Fuck you, Washington. Fuck you very much.
“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.” — Article One, Section 9, U.S. Constitution
So here’s the question. Who’s invading and who’s rebelling? I’d really like an answer as to how we are now enforcing public safety.
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (Bat Segundo interview with Murphy)
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (Bat Segundo interview with McClear)
Well, I know some kid in Florida got tasered for asking questions to a senator…
I vote rebellion. Americans have been pissed since the Sith Lord took over.
Interesting to note the only non-Republican (officially non-Republican, anyway) to vote nay on cloture: everyone’s favorite former Democrat In Name Only, now “Independent”, Joe Lieberman. The only good thing about the outcome of Bush v. Gore is the fact that it kept this chucklehead out of the White House.
If the conservatives want to argue that the presence of terrorism suspects constitutes “rebellion”, that’s fine, just as long as the unconstitutional and anti-democratic acts of the Bush cadre are considered “rebellion”, too. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzales et al have wantonly disregarded the concept of representative government in an effort to concentrate power in the executive branch. They’ve commandeered our government. If that’s not rebellion, I don’t know what is. So none of them should enjoy habeas corpus protections either.
Indeed!
The problem with fighting terrorism is that it will always be there. So, while some might view this as a short-term suspension of rights, others should really look at it as a long-term suspension of rights.
Everyone has already lost this right, and my job is with the media, and they haven’t said a word about it. It’s all OJ Simpson, man. It’s all OJ.