The United States is not a Monarchy!

Alexandre Dumas and his character, Edmond Dantès, the wrongfully imprisoned protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo would be happy to know that order has finally been restored to the world and the U.S Constitution.The Supreme court in a 5-4 decision has ruled that President Bush can not use the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to create his own private “Gulag Archipelago“. The court has ruled that the 200+ detainees being held as “enemy combatants” at Guantanamo Bay can no longer be held indefinitely in “Siberian Hell” without some semblance of due process. They have the right to challenge their detention in U.S. Civil Courts. A huge victory for the Constitution of the United States and all those who oppose “defacto monarchical” rule.Are these detainees combatants against the Constitution and freedoms of the United States? Maybe they are. Maybe they deserve everything they eventually get or have already received. I have no idea. Neither do you. Neither does President Bush. No independent fact finder has ever been given the opportunity to hear an “offer of proof”. What we have is a classic case of “it is because I say it is”. Thats great when punishing your children but not when denying basic human rights. The most basic of these being the rights of freedom and to know why you are being denied that freedom. If it is proven that any or all of these people raised arms against the United States, try them in accordance with military rules and let the chips fall where they may. I have no problem with that. The problem I have is with the “vertically integrated” way these decisions are being made. Decisions made by President Bush and cascading straight down the “yes sir” line right to the gallows. That is a monarchy not a democracy. There are some that might argue for the much harsher “D” word.The argument that “classified information” will have to be disclosed in any habeas corpus hearing is a fallacy. If a United States Attorney is not capable of coming up with a court acceptable way of proving the necessity of detention without exposing such information, I question his/her qualifications for the job. I have a hard time believing this is the first time they have ever dealt with the protection of classified information in a civil court setting. Spare me the theatrics.I can’t help but think back to when I saw the movie “The Rock“. Sean Connery played a former British agent who was caught by the United States with devastating classified information in his possession. He was held by the United States without bail, trial or identity for over 30 years. At the time I thought the premise was ridiculous.In the end The Supreme Court has spoken for those imprisoned and muzzled even if they probably are dangerous scumbags. We are still a democracy even at 5-4. Score one for the Constitution.

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