Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision

Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision
Attorney general shows himself as a menace to liberty.

by Jonathan Turley
(Jonathan Turley is a professor of constitutional law at George Washington University)

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's announced desire for camps for U.S. citizens he deems to be "enemy combatants" has moved him from merely being a political embarrassment to being a constitutional menace.

Ashcroft's plan, disclosed last week but little publicized, would allow him to order the indefinite incarceration of U.S. citizens and summarily strip them of their constitutional rights and access to the courts by declaring them enemy combatants.

The proposed camp plan should trigger immediate congressional hearings and reconsideration of Ashcroft's fitness for this important office. Whereas Al Qaeda is a threat to the lives of our citizens, Ashcroft has become a clear and present threat to our liberties.

The camp plan was forged at an optimistic time for Ashcroft's small inner circle, which has been carefully watching two test cases to see whether this vision could become a reality. The cases of Jose Padilla and Yaser Esam Hamdi will determine whether U.S. citizens can be held without charges and subject to the arbitrary and unchecked authority of the government.

More: http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0814-05.htm

... jam your backpack full of protein bars, sunscreen and bottled water. We may need to take to the streets for a while, to take our country back.

why the militias went undergound after bush took over?

Or perhaps I'm missing your point. Would you elaborate, please?

If/when the Gov't wants you in camps, you'd better be living in the hills or out of the country.

and at least half of the people don't know or don't care.

This story needs to be UN-BURIED.

Nothing these sickos do shocks me anymore. Pissed? YES!! Shocked? NO.