No Western Govt Has Ever Claimed The power To Do This! The King Of England! Not Hitler! Not Stalin!

I think "The Judge" is about the only thing I can stand to watch on Fox anymore... He brings up some good points about the erosion of The Constitution...

I had heard a little about the bill that Obama had signed about Guantanamo Bay, but wow, keeping people for life after being acquitted???

Please mark this as one of the key points in the destruction of civil liberties. By signing this executive order, which in itself is unconstitutional, he has disbanded the judicial system from its rightful activities and exercises, leaving the final decision of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ in the hands of a single man who heads this country. Just to give you a little sense of how draconian this is, even Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and the worst dictators in history have never given themselves the legal authority to make the final decision on someone’s life.

He has just signed into law, unconstitutionally, something which will give him supreme authority over any GITMO detainee, he will now be their jury and their judge, the judges and juries or military tribunals are now irrelevant as the final decision lays in his hands. Just as with the introduction of every tyrannical act of government it will be sealed into government then expanded upon, soon this act by the President will be given not only to GITMO detainees but to even further judicial aspects of life. To legal cases involving corporations, the President could decide which corporation wins or if the corporation wins over the individual.

What then stops the President from making the final decision on the constitutionality of laws? He could leave the Supreme Court intact but declare he himself has the final decision on all constitutional matters, this will be passed on to the next President to be expanded upon as well.

This has to be worse than any other act this President or his predecessor has ever done. The Patriot Act seems like a Civil libertarian dream over this. What kind of country will we live in when our President has the final say in every important court case? He takes the side he wants and that side wins.

If they are guilty of a crime, they deserve a trial.

If they are POW's they deserve to be treated according to the Geneva Convention.

But calling them Terrorists in order to avoid both a trial and the Geneva Convention is wrong and it clearly defines who the real terrorists are.

Yeah really, where does this end?? Does it end 20 years from now when we are all living in 1984? Forced to love big brother...

reply to post by Misoir

This has to be worse than any other act this President or his predecessor has ever done. The Patriot Act seems like a Civil libertarian dream over this. What kind of country will we live in when our President has the final say in every important court case? He takes the side he wants and that side wins.

Make no mistakes about it, the Patriot Act paved the way for this decision, and "Civil Libertarians" paved the way for the Patriot Act. Civil liberties are "rights" granted people by government, and what can be legally granted by government can be legally taken away by government. As long as people keep insisting on framing rights as "civil liberties", "civil rights", "legal rights" or even "Constitutional rights" those who cast a longing eye on political offices will recognize the language and take full advantage of it.

Even when people are vigilante and ever watchful over their own freedom, it is a difficult task, but when we get lazy and speak the language of a culture taught to those who too readily acquiesce, how can we tell the difference between them and us?

Wow....

I don't know what to say...


Disgusting.

Beside the obvious immediate effect on "Terrorists", President Obama's action shows a change in the fundamental philosophy of our government. We were founded on the checks and balances system because the founders knew that no one person or group of persons could be trusted with total or near total power.

If the President is not constrained by Congress and is able to ignore the Constitution, then he is a King in effect.

Besides, I happen to believe that every person needs some kind of control on their actions. "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." leads to a rotted soul. (No, I'm not trying to switch this to religion, simply observing that people need limits.)

This is why we the people need to take legal action, for any reason a POTUS can declare marshal law, by EO en.wikipedia.org... from the link

Those Executive Orders that are not authorized through Congressional acts frequently contain some other purported justification such as the reference above to "executive power" in Article II, Section 1. These justifications have largely gone untested by the Courts for their validity however.

and then it further says this

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows[1] "

Clause one is a "vesting clause," similar to other clauses in Articles One and Three, but it vests the power to execute the instructions of Congress, which has the exclusive power to make laws; "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." The important distinction between the vesting clause in Article I and this Vesting Clause is that this one is Plenary (i.e., it implies the power the executive to fall in line with what other "executives" around the world at the time could do) whereas the power vested in Article I is subject to limits to be outlined in later sections.

best known case of this is, also from link

Critics have accused presidents of abusing executive orders, of using them to make laws without Congressional approval, and of moving existing laws away from their original mandates.[5] Large policy changes with wide-ranging effects have been effected through executive order, including the integration of the armed forces under Harry Truman and the desegregation of public schools under Dwight D. Eisenhower.

One extreme example of an executive order is Executive Order 9066, where Franklin D. Roosevelt delegated military authority to remove any or all people (used to target specifically Japanese Americans and German Americans) in a military zone. The authority delegated to General John L. DeWitt subsequently paved the way for all Japanese-Americans to be sent to internment camps for the duration of World War II.

could this happen again?

this is freaking terrifying...american citizens are definitely next...its getting pretty close to fleeing time...bet you dont see this on the daily show

reply to post by HenryPatrick
try to find something really important , good luck i ran it to this www.whitehouse.gov... this list is just to darn long , i hope you read it. and yes you almost need a law degree to sort through the mess, as seen here
www.answers.com... and this is one thing i did not know did you? Executive orders are regulations issued by the President. Provided that they are based either on his constitutional powers or laws passed by Congress, they have the force of law. Federal courts will enforce them just as if they had been enacted by Congress, provided that they do not conflict with federal laws. An executive order that carries out a law may later be revoked by new legislation. An executive order can be nullified, or canceled, if the Supreme Court or lower federal courts find that it is unconstitutional. For instance, in 1952 the Supreme Court ruled that President Harry Truman's seizure of the steel mills during the Korean War violated the due process clause of the Constitution because the President had seized property without being given statutory authority by Congress.

