— if not, I am certainly remiss in my duties. 😉
Yeah, I’m going to keep beating this dead horse.
The record of the vote on the Cloture Motion to restore Habeas Corpus.
From The US Constitution Online:
Habeas Corpus
habeas corpus n. Law A writ issued to bring a party before a court to prevent unlawful restraint.
The basic premise behind habeas corpus is that you cannot be held against your will without just cause. To put it another way, you cannot be jailed if there are no charges against you. If you are being held, and you demand it, the courts must issue a writ or habeas corpus, which forces those holding you to answer as to why. If there is no good or compelling reason, the court must set you free. It is important to note that of all the civil liberties we take for granted today as a part of the Bill of Rights, the importance of habeas corpus is illustrated by the fact that it was the sole liberty thought important enough to be included in the original text of the Constitution.
Can someone explain to me why smothing this is a good idea, even to the most strident, ignorant, fear-riddled Conservative?
I’ve seen a lot of talk from the candidates about healthcare reform, the war, and other pressing issues. However, I haven’t seen much regarding the restoration of Habeas Corpus or the rebuilding of our devastated Bill of Rights.
If I were to make a YouTube entry for a future Democratic debates, it would be something along the lines of, “What are you going to do to restore the integrity of the Constitution? What will you do to restore my civil liberties? What will you do to ensure that I cannot be arrested and held without charges, with no access to the courts and no ability to challenge the circumstances of my imprisonment? What will you do to ensure that this country is as safe as possible without sacrificing more of what our forefathers fought for?”
In the meantime:
Please help Dodd & Leahy push the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act.
Some recapping (older links that are still, sadly, relevant):
Keith Olbermann’s October 10th commentary on this subject..
Are We Better Off: One Liberty At A Time
Organize to Bring Back the Bill of Rights
I’m swamped, and have no brain left to speak of. Work, wedding stuff, work, and work… kinda making me a little nuts. But… I do have Armani + Ryan Philippe + Amanda Lepore / Alejandro Jodorowsky = Love, and that makes everything ok.
Ok, Alejandro Jodorowsky had nothing to do with that, but it did, for some reason, make me think of a high fashion version of Santa Sangre or Holy Mountain.
Losing it a little. Very sleepy. Loves me some Amanda Lepore.
Also, some Grace Jones. Holy shit, she is eternally awesome.
