The Essence of Civil Liberty

"The very essence of civil liberty certainly consists in the right of every individual to claim protection of the laws whenever he receives an injury."

Marbury v. Madison.(1803) (John Marshall)

We all should have a Dream!

It is fitting that we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. today. Nobody did more to ensure the legal rights of ALL Americans than MLK Jr.

Happy Birthday!

Ben Franklin

A quote from Ben Franklin recently cited by the Democratic Party -

Back in 1755, Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

This is no less true today.

Legal Rights Curtailed During Rehnquist Era

Interesting article in the USA Today about Rehnquist's effect on the courts and our legal rights.

According to the USA Today, when Nixon was looking for a conservative Justice to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court, Rehnquist was "a Justice Department lawyer known for his disdain for Supreme Court rulings that he believed coddled criminal defendants."

The USA Today continues:

"As Republican presidents made appointments that eventually gave conservatives a slim majority on the nine-member court, Rehnquist helped transform a bench focused on the rights of the poor and disenfranchised into one that sought to leave society's problems to elected legislators.

Rehnquist's court reduced protections for criminal defendants, curtailed Congress' power in local affairs and generally diminished the Supreme Court's presence in American life."

So that is the legacy of William Rehnquist. And now we appear to be continuing in that direction with Chief Justice Roberts and Nominee Samuel Alito.

Who will stand up for the rights of the legal rights of the little guy?

More on Bush's Illegal Spying Scandal

Today's New York Times reports that the Deputy Attorney General refused to approve the reauthorization of Bush's illegal spying order. I assume that it was the first time somebody at the Justice Department other than John Ashcroft had even seen it.

Then Andrew Card and Alberto Gonzales went to Ashcroft for approval who was in critical condition in the hospital after having his gallbladder removed. Apparently, even Ashcroft had reservations about the legality of Bush's domestic spying program.

Despite this, Bush has repeatedly said that his executive order was repeatedly approved at the highest levels of the Justice Department. No mention of any questions about its legality. Hmmm.

It seems that President Bush is very willing not only to "read the Constitution extremely broadly", but to fail to mention to the American People that the highest officials at the Justice Department had serious reservations about the program itself. So much for straight talk. The program is illegal. Everybody knows it - including the President.

The amazing thing now is that Alberto Gonzales' Justice Department is investigating who leaked the story to the New York Times. Maybe it is not so surprising since Mr. Gonzales' fingerprints are all over the illegal spying scandal. You would think the Justice Department should be investigating the illegality of spying on US Citizens without a warrant.

Very good analysis in The Daily Kos.

According to John Dean - "There can be no serious question that warrantless wiretapping, in violation of the law, is impeachable. After all, Nixon was charged in Article II of his bill of impeachment with illegal wiretapping for what he, too, claimed were national security reasons."

So when do we start the impeachment proceedings?