Finally, Action! Ron Paul Introduces Bill to Defend Constitution!
It's not every day that there is something concrete you can do to save democracy in one powerful stroke and make sure your kids don't come of age in an American in which we are no longer protected by the rule of law. I have been writing about the terrifying and precipitous assault on our liberties and our very system of checks and balances; I have crossed the country with this message -- today I am in Boston -- and I have heard across the nation that (as usual) the people are ahead of the leaders and the pundits. Americans of all backgrounds are alarmed and outraged and ready to take action against these vicious assaults on the rule of law. But what I hear again and again is: "What can we do?"
Here is what you can do, and it is big, big news. If we do this together in our millions we are safer; and if we fail to act we miss an historic opening and risk far worse to come.
There are two new organizations that are driving a grassroots push to restore the rule of law: the American Freedom Agenda was started by leaders who are conservative: Bruce Fein, who was a Reagan administration official in the Department of Justice, and others. The American Freedom Campaign was started by progressives. Both groups advance comparable 10 point legislative agendas that would stabilize democracy long enough for us to forestall the worst and regroup for more long-term reparation of the Constitution and the rule of law. Both would, if passed, protect Americans from the scary stories of abuse and recrimination I am hearing every single day -- journalists intimidated, prisoners tortured, innocent citizens spied on by the State in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Both would make it illegal for any administration to commit the kinds of crimes against America and its constitution that we have seen under this one: the innocent lawyer Brandon Mayfield's home broken into, the innocent software engineer Maher Arar kept prisoner by U.S. agents in an interrogation cell in a U.S. airport and prevented from calling his lawyer, and journalists reporting on abuses by the government threatened by the state with prosecution that could keep them in jail for a decade. Urgently it would close the horrific legal possibility for the president to call you or me an "enemy combatant" tomorrow -- JUST BECAUSE HE SAYS SO -- and lock us up in solitary confinement for years.
Passing the legislative agenda of either group would make it clear that American citizens -- in spite of a heretofore craven and compliant Congress -- refuse to stand by silently while a group of criminals systematically violates the core structure of the democracy our Founders put in place for us.
The big news is that this idea can now become a law and a law creates a reality.
On Monday, Rep. Ron Paul, the outsider Republican presidential candidate who has long upheld these values and who was an early voice warning of the grave danger to all of us of these abuses, introduced the AFA's legislative package into Congress. (The mainstream press has an irrational habit of disparaging outsider candidates -- as if corrupt money and machine endorsements equal seriousness of purpose -- even though the Founders hoped that the system they established would lead citizens, ideally those unembedded in the establishment, to offer their service to the nation.) It is the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007 [PDF], and you should read it in its entirety: just as accounts of the recent abuses send chills down your spine, this beautifully argued document feels historic and has the ring of great power to correct great injustice.
What does it do? According to an alert put out by the American Freedom campaign, it would accomplish the following:
"The American Freedom Agenda Act would bar the use of evidence obtained through torture; require that federal intelligence gathering is conducted in accordance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); create a mechanism for challenging presidential signing statements; repeal the Military Commissions Act, which, among other things, denies habeas corpus to certain detainees; prohibit kidnapping, detentions, and torture abroad; protect journalists who publish information received from the executive branch; and ensure that secret evidence is not used to designate individuals or organizations with a presence in the U.S. as foreign terrorists."
Ron Paul was the first of all the presidential candidates, red or blue, to step up in this way -- and all credit is due to him for getting there first. May the others of both parties race to follow his lead. These days, as we have seen from how reluctant some candidates have been -- even on the Democratic sign -- even to sign a mere pledge to uphold the Constitution, it takes some courage to stand fast against the assaults of this administration -- and their manipulations of the terms "patriotism" and "terror threat" -- and insist with legislation on the Founders' vision and on restoring democracy.
