Suspending All That Makes Us Free

• Point One: Justice Department Over Past 8 Years

The release of memos this past week concerning the Justice Department's rulings that the President appears to have unassailable powers, esp. in times of war was a shock that didn't shock enough. We shake our heads and say, "Wow. We got out of that one."

Sadly this is one of those common threads of American history that we return to again and again. It could be Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War, Roosevelt attempting to pack the Supreme Court, or Nixon's paranoia that equated his opponents with enemies of the nation. In all these (and other) cases there is an argument that in particular times and places the Constitution can be put on hold. And that decision can be made by one person- the President. That it can keep showing up and keep being accepted by even a small minority of legal writers, scholars, and practitioners is a reason why the Constitution should never be suspended.

• Point Two: Argument in Favor of Prop 8 in California

On one of the blogs at TPM, the following was posted after Kenn Starr argued in California the other day...

In [the] CA Supreme court case, advocating to uphold Prop8, Kenneth Starr argued that there are no inalienable rights for Californians. Under his argument, he admitted that free speech, racial discrimination, (presumably even voting rights themselves!) under the California constitution are subject to a simple majority vote, without any legislative process at all.

Sadly, Justice Kennard seemed to agree, and in her comments apparently felt that the inalienable right of the majority to be foolish at the ballot box trumps what the court previously found to be "a basic civil or human right of all people."

If Prop8 is upheld, as commenters expect, it is really a breathtaking precedent. WE HAVE NO RIGHTS that are safe from the rule of the mob, the tyranny of the majority.

And not just gays: any unpopular class, like immigrants, may also be at risk. Just wait till the Minutemen get going and start buying signatures to put an amendment on the ballot. They can do it, if the Supremes uphold this decision.
-- link.

Both these examples are more horrifying than anything Stephen King has ever written. They put the very basics of American democracy in peril. The bottom line has absolutely nothing to do with terrorists- domestic or international wanting to get rid of our precious freedoms. We will do it for them if we act this way. The greatest fear has nothing to do with people wanting to do something as mundane as getting married to a person of the same gender.

It has to do with the rights of people to be maintained and respected.

--Wikipedia: Martin Niemoller was a German pastor and theologian born in Lippstadt, Germany, in 1892. Niemoller was an anti-Communist and, for that reason, supported Hitler's rise to power – at first. But when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion, Niemoller became disillusioned. He became the leader of a group of German clergymen opposed to Hitler. Unlike Niemoller, they gave in to the Nazis' threats. Hitler personally detested Niemoller and had him arrested and eventually confined in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. Niemoller was released in 1945 by the Allies. He continued his career in Germany as a clergyman and as a leading voice of penance and reconciliation for the German people after World War II.