How to Put Civil Liberties in the White House

[groovedaddy]

AS we approach July 4, it is worth reminding ourselves of America’s foundational idea.

This country is set apart from the rest of the world because of its unparalleled commitment to personal freedom and the dignity of the individual. It is a vision captured in the guarantee of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, due process of law, equal protection under the law and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure and cruel and unusual punishment.

We do not always live up to these aspirations. Over time, we have embarrassed ourselves and tarnished our image as a country that is respectful of civil liberties. We have persecuted dissenters, interned the innocent, suspended habeas corpus, invaded reasonable expectations of privacy. We have even engaged in torture.

What, then, can we do to see to it that we more reliably honor our core values? Here’s a start.

Presidents have a wide range of official advisers. There is a secretary of defense, a secretary of labor, a national security adviser, to name just a few. The next president should create a new executive branch position: a civil liberties adviser. Within the highest councils of every administration there should be a respected public official whose charge it is to defend our civil liberties against all comers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/opinion/29stone.html?th&emc=th

[jody]

1. The Attorney General in DOJ. IMO we have the right positions but the wrong people in them.

Mission Statement: To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

The Civil Rights Division is committed to upholding the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, including some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Founded in 1957, we celebrate our 50th Anniversary next year. Our proud mission remains vitally important today. The federal anti-discrimination statutes that we enforce reflect some of America’s highest ideals and aspirations: equal treatment and equal justice under law. I hope that this brochure will help you better understand our mission and how we endeavor to carry it out.

When all is said and done, more is said than done!

[radicalism]

2. What to the Slave (Iraqi, farm worker, tortured, starving and oppressed) is the Fourth of July?

Let's be a bit more critical of our country and get our history straight Tom. On balance, it's bad. Please read the most famous piece by Frederick Douglas comparable in importance and magnitude to MLK's "I have a Dream..." speech
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=162

...and then read it again substituting all the other victims - of this American empire of doom - for the slaves.

This country is set apart from the rest of the world for the magnitude of it's crimes around the world and the success of the propaganda that this is the greatest country in the the world because of it's constitution. Answer me this: Why aren't food and housing primary rights in this constitution?

"The American Empire has always been a bi-partisan project. Democrats and Repugnicans have taken turns extending it, extolling it, justifying it. The rhetoric, often persuasive on first hearing, soon becomes overwhelmed by horrors that can no longer be concealed." -Howard Zinn

[bhbwl]

3. What's praiseworthy about a piece of an animal's hide...

that was scribbled over by a bunch of slaveowning white elite men?

We've been illegitemate from the beginning. We had a chance to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the law of the land, but we blew it.

We deserve everything we get.