Beaver County Times Allegheny Times - Letter To The Editor - On the short list

Beaver County Times Allegheny Times
Oct. 22, 2006

The United States was founded during a war of rebellion; it was a revolutionary war. The dangers our founding fathers faced were very real, including hanging.

Did they run from this danger? No. They stood firm and created our Constitution, the envy of the people of the world. Today, most elected federal-officials think "we the people" do not need the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Why? We have a president who, with a signing statement, declares the laws of the land do not apply to him. How can this happen?

Where are U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter and U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart? They are standing beside him and saying, "Yes, Mr. President, you are above the law."

The fear-mongers are running rampant, saying we do not need the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Ask the Japanese-Americans who were interned. This is a nice word for being put in a concentration camp during World War II. Their crime was being Americans of Japanese decent.

Could this happen today? Yes.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 did away with the writ of habeas corpus, which has varied uses in criminal and civil contexts. It is a procedure for obtaining a judicial determination of the legality of an individual's custody. What Santorum, Specter and Hart did was give the government the right to detain anyone as an "unlawful enemy combatant." Yes, you and I, and we have no rights under this law.

So to those of you who do not vote, sit and watch TV, the government does not care about you. You're pacified. To those who claim the title "citizen" and question the president's leadership on the war and prisoner policy, we are on the short list.

Stephen F. Kislock III

Beaver Falls

ŠBeaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006