‘The Constitution in Crisis.’
‘The Constitution in Crisis.’
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, has announced a series of hearings titled “The Constitution in Crisis: The State of Civil Liberties in America.” Topics to be covered by the hearings include:
– The National Security Agency’s wiretapping program and proposed expansions;
– The erosion of Habeas Corpus through the Military Commissions Act;
– The sanctioning of torture through the Military Commissions Act and other government policies;
– The practice of “extraordinary rendition,” or government sponsored kidnapping;
– PATRIOT Act threats to privacy rights, including the FBI’s abuses of the National Security Letter authority and intrusions into Americans’ “Freedom to Read”;
– Government surveillance of First Amendment-protected activities; and
– The gutting of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights and Voting Rights Divisions.
More details at The Gavel.
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This is satire? Right.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:00 pmMore transparency, more progress. The wheels of justice are grinding forward.
Love the Gavel!
May 31st, 2007 at 6:01 pmFrom The Gavel article:
TP, please cover these hearings!!
May 31st, 2007 at 6:02 pmBravo.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:07 pmNadler needs to host Saturday Night Live, he is funny.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:08 pmHOW ABOUT A SET OF HEARINGS INTO IMPEACHMENT?!?
The only reason the Constitution is in Crisis is because Congress has been a willing participant in much of the above list of high crimes and misdemeanors.
And what did Democrats do on the eve of winning a majority? Pull impeachment off the table. As long as Impeachment is off the table, so too is the Constitution!
May 31st, 2007 at 6:08 pmviolations of the bill of rights occur every single day – but these politicians continue to do it with complete impunity.
The Bill of Rights and Constitution aren’t just mere recommendations or “good ideas” – they’re the law.
It’s time we start demanding that politicians follow the law.
Some reading:
“Contract with America: Bill of Rights”
May 31st, 2007 at 6:10 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/contract_with_america
Another sad D-Representative trying to attack/upstage the Administration. George Bush is President, and he change as many laws as he wants to.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:17 pmIt’s about damn time!! Time to put our money where our mouth is – we refer to our Constitution as the basis of this democracy yet trample it to shreds like total hypocrites. Time to investigate these constitutional “crimes” and hold those responsible accountable for these high crimes & misdemeanors – I hope they all like wearing jumpsuits, that’s all I have to say.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:20 pmIt’s about freakin’ time!
May 31st, 2007 at 6:21 pmWow, so these hearings are going to FIX the problem. Glad that that is solved. See people they do care about us after all. I wonder if this will solve the energy problem or the depression that is close now.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:22 pm#8 Surely you jest! Obviously, you have no more clue about what the constitution is all about than the man in the moon, dude! I’d suggest that you take a quick course in constitutional law and you will readily see that the President has no authority over the constitution. He is an “elected official” who is at the beck and call of the people who drafted the rules which govern him – and not the other way around. You’re obviously not informed and I suggest you do so before making a total, unadulterated fool of yourself here on these threads. Remember: constitutional law 101 at your nearest university before blathering like a driveling idiot, please.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:23 pmOnly Ron Paul can save the Constitution and us.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:23 pmCan anyone suggest a good home study course for dear deluded darryl here?
May 31st, 2007 at 6:23 pmWith fools like these trolls on the threads, who needs comedy?? what a total yuk! Guess even this level of ignorance and unintelligent repartee would evict them from the reichwingnut threads which is why they troll around TP all day long.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:25 pmHOW ABOUT A SET OF HEARINGS INTO IMPEACHMENT?!?
The only reason the Constitution is in Crisis is because Congress has been a willing participant in much of the above list of high crimes and misdemeanors.
And what did Democrats do on the eve of winning a majority? Pull impeachment off the table. As long as Impeachment is off the table, so too is the Constitution!
Comment by Briseadh na Faire
could not have said it better.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:27 pm“Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, has announced a series of hearings”
Well good for him. At least he is staying busy. This can be sort of like practice for when he actually has a meaningful position.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:28 pmThis is satire? Right.
Comment by Patrick1
No pat, you are…
May 31st, 2007 at 6:28 pmRepublicanism, like authoritarianism, is a disease of the mind.
Actually, they’re the same disease.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:29 pmI hope they get rid of the 2nd, 13th, 14th & 15th Amendments fast since it will make the Constitution a little lighter and less difficult to read! Thank you congress for passing fair tax laws and don’t forget to thank that nice lady who burned all of those kids in Waco Texas crispy! We are running a tight ship here and citizens would get the wrong idea if we let people live that didn’t pay taxes.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:34 pmAfter some tough thought they should move to a fast and nimble dictatorship. It would be more exciting than it is now. Citizens could complain as they do now and the government will continue to ignore them. This makes the transition simple!
May 31st, 2007 at 6:42 pm#
HOW ABOUT A SET OF HEARINGS INTO IMPEACHMENT?!?
The only reason the Constitution is in Crisis is because Congress has been a willing participant in much of the above list of high crimes and misdemeanors.
And what did Democrats do on the eve of winning a majority? Pull impeachment off the table. As long as Impeachment is off the table, so too is the Constitution!
Comment by Briseadh na Faire — May 31, 2007 @ 6:08 pm
Agreed. However, it is precisely this type of hearing (and all the other investigations) that could finally lead to impeachment. But let’s also face it. There’s about 18 months left for this administration, and impeachment hearings…once they EVER get off the ground, could take a very long time. A threat of impeachment might do it, as it did for Nixon. However, Bush/Cheney are crazier than he was (if possible). Personally, I don’t think Bush intends to leave office. And if that is the case, it will take more than impeachment.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:19 pmDamn! I didn’t know I lost all these liberties!
May 31st, 2007 at 7:31 pmWhether Impeachment takes a long time or does not result in the removal of Cheney and Bush at least the effort will have taken place to fulfill the obligation of congressional responsibility to the Constitution. It will also restore some faith in government and perhaps some of our lost credibility in the rest of the world.
May 31st, 2007 at 7:32 pmDamn! I didn’t know I lost all these liberties!
Comment by michael — May 31, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
You could fill the internet with what you DON’T KNOW DUM BASS!!
Like how Kerry had TWO discharges…
Poor st*pid little sh*thead…
May 31st, 2007 at 7:41 pmExcept for that walking colonoscopy bag, Dobbs, everyone has two discharges.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:35 pm#8, No you sad little traitorous pusbag, the president does not change whatever laws he wants to.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:36 pmAfter some tough thought they should move to a fast and nimble dictatorship. It would be more exciting than it is now. Citizens could complain as they do now and the government will …
Comment by Saywho — May 31, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
May 31st, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Ah, but remember the Terry Shiavo fiasco? Congress proved it could get a bill through both houses and on the President’s desk overnight.
Let’s face it, all it takes is a majority in the House to impeach. They don’t have to even have a hearing. The House Impeaches, then sends it over to the Senate for a trial.
Both sides present their evidence and the Senate votes. It could be over before June is out.
But the Democrats are quite content with the status quo. As long as the campaign money keeps rolling in from the War Profiteers, no one is going to upset the cash cow.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:42 pm#8 apparently didn’t make it through the 8th grade. That’s when the basics of the American form of representative democracy are taught.
May 31st, 2007 at 8:43 pmZooey, BnF, et al:
Good article by Scott Ritter on
May 31st, 2007 at 8:58 pmRepudiation, Not Impeachment. I’m thinking we may be able to find some common ground with genuine conservatives using these lines of thinking and discourse. Check it out.
Nadler has set a necessary and urgent agenda – now let’s see it in action. The people of America must be awakened before our Constitution is nothing more than a “quaint” old essay.
Thanks for the link, stonehedge — Ritter has been pretty accurate in assessing things . The article is lengthy, so I am printing it out now to read in full later.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:49 pmoops — sorry
May 31st, 2007 at 9:51 pmI meant stonehinge!
Are these hearings going to discuss the unconstitutional DC house vote that the Democrats are trying to ram through?
May 31st, 2007 at 9:53 pm“Are these hearings going to discuss the unconstitutional DC house vote that the Democrats are trying to ram through?”
And m12 finally discovers the Constitution.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:08 pm“Like how Kerry had TWO discharges…
Poor st*pid little sh*thead…
Comment by ValiantVenusGrewFromUranus — May 31, 2007″
He didn’t?
May 31st, 2007 at 10:10 pm“the president does not change whatever laws he wants to.
Comment by marlow — May 31, 2007″
Forgive their dumb stupidity, after all they’re liberals!
May 31st, 2007 at 10:13 pm“Forgive their dumb stupidity, after all they’re liberals!”
Again, Mikey fails to realize his unintentional irony.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:17 pmZooey, BnF, et al:
Good article by Scott Ritter on
Repudiation, Not Impeachment. I’m thinking we may be able to find some common ground with genuine conservatives using these lines of thinking and discourse. Check it out.
Comment by stonehinge — May 31, 2007 @ 8:58 pm
Excellent article, stonehinge. Thank you.