A groundswell of millions of Americans of all parties rising up to insist on passage of the AFA legislation means that we are awake -- we get it -- and that we assert that an alert citizenry, not a whipped-dog Congress or a violently abusive executive, decides what happens in this nation still. I am not a voter on his side of the ballot -- but I will move heaven and earth to support the passage of this lifesaving agenda. (Interestingly when I run into Paul's supporters -- who are deeply alert to the abuses of democracy -- and I demur by saying I am a Democrat, it is they who rightly assure me that these issues transcend party).
There is no way to overstate how crucial this piece of legislation is. We are at a turning point, and without the restoration of the rule of law the "blueprint" for what I have called a "fascist shift" -- the closing down of democracy -- calls for scarier recriminations against citizens, greater tightening of social controls -- the ever-growing, disturbingly political TSA watch list is, alarmingly, due to go from the airlines' administration to that of the TSA itself -- and more corruptions of the electoral process. Blackwater is a truly terrifying wild card. Without the rule of law we will be powerless as each of these assaults on liberty continue to escalate. With it we can fight back.
This is the answer both to those who say "What we can do?" and to those who claim (actually, sometimes whine) "there is nothing we can do." And if we don't act on this now we will get the democracy we deserve -- which is no democracy at all.
Put aside your partisan ideal world -- sometimes issues simply transcend partisanship -- and if ever there is an issue that is above and separate from party politics, it is the restoration of the democratic system we inherited. There are good people and passionate patriots across the political spectrum.
We at the AFC are putting out a call to pass this set of laws. Pick up the phone -- every day. Email your representative -- every day. Let them hear from millions of Americans a day. Let them hear from twenty. Please play hardball -- the times demand it and nice girls and boys have managed to get this Congress to do literally nothing at all to protect liberty.
Congressmen and women say off the record that they can't support liberty, much as they'd like to, because they are scared of "looking soft on terror" and they want to run out the clock -- a naive and self-serving posture in a time of crisis. Make them more scared of you if they don't. Tell them you will bombard their donors with the message that they have sold out liberty. Tell them you will denounce them as traitors to the Constitution in your local and regional letters to the editor and op-eds. Tell them they are unpatriotic to stand by while liberty is disemboweled. Tell them you will stop at nothing to ensure their future defeat unless they support this and make it the law of the land.
Let's do it. There is no excuse now. The restoration of democracy is up to you -- as the Founders intended it should be.
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How many have come back from the brink?
Caesar lies in a pool of blood, and the Republicans huddle in terror, some young boy, and a muddled libertine take over the proud state.
who seeks office? Caesar was not ambitious...
a craven senate that does not even cringe when you call them so...(they have not taught democracy for several decades now, rather more the pleasures of our blessed monied oligarchy, the safe sanity of the corporate polity--is it safe to assume you know your place, Miss Naomi? To stir the soup gently, but do remove from heat before the pot begins to boil, and the red sauce runs down the sides of the stove--and everyone will be cross holding their empty spoons.
Sadly, Calpurnia, Caesar will go forth today, not so much to die this time, but rather to ride his white horse over the cobblstones to the Senate where with gentle hand he will guide them to the abolition of the land. It has always been so. Time out of mind.
Naomi Wolf is right. This may be our last chance to get our democracy back.
EVERYBODY any party, no party EVERYBODY should read this article, read her book, and support Ron Paul in this bill to defend the Constitution.
Right now, we have the chance to get our democracy back by means of emails, phone calls, letters, petitions in support of this bill.
I would venture to guess that this is a luxury we will not be long afforded if we remain quiet now.
Taking to the streets against the likes of blackwater might soon be the only option, when we realize our country as it was meant to be has been taken away.
And what nation will step in to 'help' us? We, who have quietly allowed this to happen. The rest of the world takes our silent acquiesence for tacit agreement, or greedy & selfish stupidity.
And Everybody should become re-acquainted with the constitution & the bill of rights, before it becomes an imprisonable offence.
Naomi Wolf has sounded the alarm. We are in danger of losing the rights the Constitution gave us. Almost every bit of power has been drawn to one man, George Bush. We have been stripped of the right of Habeus Corpus, which was not very important to the general public until it was lost. Also, the possee comitatus provision was stripped, thereby denying the individual states the right to control their own National Guard people. It is very easy to invoke the reasons the all encompassing power would be used.
