul 15th, 2008 at 1:07pm
Hmm, I hate to ask this: Given the disregard this administration has for our rights, what would stop them from trampling on the 3rd Amendment? Bush could simply say, "we are at war. The war on terror." The amendment says no quartering of troops in time of peace. Do you see where I am headed? Not that the guy needs our encouragement, but I can certainly see George using that line of thinking.
Jul 15th, 2008 at 6:37pm
Yes, I see where you are headed. It is called "martial law", and there is nothing that can stop the Bush Administration from moving in this direction except the American people. And I have major concerns about their ability to do that. This is a "multi-partisan" issue - we have all been complicit in the trampling of our civil rights because of our fear and our complacency, and it will be interesting to see if we have the backbone to do what is necessary to preserve what is left of our liberties.
Jul 15th, 2008 at 6:38pm
Just imagine if the rights of the few were put above the safety of the many. We'd have even more casualties of terrorism (remember 911?) Please get your priorities right and realize that peoples rights are very important but certain rights have priority over others. The right to life is more more important than one's personal privacy. I support freedom...but within reason. ACLU was founded in 1920 by communists - what is the real agenda here? How many times does the World Trade Center or US Military have to be attacked before we fight back?