I’ve read it once, and printed it so I may read it more closely.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:30 pm#34
You didn’t answer my question, JPark.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:33 pmWhen things like this come up, you can count on the paid republican trolls come out howling. Since cockroaches like the dark, they can’t afford to have a light turned on. That would show the tracks of the ugly shit they leave everywhere they go.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:34 pm“You didn’t answer my question, JPark.”
Why would I? You don’t have a clue as to what is Constitutional.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:40 pmDamn! I didn’t know I lost all these liberties!
Comment by michael
That’s because you’re stupid and uninformed, Mikey! A total waste of all the money spent sending you to the private schools you claim are so superior.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:47 pm“That’s because you’re stupid and uninformed, Mikey! A total waste of all the money spent sending you to the private schools you claim are so superior.”
If he had actually gone to college and maybe taken a Psych 101 course he might realize that that superiority just might be inferiority in disguise. Also, home schooling doesn’t cost all that much.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:01 pmIf he had actually gone to college and maybe taken a Psych 101 course he might realize that that superiority just might be inferiority in disguise. Also, home schooling doesn’t cost all that much.
Comment by JPark
Nail. On. Head.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:04 pm“That’s because you’re stupid and uninformed, Mikey! A total waste of all the money spent sending you to the private schools you claim are so superior.
Comment by Lora — May 31, 2007″
Ah, lora, lora, lora. Where have you been? You and zooey are my two favorite people to beat up on. Don’t get anything wrong, I have nothing against women, just stupid women! So, to dig yourself out of the hole you just dug, provide some examples of why you think I’m stupid?
May 31st, 2007 at 11:10 pm“If he had actually gone to college ”
and maybe taken a Psych 101 course he might realize that that superiority just might be inferiority in disguise.
Comment by JPark — May 31, 2007″
It really isn’t hard to demonstrate superiority to you, zooey, and Lora!
May 31st, 2007 at 11:13 pm“You don’t have a clue as to what is Constitutional.
Comment by JPark — May 31, 2007″
You do?
May 31st, 2007 at 11:14 pm“Ah, lora, lora, lora. Where have you been? You and zooey are my two favorite people to beat up on”
Beating on and beating off are two very different things, perv.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:14 pm“It really isn’t hard to demonstrate superiority to you, zooey, and Lora!”
Why have you never done it?
May 31st, 2007 at 11:15 pm“When things like this come up, you can count on the paid republican trolls come out howling. Since cockroaches like the dark, they can’t afford to have a light turned on. That would show the tracks of the ugly shit they leave everywhere they go.
Comment by bruiser — May 31, 2007″
Hey bruiser? Would you like to cut through the rhetorical crap and provide an example or two?
May 31st, 2007 at 11:15 pmCool. Maybe michael will kick his own ass AGAIN tonight.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:15 pmMikey, you do know I am male, right? It seems you like to act like you are tough to women but last I knew you were a lover, not a fighter when you are talking to guys (which seems awfully homoerotic to me).
May 31st, 2007 at 11:17 pm“Cool. Maybe michael will kick his own ass AGAIN tonight.
Comment by Zooey — May 31, 2007″
Why did it take kerry over 5 years to get his Honorable Discharge? Simple question! Can someone help this uninformed child? Any liberals want to take a stab at answering my question? Because it’s obvious, zooey doesn’t have the guts to try it!
May 31st, 2007 at 11:19 pm“Mikey, you do know I am male, right?
Comment by JPark — May 31, 2007″
You’re a male? So what! You’re also a dumb liberal!
May 31st, 2007 at 11:20 pmMikey, “dumb liberal”? Do you mean that in the literal sense? By the way, mute is the appropriate term.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:25 pmAh, lora, lora, lora. Where have you been? You and zooey are my two favorite people to beat up on. Don’t get anything wrong, I have nothing against women, just stupid women! So, to dig yourself out of the hole you just dug, provide some examples of why you think I’m stupid?
Comment by michael
Funny, Mikey, but I don’t see any hole where I am, nor do I bear any injuries. I already provided you with examples of your bad spelling and grammar on the Guatanamo suicide thread. Poor little private school boy doesn’t even know the difference between “who’s” and “whose.” You’re too stupid even to remember yesterday’s thread–let alone learn from it
May 31st, 2007 at 11:26 pmWatch out Lora, he will become infatuated with you like he has with Zooey. He will take an occasional shot at me but if you, as a female, stand up to him, he will take it as an insult to his manhood (which I am guessing is minimal) and will stalk you. He would be right at home in the 50’s.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:33 pm#41
Perhaps you can answer this one then:
“The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states,”
Is the District of Columbia a state?
