Camps for Citizens: Ashcroft's Hellish Vision

Los Angeles Times ^ | 08/14/2002 | JONATHAN TURLEY

[Pokey78]

Attorney general shows himself as a menace to liberty

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's announced desire for camps for U.S. citizens he deems to be "enemy combatants" has moved him from merely being a political embarrassment to being a constitutional menace.

Ashcroft's plan, disclosed last week but little publicized, would allow him to order the indefinite incarceration of U.S. citizens and summarily strip them of their constitutional rights and access to the courts by declaring them enemy combatants.

The proposed camp plan should trigger immediate congressional hearings and reconsideration of Ashcroft's fitness for this important office. Whereas Al Qaeda is a threat to the lives of our citizens, Ashcroft has become a clear and present threat to our liberties.

[Pokey78]

Oh, forgot the BARF alert.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I hate it when I agree with the LALA Times.

[Uncle George]

Amen John Ashcroft. I know the perfect place for this camp. ten miles South of Amboy California.

[Orangedog]

If this is true (we are talking about the LA Times, here)Dubya had better reel Ashcroft in on this one. I'm sure the anti "New World Order" people are already talking about razor-wire and guillotines. Ashcroft doen't need to give them any more fuel for the fire. Even the people in the Republican party who would support him on this should have a moment of pause and think about what an AG under a President Hilliary Clinton would do with this kind of power.

[TJFLSTRAT]

Build the camps, BUILD THEM NOW!!!!

[Kenton]

American citizens who are "enemy combatants" are traitors, pure and simple. They should be treated as such.

However, even though Jonathan Turley is an avowed liberal, he seems to be a reasonable and extremely expert person when it comes to Constitutional issues. I suspect his position on this one is motivated by his love of the Constitution, not his liberal tendencies.

[Viva Le Dissention]

I hope you forgot your </sarcasm> tag

[crystalk]

While this may sound bad on the surface, what kind of "citizens" are they talking about?

If he means Arab-"Americans", he may right in saying they are enemy combatants. It is amazing who has "citizenship" these days.

Maybe first we need to reform citizenship and drop about 10 million foreigners from it.

[Orangedog]

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

[paul51]

Whereas Al Qaeda is a threat to the lives of our citizens, Ashcroft has become a clear and present threat to our liberties

The sky is falling. What an idiotic analogy and statement

[Viva Le Dissention]

"First they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out;
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists but I was not one of them, so I did not speak out;
Then they came for the Jews but I was not Jewish so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."

[zook]

Citizen or not, if you pick up arms against your country, you deserve to be treated as POW when caught.

[Orangedog]

"Bad on the surface" could be a big understatement. The GOP isn't going to run the executive branch forever. Eventually the dems are going to be back in the White House. Hillary is biding her time, waiting for the right election cycle. Ask yourself this...what would it take for this to be applied to ALL US citizens, not just arabs who gain US citizenship? As Paul Bagala said on TV a few years ago: "Stroke of the pen, law of the land..." That's all it would take once these camps becomes policy. Tread lightly.

[Black Agnes]

Yup, I'm sure Hillary would have a special camp, just for freepers and pro-life types...

[Orangedog]

Agreed. But this isn't the way to go about it. Hitler used gun control to dissarm the Jews. He didn't initiate gun control, he inherited it from the previous, pre-Nazi government.

[ladylib]

...and for people who make fun of her icky black pants suits.

[Orangedog]

Not to mention what would happen to gun owners...at least the ones who aren't burned alive by the FBI and BATF. Fire extinguishers and gas masks will be just as crucial as ammunition.

[Harrison Bergeron]

"Yup, I'm sure Hillary would have a special camp, just for freepers and pro-life types... "

Yup. Gotta keep a short leash on those "Constitution nuts."

[Winfield]

Speaking of "gun control", anyone know where Mr. Turley
stands on that "Constitutional right"? I'll bet I could
guess.