How to Flex Your Rights During Police Encounters Goodbye, Bill of Rights by Philip Giraldi Those who hoped that the change promised by candidate Barack Obama would include repeal of the various acts that have stripped Americans of their constitutional rights should be disappointed. Benjamin Franklin supposedly wrote, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." The citation is likely apocryphal, at least in terms of its attribution to Franklin, but it is useful shorthand for the unfortunate abandonment of many of the liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution as a consequence of 9/11. The trauma of 9/11 created an opportunity for those seeking to centralize executive power, an objective of recent presidents from both political parties. The Military Commission Act of 2006 (MCA) followed the PATRIOT Acts, creating military tribunals for the trying of “unlawful enemy combatants,” including American citizens. The threat to civil liberties is real. Sen.
Mason redrew the social contract | mason, rights, government - Opinion Americans are woefully ignorant of George Mason – "the father of the Bill of Rights" – whose birthday in 1725 was Dec. 11. Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which political scientist Clinton Rossiter called "among the world's most memorable triumphs in applied political theory," and which the Declaration of Independence echoed a few weeks later. Charles Maynes, the diplomat and editor of Foreign Policy magazine, wrote, "Mason's revolutionary step was ... reversing, in writing and in a supreme governmental document, the traditional relationship between citizen and state. George Mason also wrote several other works defending Americans' rights and liberties. Therefore, we should remember Mason's seminal contributions: •"[A]ll power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people ... magistrates are their trustees and servants." "[N]o free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by ... frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."
Sen. Kerry should take the lead to stop indefinite detentions of American citizens - On Liberty blog Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is one of the most powerful men in government. A decorated war hero and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Kerry brings both honor and influence to his work. His voice carries weight. Like others, I carry with me a memory of John Kerry upon his return from the Vietnam war, bravely testifying before Congress in an act of courage and conscience. His willingness to speak out against a war that was endangering our country is how we knew that Kerry was a hero. Now, again, our nation needs John Kerry to stand up for freedom. Congress is about to pass a National Defense Authorization Act (the bill that funds our troops) with truly scary provisions that would permit the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians -- including American citizens -- anywhere in the world. It’s hard to imagine anything more antithetical to our democracy or our liberty. Let us not lose these freedoms on his watch.
Clinton Says Obama Wants Gay Rights Over Religious Freedom in Key Speech (Photo: Reuters/Martial Trezzini)U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles after delivering a policy statement during a global conference to review the Biological Weapons Convention banning biological and toxic weapons, at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland. December 7, 2011|3:38 pm Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday put the Obama administration clearly on the opposite side of Christians seeking religious freedom in the debate over human sexuality, prompting praise from gay rights activists and criticism from GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry. In remarks on Tuesday in Geneva to the United Nations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said religious and cultural beliefs are standing in the way of homosexual human rights worldwide. Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry, an outspoken critic of special rights for sexual orientation, was critical of the administrations comments. Follow us Get CP eNewsletter ››