May 31st, 2007 at 11:34 pmBecause it’s obvious, zooey doesn’t have the guts to try it!
Comment by michael
Cute little mikey, we had our debate about the death penalty, and you f*cked it up with your opening salvo — giving me the win.
It’s someone else’s turn to let you kick your own ass.
Toodles…
May 31st, 2007 at 11:37 pmm12, DC is taxed. Do you believe they should have no representation?
May 31st, 2007 at 11:45 pmCause…that is kinda not cool according to the Constitution.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:46 pm#60
Really? Quote the text, please.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:53 pmGreat. My comment doesn’t show up, but michael’s drivel does.
Thanks, TP.
F*cking — NOT.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:53 pmActually, m12, you are right. Taxation without representation does not make an appearance in the Constitution. However, that was exactly the reason for the Revolutionary War. Also, DC is not a state. That disenfranchises 500,000 people. Are you ok with that? 500,000 people not actually having representation? It doesn’t seem very American.
June 1st, 2007 at 12:03 am#63
It kind of sucks for them. But it really doesn’t matter whether I think it is ok or not.
You would agree, then, that this unconstitutional DC powergrab should be included in this conference?
June 1st, 2007 at 12:16 amDammit, m12, I don’t know if I would put it that way but you are right. They should go for a constitutional amendment. I really don’t like agreeing with you.
June 1st, 2007 at 12:23 amWatch out Lora, he will become infatuated with you like he has with Zooey. He will take an occasional shot at me but if you, as a female, stand up to him, he will take it as an insult to his manhood (which I am guessing is minimal) and will stalk you. He would be right at home in the 50’s.
Comment by JPark —
Thanks for your concern, JPark, but michael usually disappears when I cite him on his bad grammar and spelling, or ask him what luminaries went to his supposedly superior private high school. (It took him three months to answer that one with “I don’t know.”)
June 1st, 2007 at 12:34 amIn real life, I have been stalked when I was still single. The police wouldn’t do anything about it until I managed to get a photo of the man and his van.
The michael troll is a real weiner. You should have seen him flopping around like a fish out of water when he kicked his own fanny in our “debate.” :-D
June 1st, 2007 at 12:46 amAs long as you know what you are doing, Lora, keep ripping him new ones. I don’t really think he is dangerous. He goes online to make himself feel tough, yet he only picks fights with women. That is not meant to be offensive (from me), he thinks women are inferior. The guy has some real insecurity issues but he couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag so he wouldn’t even bring himself to physically stand up to a woman. Poor f^cker.
June 1st, 2007 at 12:46 am#68 Again, thanks for the advice, JPark. I often don’t have the time to take on michael every time he posts here. Moreover, he’s so stupid that it’s often not worth my time, even when I have it. I do it mainly when the mood strikes me, or when he’s so blatantly stupid (such as on the Guatanamo suicide thread where he refers to some other poster’s shortcomings in grammar and spelling, while making some errors himself) that I can’t resist.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:01 amLora, don’t you love his inane questions? He isn’t the brightest troll we have ever had.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:08 amPs. Mikey, should you return, the only things superior about you are your ego, your stupidity, and your flatulence (which always stinks up the place).
June 1st, 2007 at 1:11 amã‚ã°ã‚ˆã€é˜¿å‘†ï¼
Don’t be so mean to Mikey!!! He is stupid and extremely disturbed!!! And stupid. And really not very bright. And kinda slow.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:17 amLora, don’t you love his inane questions? He isn’t the brightest troll we have ever had.
Comment by JPark —
JPark, it’s hard to tell what his questions are since he uses the question mark almost promiscuously for all kinds of sentences , including commands and what he seems to think are statement of fact.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:19 amYou are correct?
June 1st, 2007 at 1:37 amJPark,
June 1st, 2007 at 1:44 amThanks for the chuckle from #74. But I doubt that Mikey would get the joke?
What about Bush’s unprecedented number of unconstitutional signing statements ? Why was this missing from the list of unconstitutional activities ?
June 1st, 2007 at 9:59 amAww, who cares?
Don’t you folks know Hugo Chavez has threatened freedom worldwide
by refusing to renew the license of a TV station that tried to oust him, the
sheer nerve and gall of that horrible dictator! So what if your constitution
is being trashed, Chavez is the threat!
After all, as Bush said, it’s just “A God damned piece of paper” anyway, so chill out and get with the pogrom.
Sheesh…
June 1st, 2007 at 10:15 am