To get the full implications of what has been usurped, access the StoptheAmericanUnion.com website.
Yes, the next step is the North American Union, set in motion by the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and involves the cooperation of many cabinet members. It seems that right and left are being forced to come together in common protection against the loss of their freedoms.
For months I watched segment after segment devoted to objections by media and pundits alike barking at the Bush madministrations erosion of the Bill of Rights.
Since October 15, proposed legislation that would essentially reset the Constitution as was prior to madministartions assault on it...has been sitting pre-committee without one damn word from what I gathered are otherwise outraged media outlets.
The American Freedom Agenda Act 2007 , HR 3835, introduced by Ron Paul, is a serious proposal. It's legislation that liberal media ought to have jumped all over. So why hasn't it?
Two reasons.
First: The liberal media outlets would rather stay quiet than endorse a republican bill at this time in our election season. Especially a republican as liberal as Dr. Ron Paul.(party before people, I call it)
Second: This Act Promotes the rights granted by the constitution, none of the media and deep pockets want this because it would restate power to the people.
They cant get rich nor can they get away with their media rights campaigns and lobbies, without exposure. Their agendas would be outed. See, the Constitution brings light.
None wants this. They want only darkness and fear. This is what allows them to keep control.
Something they will continue to have unless America stands up.
Regardless of party.
I would say this incident helps disprove the whole concept of "liberal media" -- either there is no such thing, or the percentage that can be called liberal is so small as to render the term useless.
Fortunate your post is not useless. I think item #2 is the meat of the issue -- and I would revise #1 to say "BigMoney-owned media outlets -- even liberal ones -- are not interested in going back to the old days when they had less power, less money, and less control over what the average American hears or reads"
Even though I'm a registered Democrat, I'd vote for Ron Paul over Hillary every time. I do reserve the right to change my mind if there's something scary about Dr. Paul that I don't know about, but I haven't heard any deal-breakers yet.
Very nice yet 'restoring democracy' from the acts of 'criminals' that would simply end the term should not be acceptable. If the criminals are not to be publicly branded and taken where the place for criminals is - what is the purpose of legally correcting the list of their abuses? While they would be writing books, lecturing and appearing on media shows all along preparing the next stage of even more perfidious political games. NOthing would work if the current criminals end up unpunished.
In Bill Clinton's administration (and many before) there were subtle abuses - the IRS auditing his opponents and the Serbian war. Those vertical lines were crossed and most applauded.
But this why Ron Paul matters, and why he is different. He wishes to make it so fascism would be impossible because the power would no longer exist to start down the road.
Roe v. Wade was a bad decision because it subverted the rule of law. Instead of letting society debate and having various states switch, then express it through the legislature (like the Civil Rights Act) the court found emanations and penumbras of privacy.
And now privacy is gone. That is because the strict rules involving law were bent and broken to achieve desired ends.
Power corrupts. Ron Paul is different (and I would add Kucinich) in that they don't want the power, they wish to destroy it, much like the Ring of Power ala Tolkien.
The Rule of Law can only come from a strict (in the sense of historical context, as our hostess found in the 2nd amendment) reading of the Constitution. A living legal document is a dead letter. It can mean anything today and something totally different tomorrow. But the framer's intent could never change. That is why they allowed for amendment but only with difficulty.
But the second principle was of Federalism. Having 50 states allowed one to move from a Fascist state to a free state. Having a single central authority allows no escape.
And this is the contradiction or flaw. If you will allow evil such that the Rule of Law to be bent or broken for good ends, it won't be there to prevent going down the 10 steps toward fascism. And if you must have everything imposed from DC instead of letting states be differing amalgams of good and evil - much like persons - the 10 steps can be easily accomplished as the subsidiary authorities will not be able to mitigate or resist. The Federal / State dichotomy was as or more important than the internal checks and balances.
