Citizen fed up with Political Dance of the Democrats

(As posted on [email protected])

Dear Sen. Durbin,

Yee gods, these all purpose form letters drive me bonkers.

I know what the Military Commission’s Act is. What I don’t know is why supposedly sane people allowed the passage of this and other outrageous laws that were pushed by Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, etc. Why has the Congress of the United States sat on it’s ample behind allowing this out of control dictator to walk all over our Constitution and then rub our noses in his obscene actions? What happened to America, the land of the free? Please spare me the bullshit about 9-11 which, by the way was either an inside job or, at the very least, was allowed to happen?

I know that this fraudulent administration doesn’t give a hoot for the laws of this land but what does that say about a Congress that allows these school yard bullies to flip the citizens a bird when they complain about the law breakers? What is it that has made the Congress of the United States roll over and play dead for this incompetent fool? Were Bush’s telephone taps, email snoops and other spying really about blackmailing select members of Congress and not about finding those evil terrorists?

I quote Lee Iacocca, “We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane, much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “˜Stay the course.’ Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic.”

You’ve been one of the “head nodders” Sen. Durbin and the respect I once had for you is long gone. Stay the course, my ass! Surge, my ass! Have you lost your flipping mind? You favor the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act? You will look at other proposals for reversing the “troubling provisions” of the Military Commissions Act? Well a great big WhoopDee-Damn! How positively patriotic of you!

While you are doing this “looking at other proposals”, how many more people will be retained, tortured & perhaps murdered because this Congress “is considering” options? Just vote to rescind that damn evil thing and get the show on the road to impeach, remove from office & prosecute the criminals responsible for this atrocity. What’s so damned hard about that?

In your letter you say that “I believe that those who are dangerous to
America should be charged, tried and incarcerated, but 200 years of American History have given us clear guidance on how to do this the right way”. I agree! Do it! NOW! Charge, Try & Incarcerate those responsible for this vile attack on our Constitution & for the illegal attack on a country who posed no threat to us what-so-ever.

Otherwise I have to say: Bullshit! If that statement was true why the hell have you sat on your ample ass while innocent children have been held with no contact with parents, with no representation of any kind at Guantanamo? Why have you helped hide the evidence of our own soldiers raping & sodomizing children while their parent(s) watched? Have you no decency Sir? Are you even human if you can tolerate this vile treatment of other human beings not to mention the fact that the once beautiful country has been turned into a garbage heap? Are you going to stand mute as he does the same to Iran and it’s people?

Do you know how many American citizens George Bush is holding with no contact with family, lawyers, etc? Do you really know what Bush and Cheney are up to? You have got to realize that the powers you have allowed this fake & incompetent president have caused real damage….. damage that will cost this country for many years to come and still he murders innocent people day after day with no reprimand from you or any other Congress person.

I would ask, “Who the hell died and appointed that nasty little man God?”, but then I already know the answer to that question…. You did Senator Durbin. You and every other member of Congress who has stood silently by while he continues his rampage.

So much for that clear guidance, huh?

When are you going to do something to right the wrongs you have aided and abetted?

Maggie Richards
Pensacola, FL

(This in response to Senator Durbin’s generic response as follows concerning the Military Commissions Act of 2006):

Thank you for contacting me about reforming the Military Commissions
Act of 2006. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

Since September 11, 2001, Bush Administration officials have bent
many of the time-honored rules of warfare regarding the treatment of
prisoners. They have claimed the right to seize anyone, including an
American citizen in the United States, and hold him or her
indefinitely. They have claimed that Americans and others who were
detained have no right to challenge their detention, no right to see
the evidence against them, and no right to even know why they are
being held. The Justice Department even issued a memo redefining the
meaning of torture, stating that abuse only rises to the level of
torture if it causes pain equivalent to organ failure or death.

The Administration also decided that it would deviate from
established trial processes and create a new military commission
system to try detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Supreme
Court rejected this system of military commissions in its June 2006
decision Hamdan v. Rumsfeld because the commission process did not
comply with American laws and treaty obligations.

In September 2006, the Administration proposed the Military
Commissions Act, which sought to re-establish the military commission
system and redefine what interrogation tactics the Administration
deemed acceptable. I voted against the Military Commissions Act. Among
its flaws, the Act did not create clear standards for unacceptable
treatment of prisoners. It also eliminated the fundamental protection
of habeas corpus, meaning that individuals – including legal residents
of the United States – could be detained indefinitely without the
opportunity to challenge their detention in court. I believe that
those who are dangerous to America should be charged, tried and
incarcerated, but 200 years of American history have given us clear
guidance on how to do this the right way. The drafters of the Military
Commissions Act did not heed those historical lessons. However, the
Act passed the Senate in September 2006.

The Military Commissions Act will be the subject of legal challenges,
and it remains to be seen whether the Administration’s new detention,
interrogation and military commission policies will survive
constitutional scrutiny. In the meantime, I believe that we in
Congress must work toward restoring the fundamental civil rights that
were suspended by the Military Commissions Act.

I support the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 (S. 185). This
bill would repeal provisions of the Military Commissions Act that
eliminated the ability of courts to consider applications for a writ
of habeas corpus filed by detainees determined to be “enemy
combatants.” S.185 has been referred to the Judiciary Committee for
consideration.

I will carefully consider other proposals to reverse the troubling
provisions of the Military Commission Act. Thank you again for your
message.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator