Barely four days after the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas day, and Republicans are already throwing the Constitution and our legal system out the window. On Christmas Day, Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up an airplane in route to Detroit with a bomb that he had strapped to him. Luckily, the bomb failed and Abdulmutallab was overpowered and restrained. Once on the ground, he was seized by FBI agents and on the 26th, he was charged in a federal court of trying to destroy the airliner. And the screams of outrage from the right began almost immediately. Representative Peter King (R-NY), the ranking Republican in the House Homeland Security Committee, was the first to come out and blame the Obama Administration for this attempted attack. King has also come out and said that Abdulmutallab should not be tried in federal court, but instead in a "military tribunal."
"Wait," I hear you ask. "Haven't the Republicans been eviscerated over the last several years because of the handling of accused terrorists during the Bush Administration?" Well, yes, you are correct. And apparently, the Republicans learned little from it. King has decried the fact that Abdulmutallab will get a lawyer and Miranda rights. This is the same argument that was made about numerous enemy combatants seized during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republicans seem to think that we should just freeze all laws and rights in this country just because we are at war. They think anyone who commits a crime in the name of Al Qaeda should be thrown straight in prison, or even executed, without a fair trial first. This is absolutely wrong. Our Constitution was written for a reason. We have laws. Those laws must be observed and upheld. Just because someone commits a crime doesn't mean those laws become moot just because we are especially angry. If we aren't following the law, why even defend our nation? Why not just surrender? Our laws and rights set us apart from those we are fighting; when we abandon them, we are no longer an America worth defending. Abdulmutallab has just as much right to a fair trial as you or me. Why? Because he committed a crime here. And anyone who committs a crime here has rights so that we can curb abuses of power. The Bush Administration disregarded this, and apparently, some are willing to do it again. What they dont understand is that these tactics hurt America in the long run. When we disregard our own laws, it allows the terrorists to call us hypocrites. When we engage in torture, it becomes a recruiting tool for terror organization. We must not abandon our Constitution and laws. The courts may be slow, but they are effective. We must prosecute and find someone guilty before they can be punished, no matter who it is. Circumventing this process is like trying to arrest a susupected criminal before they even commit a crime. Our legal system is reactionary, nor preemptive. It cannot be preemptive. Because if it becomes that way, what is to stop your local police officer from arresting and charging you because he thinks you might someday commit a crime?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Health Reform?
We are closer than ever to passing Health Reform through the Senate, and I don't really know if I feel good about it.
News is coming out this morning that, after 13 hours of negotiating last night, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb) has agreed to vote for the bill, giving the Democrats the majority they need. At what cost, though? Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) cut a deal with Nelson to ensure that Nebraska will never again pay a dime for Medicaid coverage. He also cut deals for Michigan, Louisiana, and Vermont, so that Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich), Mary Landrieu (D-Lou) and Bernie Sanders (I-Ver) would vote for the bill. He needed deals for Nelson, Levin, and Landrieu because, as conservative Democrats, they were moving away from the bill's public option (which was cut) and Medicare buy-in(which was also cut.) So I'm not really sure why he had to cut a deal when the two most liberal parts of the bill are already gone. The claim is because of abortion wording, which is not as restrictive as some hope (apparently, every single Senator has forgotten about Hyde Amendment, which states that no federal funding can be applied to abortions.) Sanders got a deal because no public option is included, and Sanders threatened to vote against the bill for this reason. I agree with Sen. Sanders; I think this bill should be scrapped. Without a public option, this is a handout to the insurance companies. The individual mandate included means millions of new customers for the insurance companies to overcharge and screw around. This is not the reform we have been working for since June. It's sad that Sen. Sanders has caved so easy. So now that we are here, with the first vote less than 24 hours away, I feel torn. Obviously, I want a health care bill badly. But I do not like the one being presented. Passing it will be a huge step, but the cost os too high. I agree that getting this done by the end of the year is important, but not if we have to make these crap deals for it to happend. I can only hope that a deal has been reached to reinsert the public option during conference committee (maybe our president will actually assert some force here and get it done?) That is basically our last hope. That, or reconciliation on the House bill, which would be nice, but won't happen. The next few days are going to be very interesting to see what happens.
One final note: I'm already tired of hearing Republicans complain about how this bill was crafted behind closed doors, how they weren't included, how it happened too fast. Republicans, shut up. Every time you were given the chance to help, you simply tried to torpedo all health reform. This is a Democratic bill. You want your own health care bill, go write one (fat chance that it even gets throught committe.) And as far as the "too fast" debate, last I checked, we've been having this debate since June. You know whats coming in this bill. And besides, it's not like you guys didn't spend eight years making shady backroom deals that you shoved through the Senate anyways without so much as acknowledging Democrats. It's called being the minority party. Get used to it.
News is coming out this morning that, after 13 hours of negotiating last night, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb) has agreed to vote for the bill, giving the Democrats the majority they need. At what cost, though? Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) cut a deal with Nelson to ensure that Nebraska will never again pay a dime for Medicaid coverage. He also cut deals for Michigan, Louisiana, and Vermont, so that Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich), Mary Landrieu (D-Lou) and Bernie Sanders (I-Ver) would vote for the bill. He needed deals for Nelson, Levin, and Landrieu because, as conservative Democrats, they were moving away from the bill's public option (which was cut) and Medicare buy-in(which was also cut.) So I'm not really sure why he had to cut a deal when the two most liberal parts of the bill are already gone. The claim is because of abortion wording, which is not as restrictive as some hope (apparently, every single Senator has forgotten about Hyde Amendment, which states that no federal funding can be applied to abortions.) Sanders got a deal because no public option is included, and Sanders threatened to vote against the bill for this reason. I agree with Sen. Sanders; I think this bill should be scrapped. Without a public option, this is a handout to the insurance companies. The individual mandate included means millions of new customers for the insurance companies to overcharge and screw around. This is not the reform we have been working for since June. It's sad that Sen. Sanders has caved so easy. So now that we are here, with the first vote less than 24 hours away, I feel torn. Obviously, I want a health care bill badly. But I do not like the one being presented. Passing it will be a huge step, but the cost os too high. I agree that getting this done by the end of the year is important, but not if we have to make these crap deals for it to happend. I can only hope that a deal has been reached to reinsert the public option during conference committee (maybe our president will actually assert some force here and get it done?) That is basically our last hope. That, or reconciliation on the House bill, which would be nice, but won't happen. The next few days are going to be very interesting to see what happens.
One final note: I'm already tired of hearing Republicans complain about how this bill was crafted behind closed doors, how they weren't included, how it happened too fast. Republicans, shut up. Every time you were given the chance to help, you simply tried to torpedo all health reform. This is a Democratic bill. You want your own health care bill, go write one (fat chance that it even gets throught committe.) And as far as the "too fast" debate, last I checked, we've been having this debate since June. You know whats coming in this bill. And besides, it's not like you guys didn't spend eight years making shady backroom deals that you shoved through the Senate anyways without so much as acknowledging Democrats. It's called being the minority party. Get used to it.
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