I could care less about what party you belong to and that is why I consider myself an Independent. Ron Paul is one of the bright lights in a government of darkness and even though the Republican machine will never let him be nominated ( which from my perspective, he would win the Presidency by a landslide against Hillary ) lets give him all the support possible.
40 years ago as a boy, I remember democrates and republicans having a overlap, and several strong leaders holding positions that were personal convictions, and area preferences, not basically party line positions. I look at Ron Paul and see hope, as he holds personal convictions. His foreign policy, as it relates to war I agree with, however, his basic liberterian politics with a republican skew I can not support. Still I am pleased to give him the credit for the courage of his convictions and his wisdom in foreign policy.
If you'd like to support Ron Paul, then please join our pledge to help raise the money he needs for a successful presidential campaign. Everyone can join - it only takes $8.
http://www.pledgebank.com/8-for-rp-0ct28
i read the afaa bill; it should include a statement affirming our support of international treaties, e.g., geneva convention, that we have signed.
What? A rethug that actually wants to follow the Constitution?
I know its not the way Hitlery would want it followed. But I think he adresses things others do not...Very important things.
I wonder what would happen if we put Dr. Pauls voting record on things such as
Preemptive war.
Patriot act 1
Patriot Act 2
Military Commisions Act.
Eminent domain.
War with Iran.
Wiretapping.
Fisa courts.
NAFTA.
CAFTA.
National ID card.
Up against any Democrat or Republican, what would happen.
THEY WOULD LOSE TO HIM...
He voted for NONE of these things.
In fact, he wants to cut Federal legislators(congress) pay in half and take away their federal pensions.
Something he does not participate in.(congress pension plan)
He is also in support of the Federal government recognizing Gay marriage.
I wonder what the other votes of our presidential candidates look like to date?
Would they support full recognition of gay marriage under their administration or only civil unions?
Did they vote for Kyl-Lieberman (Iran War) authorization?
Instead of cutting Dr. Paul, why do you not suggest anyone better, with a better voting record, a better foreign policy who has promised to return us to our constitution
and hold those accountable for breaking law.
Ron Paul r3VOLution
Based on the current oath all members of the House and Senate take, this bill is remarkable in that it proposes to make congress actually do what they SWEAR they will do. There is a constitutional remedy for those who forget this oath and it is impeachment.
"I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which I am about to enter. So help me God."
This oath suggests their ONLY job is to protect and defend the constitution. Today's congress only wants the CHECKS and forgets the BALANCE(S).
I'd go the wall for ANY group, left or right, that is fighting to restore our Constitution.
Funny, I've walking around the last few years with the notion that this country could use something akin to a 'Democracy Restoration' act.
Let's fix the Constitution and make that effort an everlasting part of Bush's legacy of destruction - a president who was so desctructive, you needed a Constitutional Amendment or something to fix what he broke.
This is an inaugrual general strike. Naomi Recommened that as a small group of concerned citizens who mourn for their constitution...
Gather your friends and family on 11-6-07 and
Do not buy anything, if at all possible do not go to work. As Americans we as a group not political can wrestle back our constitution.
Please Spread the Word Thank You
This has been discussed and supported on other posts as well.
You will not be alone if you support this idea for November 6th.
For good reading and discussion on that day, as others have also suggested no television as well, may I recommend The Constitution and the bill of rights.
I just read them and cried. We are already not what we intended.
Paul has no more chance of getting nominated than Kucinich, but am glad to sign up if it will do anything at all to save our civil rights.
If I believed that then I wouldn't vote for Dennis Kucinich. I really believe we can be surprised and probably will. Mr. Kucinich is one smart cookie. Keep your eyes open. Oh, and vote for him.
Thank You Naomi, Again you inspired me to action. I attended your book signing in chelsea
last week. I am spreading the word for participation on 11-6-07. Everyone who is concerned about the lose of our constitution,
I request that on 11-6-07, if you are able do not go to work, do not by anything. Sit in a park witrh friends and read the constution. With many voices we can be heard. Tell everyone you know to try their best to attend.
Original idea comes from Garret Keizer at Harper's Online archive 10/07. Garret calls for a General Strike. The time is short.
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