Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Arrests Without Charges

Cenk Uygur on the The Huffington Post is outraged that the government indictment of Jose Padilla is a new claim that he had plans to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas (previously they said he was going to launch a dirty bomb and then it was blow up apartment building). Padilla, a US citizen, has been held without charges for over 3 years in a South Carolina prison as an enemy combatant. Uygur is outraged, If It Can Happen to Padilla, It Can Happen to You.

Looking at his background Padilla is clearly not a model citizen. Nevertheless, he is a citizen, and he has rights even though the Bush administration doesn't think so. You can arrest someone and then make up the charges (much) later. The Bush administration has given itself the power to come into your home, take you away and lock you up in prison without any charges or explanation. Does that sound like the United States of America to you? It sounds more like the charges we've made against Saddam Hussein.

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