Read more: www.answers.com...

That pretty much said it all. Way to go Judge

When will people get it through their heads the Two Party System is a ruse and lie to control us. It's just to divide us and keep the heat of them. It really is that simple.

You try and point it out and you either get accused of being a Liberal by the Right or a Conservative by the Left.

I'm a glass half full person though and we will come out of this just like we did after the 60's. I just hate to see this twice in one life. God we need to do something about the State run schools! Send your children to Private Schools even if you have to eat generic Top Ramen three times a day.

I want my country back!!
WTF is going on???
I mean, It's really happening isn't it???
I can't believe it's actually happening!
and most of the country is brain dead/legally retarded, too consumed with their
smart phones and texting to give a $**T!
I can't believe it is actually happening right before our eyes!
I always said that it would but, somewhere in the back of my head I always left room for the idea that I was just
crazy and needed to get on meds like my wife said.
I always wanted to be wrong about this!!!!!
This wasn't supposed to ACTUALLY come true!!! It was just supposed to be the rantings of
a lunatic that had way to much time on his hands and spent way too many hours on Internet Conspiracy sites.

I WANT TO WAKE UP NOW!!!!

Our Country is DEAD!

Dr. McCoy:

"Sounds like the God damned Spanish inquisition to me..."

We're in big troube now. As if we weren't before.

I think this is the first time EVER that I have watched a Fox News clip and actually agreed with what was being said... much to my surprise!

This is indeed a very sad turn of events. Just more evidence that both liberals and conservatives, republicans and democrats both are (knowingly or not) furthering the same agenda: The complete destruction of the Constitution and the freedom of American citizens.

I can't possibly understand how every single person is not outraged at this. The government continues spitting on the bodies of those that gave their lives to defend freedom and serve their country.

well i guess we have come a long way from this.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

has the time come yet?

Whoa whoa whoa, I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for this and there is nothing to worry about. Please resume playing with your Iphone, watching television, and shopping at the local chain stores. Besides these are a bunch of terrorists and have no rights, the blew up WTC remember?

Good I'm glad you see the logic, now we need to talk about those fear mongering conspiracy buffs who keep questioning the government, it was actually their fault the CIA missed and couldn't stop the terrorists so now lets begin cataloging and picking them up for "questioning" oh thats right, because of the Patriot act they're already in a handy database organized by their current address.

As already said the average American is legally brain dead. Not enough people will care and in 20 years kids will not realize it isn't right that this is how it is as they will be taught in school how wonderful this was.

I don't think were at the point of no return, but we're close.

Originally posted by James1982
I think this is the first time EVER that I have watched a Fox News clip and actually agreed with what was being said... much to my surprise!

This is indeed a very sad turn of events. Just more evidence that both liberals and conservatives, republicans and democrats both are (knowingly or not) furthering the same agenda: The complete destruction of the Constitution and the freedom of American citizens.

I can't possibly understand how every single person is not outraged at this. The government continues spitting on the bodies of those that gave their lives to defend freedom and serve their country.

Who's to say everyone isn't outraged? But I will tell you this, to rid the system of its corruption, we as a country need a powerful, organized effort, a revolution. It would be violent, it would be bloody, ugly and downright nasty. The problem is, we are about 3 generations removed from having citizens willing to partake in the necessary revolt. Now, if kids cant play call of duty, watch porn streaming live, eat at mcdonalds 4 times a day and be the big boss right away.. there is no interest. Hard work is not something my generation is known for, and the way our country is headed, its only gonna get worse. (think wussification)

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

Agreed! If only we could say this loud enough and long enough.

The Constitution does not "grant" us rights. Our government does not "grant" us rights. The framers of the Constitution meant to acknowledge that human beings have certain rights by the very fact of their existence. We established government for our convenience and safety, nothing more.

And this is what it's all come to--because we became too complacent, too rich, too comfortable, and less watchful. We allowed this to happen. We encouraged this to happen. It was the easy path.

It was the easy path.

Your right, we are totally removed from the real stuff... And we are so intertwined in the system its hard to get out from it. I wish I could focus on real stuff, like survival on the long term, protecting myself and not relying on the system to help me "better" myself. And just plain enjoying life and all its mysteries without fear or greedy people stealing what ive earned... This generation only cares about working, and watching their tv shows before bed, and rinse/repeat.

Wow... I haven't been this pissed since those assholes passed the last bailout. So mad I almost put my fist through my monitor. I can't even think straight right now...