May 14, 2010, Postcard from the post-constitutional era
This comment from Jeralyn at Talkleft on the Obama Administration's proposal to alter the rights of terrorism suspects (Charlie Savage in the Grey Lady has more) by delaying the time before which they would be presented to a judge for arraignment so that they may be waterboarded interrogated longer... pretty much sums up my rather unified feelings toward the third term of the Bush Administration first (and at the rate things are going, hopefully only) term of the Obama Administration; specifically, Jeralyn's take:
Taking rights taken from terror suspects today just makes it easier to take them from all of us tomorrow. It's ironic that this is one right even the Bush Administration didn't try and tinker with, and its our Democratic president showing so little respect for the rule of law.
Many if not most Americans think that Miranda rights only protect Blacks Latinos criminals, and can't for a minute think that the jackboot will eventually come down on them. What's amazing is that when it comes to terrrrrorism... nearly everyone seems to be universally deranged; even tea-partiers who believe that Barack Obama is a Kenyan-born socialist fraud will nonetheless concede totalitarian powers to him as long as they are exercised against terrrrrrrorists, who we all know, are solely and exclusively Muz-lums and never, ever REAL Amurkinz.
Well... whatever reduction in constitutional rights do manage to get out of the trial balloon stage, at least we can count on Justice Kagan to eventually rubber-stamp them. (It's amazing that the President even had time to make this proposal after his kabuki-BP-berating... but, at least if he bashes accused terrrrrorists... maybe someone will actually be, you know, paying attention. ) This has been... postcard from the post-constitutional era.