This page is part of an archive. The current site resides at http://jrfom.com/.

Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 22:56:33 EDT

I was going to write my opinion of a video game tonight. I was also going to talk about the new search feature I added. But, that will all have to wait. I have to take this time to talk about certain goings on in our country that is just flabbergasting.

This country, the United States of America, is founded on some very clear rules. These rules are outlined in the Constitution and the subsequent Bill of Rights. For those you who do not know, and if you are a citizen of these United States of America you damn well should know, that the Fifth Amendment, or the Fifth right as defined by the Bill of Rights, states:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Another ammendment that is pertinent to this post is the Fourth Ammendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

There are certain people that are citizens of these United States of America that have been denied these rights. These people, and surely more to come and maybe even some we have not heard about, have been denied their rights through the Patriot Act. Under this act the government can jail people as "enemy combatants." As explained here "Detention as an enemy combatant is not criminal in nature but is permitted under the law of war to prevent an enemy combatant from continuing to fight against the United States. Under the law of war, enemy combatants may be detained until the end of hostilities." When do hostilites end when you are engaged in a "war on terror"?

If this is not upsetting enough, and evidently not since I am just now posting about it, the people are just placidly accepting this. People I know, people I live with, do not see anything wrong with this. Evidently, as long as it could possibly prevent someone from carrying out a terrorist act this sort of atrocity is acceptable. This is absolutely astounding to me. How could anyone be so complacent with their rights being so blatantly ignored and used against them? Did the founders of this country fight and die for nothing? Is all of their hard work going to go down the drain because people want a false sense of security? I just don't want to believe that. I can't believe that.

Please people, wake up. If you continue to sleep and let the people in Washington decide for you then none of us will have rights as we were guaranteed us when we were born or became naturalized citizens of this country. I really can't add any more to this without repeating myself. I have stated this as clearly as I know how and supplied you with enough information to get you started on your own research. Please, do so.