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Preserve, protect and defend
Author: Raine
Date: 04/02/2008 12:03:47
The DoJ declassified a memo from 2003. Yes. another one. Many more are still missing... but if this is an indicator of what we have yet to see... wow...
But this is the real kicker...
No where in the constitution does it give the executive branch that authority.
They knew they were breaking the law and committing unconstitutional acts. They did it then and they are doing it now. The very idea that they have people writing memo's to figure out how to get around the constitution should tell us about how little this Executive branch regards our precious Constitution. They pick and choose the amendments like it is some game.
The constitution is for EVERYONE, not the Executive branch's to use against the people.
If it wasn't so late in this administration's term, I would ask that every American send one dollar to go towards a fund so we could force these lawbreaking criminal nitwits back to a constitutional law class.
The idea that the constitution must be broken in order to save a nation is unseemly at the very least, and a HIGHLY treasonous crime imo. Mr. Yoo should be stripped of his citizenship. And *ush -- well -- I have spoken of how I feel about him many times here in this space. From Article II, section One United states Constitution:
Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
That is the presidents job - to protect the constitution, not break it. This country will be unraveling the damage of the past 8 years for a long time. This election is VERY important; let's make sure we get the right person for the job! Let's elect someone who will treat the constitution like the beautiful document it is!
See you inside!
:peace: and
Raine
The memo, written by John Yoo, then a key architect of legal policy in the wake of 9/11, dismisses several legal impediments to the use of extreme techniques.
Yoo was long a proponent of an aggressive approach in the war against terrorism and a believer in executive branch authority. But the memo was withdrawn as formal government policy less than a year after it was written.
In the March 14, 2003 memo, Yoo says the Constitution was not in play with regard to the interrogations because the Fifth Amendment (which provides for due process of law) and the Eighth Amendment (which prevents the government from employing cruel and usual punishment) does "not extend to alien enemy combatants held abroad.":
The memo goes on to explain that federal criminal statutes regarding assault and other crimes against the body don't apply to authorized military interrogations overseas and that statutes that do apply to the conduct of U.S. officials abroad pertaining to war crimes and torture establish a limited obligation on the part of interrogators to refrain from bodily harm.
"If a government defendant were to harm an enemy combatant during an interrogation in a manner that might arguably violate a criminal prohibition, he would be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States by the al Qaeda terrorist network," Yoo wrote. "In that case, we believe that he could argue that the executive branch's constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack justified his actions."
They knew they were breaking the law and committing unconstitutional acts. They did it then and they are doing it now. The very idea that they have people writing memo's to figure out how to get around the constitution should tell us about how little this Executive branch regards our precious Constitution. They pick and choose the amendments like it is some game.
The constitution is for EVERYONE, not the Executive branch's to use against the people.
If it wasn't so late in this administration's term, I would ask that every American send one dollar to go towards a fund so we could force these lawbreaking criminal nitwits back to a constitutional law class.
The idea that the constitution must be broken in order to save a nation is unseemly at the very least, and a HIGHLY treasonous crime imo. Mr. Yoo should be stripped of his citizenship. And *ush -- well -- I have spoken of how I feel about him many times here in this space. From Article II, section One United states Constitution:
That is the presidents job - to protect the constitution, not break it. This country will be unraveling the damage of the past 8 years for a long time. This election is VERY important; let's make sure we get the right person for the job! Let's elect someone who will treat the constitution like the beautiful document it is!
See you inside!
:peace: and
Raine
