From the Center For Constitutional Rights:
Today is a historic victory for the rule of law. We won! For the third time, the Supreme Court has upheld the fundamental rights of Guantanamo detainees. In its historic decision in CCR's case, Boumediene v. Bush, the Court affirmed detainees' right to habeas corpus. One of the oldest and most basic legal protections, habeas corpus affords the incarcerated the right to challenge the legality of their detention before a judge and keeps the king and president from arbitrarily locking people up and throwing away the key.
We're asking you to take action in two important ways: please make a contribution to CCR today so we can continue this important work, and please write to the presidential candidates to demand that they uphold the Supreme Court's decision.
The Administration has delayed, ignored and sought to evade two prior Supreme Court decisions, Rasul v. Bush in 2004 and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld in 2006, both of which upheld the rights of Guantanamo detainees.
This decision was, in many ways, made possible by the support of so many - the over 500 volunteer habeas counsel who have committed themselves to defending the rights of Guantanamo's detainees, the thousands upon thousands who have acted to demand that the Constitution be upheld, and all of our supporters, who have made this work possible. Today, your support is urgently needed, now more than ever, to ensure that the Supreme Court's decision is implemented and the Constitution restored.
CCR was the first organization to step forward to defend the detainees, long before anyone else would take the risk. Please click here to donate to support CCR's work today so that we can continue to take on the risky cases!
Join CCR today to write to the candidates for President of the United States, Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R), and demand that they affirm their commitment to not only implement the Supreme Court's decision, but also to close Guantanamo and undo all of the policies of the Bush administration that have trampled upon our Constitution.
Click here to write to the candidates!
This six-year-long nightmare is a lesson in how fragile our constitutional protections truly are in the hands of an overzealous executive. Let us celebrate, but let us remain vigilant.
Sincerely,
Vincent Warren
Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
UPDATE: Tell me why Nancy Pelosi says impeachment is off the table.
I just drove the 15 minutes from downtown Shreveport and forced myself to listen to Sean Hannity just to see what he would say.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness. I soon discovered that it is a liberal/socialist plot by 5 of the justices to ruin our country.
Actually, it didn't take all 15 minutes to absorb his point of view, so I turned to the Oldies station for the last 10 minutes of the drive.
Bravo - sometimes freedom does reign.
ReplyDeleteNot so much lately, but sometimes.
That is where hope comes from.
The Bush maladministration ignores the rulings of the Supreme Court. Why no impeachment? What other remedy is there?
ReplyDeleteI feel like waving the flag tonight :-).
ReplyDeleteWell Mimi -- Impeach Dubya and you get Dick. A good reason not too impeach, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteSusanKay, impeach both of them. Just Bush won't work. Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Cheney last year. John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has not moved them forward, perhaps because of Pelosi's word that impeachment is "off the table".
ReplyDeleteAt least this is some good news.
ReplyDeleteImpeachment would be a nice beginning, but I want to strip them of everything, until they are naked on the moor before their enemies, with no company but a fool.
ReplyDeleteI do not see either gaining Lear's insight, nor even perceiving their need for repentance; I do fear for them, deeply, that "Behold: they have their reward."
And I am not above hoping it is so: "Break, O Godde, their teeth in their mouth."
Been traveling lately and not up on everything but did catch this -- and also "news" reports last weekend of Hillary supporters who say they will vote for McCain for all sorts of silly reasons. What got me is that one woman said that it would make no difference for the Supreme Court because they already have a majority of conservatives. Look at the votes in this case -- 5 to 4. That's because Kennedy and Stevens, both Republican appointees, were with the majority. The majority is not young (especially Stevens). If we get another single ideological judge like Roberts, Alito, Thomas, or Scalia, you can kiss a whole lot goodbye. Those four would have said the people in prison should just rot.
ReplyDeleteAs for impeachment.... While certainly warranted, it's not worth the "political capital" required for a fight about it. Besides, such a battle would probably garner sympathy and further support for Bush and for those on the court who support his views on this. But I appreciate the reminder that there are grounds for this.
This is great news indeed! And a long time coming!
ReplyDeleteRegarding impeachment, I just don't think Congress has the energy for it right now. The focus is on the election.
Bad news is, charges against W and or Cheney will be a long time coming, if at all.
Klady and RB, you're probably right about impeachment, but I like to mention it, just to remind myself and others that Bush and Cheney deserve to be impeached.
ReplyDeleteMimi, perhaps President Obama will authorize the extradition of Bush & Cheney to the Hague, for their war crimes trial.
ReplyDeleteWell ... a gal can dream, can't she?
The Constitution is deliberately vague about what exactly 'high crimes and misdemeanors' are. We know that perjury is not in the set, and we know that unpopular political actions including vetoes are not. Beyond that, not much is clear.
ReplyDeleteWere the house to impeach either Mr. Bush or Mr. Chenny at this moment, the Senate would probably not be able to bring the true bill up before the election. It would be a hot button in the race certainly but not much would change in terms of the actual conduct of the government. If both Mr. Bush and Mr. Chenny were removed, Mrs. Pellozi would be president. Right before an election, that would be, at best, messy.
In any event, they are both gone in January. Both major candidates say the will close the Cuban facility if elected. Simply stated, the political mess and the political capitol are not worth the perceived benefits, even from the most partisan perspective.
FWIW
jimB
Jim, I know. Not gonna happen, but as Lisa says, "a gal can dream".
ReplyDelete