Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Middle and Huckleberry's Update UPDATED
Middle John McCain and Huckleberry Grahams legislation continues to be hung up in negotiations with the White House. I think Digby has it right, a compromise will be reached that allows both sides to claim victory with smiles and back slaps all around, with (according to the press stenographers) Middle JC being the savior of the nation.

In the midst of whatever "they" come up with, I just want to remind everyone of this itsy bitsy fact:
Neil A. Lewis and Kate Zernike write in the New York Times: "Although the effort has been partly obscured by the highly publicized wrangling over military commissions for war crimes trials, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress are trying to use the same legislation to strip federal courts of their authority to review the detentions of almost all terrorism suspects.

"Both the legislation introduced on behalf of the administration and the competing bill sponsored by a group of largely Republican opponents in the Senate include a provision that would bar foreigners held abroad from using the federal trial courts for challenges to detention known as habeas corpus lawsuits. If the provision was enacted, it would mean that all of the lawsuits brought in federal court by about 430 detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, would be wiped from the books. . . .

"Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a sponsor of one of the bills eliminating the habeas corpus filings, said Wednesday that the flood of such lawsuits had hampered the war effort and given judges too much leeway to second-guess field commanders."
No matter what comes out, it will ultimately mean the removal of habeaus corpus human rights protections for anyone detained. And I'd bet my bottom dollar that this would be stretched to include U.S. citizens if the Cheney administration wanted to. This is clearly unconstitutional, although I have my concerns that the Cheney Supreme Court rubber stampers will agree.

For this legislation to move forward without a full-metal-jacket Democrat Party opposition would be a crime. We can only hope the clock runs out on the session before mid-terms, or that Senate Dems grow spins.

UPDATE: That did not take very long. Spectre still says that he wants to have habeaus corpus, but we know how stallwart he is. I think this is a "tag, youre it moment for the Dems"
Written at 9:59 AM by Greyhair.
1 comments
1 Comments:
Blogger Lynne said...
They have all the bases covered on this. Halliburton won the bid to construct detention facilities all across the country and Graham is in the middle of that too:
Not that George W. Bush needs much encouragement, but Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a new target for the administration's domestic operations—Fifth Columnists, supposedly disloyal Americans who sympathize and collaborate with the enemy.

"The administration has not only the right, but the duty, in my opinion, to pursue Fifth Column movements," Graham, R-S.C., told Gonzales during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Feb. 6.

"I stand by this president's ability, inherent to being commander in chief, to find out about Fifth Column movements, and I don't think you need a warrant to do that," Graham added, volunteering to work with the administration to draft guidelines for how best to neutralize this alleged threat.

"Senator," a smiling Gonzales responded, "the president already said we'd be happy to listen to your ideas."
11:22 AM  
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