Violations of the U.S. Constitution

Today, I had the distinct honor of being called a liar by someone who disagreed with something I commented on in response to a friend's innocuous post about today being Constitution day.  Considering the speed with which this person responded and called me a liar, I'm forced to conclude that they did not do any research to back up their claim that I am a liar, and instead were relying on their innate "superior" moral compass when responding.

The gist of what I stated was this: The Bush Administration is guilty of violating the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights of several U.S. citizens, foreign nationals legally residing on U.S. soil, and prisoners under U.S. care.  Additionally, the Bush Administration is guilty of violating several civil rights of the same.

The person who accused me of lying responded by stating, "I have rarely seen such outright lies posted by libs. Of course, with demos totally distancing themselves from Obama, they have nothing left but to bash W with a bunch of lies. Memo: Bush is not running for any office."  I will not be posting this person's name as I did not receive permission to quote them.  I will say that they called me out on a specific point regarding posse comitatus, and they were in fact correct on that point, though they neglected to include all of the facts associated with it.

I offered this person the opportunity to carry on a private, logical, and fact-based dialog with me, however it's been a few hours since I made the offer, and they have not yet responded.  I've always been a little impatient, and with this slur against my honor, I feel the need to show the research I did prior to making my statement.  For those of you who are a little rusty on your U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, I will be providing links to each Amendment on www.usconstitution.net.

Bush Administration violation of the First Amendment: This violation is outlined in no less than the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, specifically Section 215.  Under the USA PATRIOT Act, Sec. 215, the federal government is authorized to obtain or use ANY information to determine if you are a terrorist.  This includes, but is not limited to: medical/dental records, library records, ISP logs, etc.  Under this statute, the federal agent just needs to submit a request for these records to a federal judge with no more than a suspicion that you might be involved with a terrorist activity.  This includes U.S. Citizens who are protected under the First Amendment for what they say and read as long as it is not a direct threat to another person.  This law also violates the First Amendment by allowing for "sneak and peek" roving wiretaps that do not require a warrant.  Basically, anything you say can be used against you, whether you are a threat or not.  President Bush is guilty of violating the First Amendment of the Constitution by signing this bill into law, the 107th Congress is guilty for voting for it, and the Administration is guilty for not raising any red flags against it.  To be fair, the entire Obama Administration and the current congress are guilty for allowing this law to continue with very little changes. (USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 is available for viewing here)

Bush Administration violation of the Fourth Amendment: This one is a biggie.  Legal counsel to President Bush, Alberto Gonzalez, specifically asked the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice if there was a way to get around the Fourth Amendment.  In their response, they stated that if the action fell under the Department of Defense, then the Fourth Amendment did not apply.  As the National Security Administration falls under the DoD, this effectively grants them the right to bypass the Fourth Amendment as long as they say they are conducting "domestic military operations."  Actions that can be taken include but are not limited to: warrant-less  wire-tapping, search or seizure of persons of interest without probable cause, search or seizure of property without probable cause.  You may be saying to yourself, well, at least I have my Fifth Amendment rights...

Bush Administration violation of the Fifth Amendment: Whoops, hold on there.  In a later memo issued by the DoJ's OLC, if you are declared to be an enemy combatant by the government, then you have no Fifth Amendment right.  You can be stripped of liberty and property indefinitely and without due process as long as you are "held abroad."  That is why the Bush Administration wanted to use Guantanamo Bay Navy Base, for "enemy combatants" that were "identified" domestically.  The violation occurs here because according to U.S. law, a military asset located abroad (ship, base, outpost, outhouse, etc) is considered U.S. soil, and persons detained at these assets are to be treated as though they were physically in the U.S.

Bush Administration violation of the Sixth Amendment: Anyone who has seen the news knows this one.  Lots of detainees being held for years without trial or the opportunity to confront their accusers.  I'm not sure what the legal precedent is for alien unlawful combatants, but for American citizens, this applies whether you are guilty of a misdemeanor or high treason.

Bush Administration violation of the Eighth Amendment: Quick!  How do you get away with torturing someone and doing away with human rights standards?  Call it something else and don't leave any marks.  This is what happened when detainees were forced to stand in stress positions, were "aggressively interrogated," were water boarded, and sleep deprived among other despicable acts.  There's a very good article on Wikipedia about this, and it links to the sources they used in writing the article.  Sources include DoJ memos which tell how something which would normally be considered a human rights / Eighth Amendment violation can be redefined by the President so that it's not.  As for this, crap by any other name still smells bad.

Now I realize that this rant of mine may look like it is a very "leftist" view of things.  If you're a hard core conservative and have made it this far, congratulations!  The truth is that if the Obama Administration was serious about addressing the rightful grievances the American people have against the U.S. government, they would attempt to get the USA PATRIOT Act either repealed or rewritten so that it does not violate American civil rights.  Having been in the military, I can understand a need for a certain level of security.  However it does not need to come at the cost of having my personal life invaded because I "might" be associated with a terror group.  If the American people would be more vigilant on their own instead of letting Big Brother watch over their every move; if the American people as a whole actually gave a damn about taking care of themselves instead of being taken care of; if the American people as a whole were just a little more proud of themselves and each other for living in a country known as a symbol of hope and freedom, then perhaps we wouldn't have to worry about losing our freedom to the government.