It Begins

A month or so ago, the President signed into law a bill that made it illegal to provide ‘material comfort’ to terrorists. Those accused would be thrown in jail, denied access to a lawyer, and have no right to Habeas Corpus. (Wikipedia defines habeas corpus as “a court order addressed to a prison official (or other custodian) ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he or she should be released from custody. The writ of habeas corpus in common law countries is an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.”)

Note that last sentence, and remember it well. Because now, our government has given itself the power to ignore the conventions of a free society, and can lock you up without evidence, in a secret prison where nobody will find you. In other words, Bush has usurped the authority to imprison anyone – from an unfortunate Arab with the wrong colored skin, to a political opponent – without fear of retribution.

Of course, that could never happen… right?

Actually, it could.

Steve Howards was walking around Beaver Creek, Colorado, with his eight-year-old son when he saw Dick Cheney shaking hands with some people over the street. He crossed over, and said to Cheney “Your policies in Iraq are reprehensible.”

Then Howards walked away.

Ten minutes later, he was accosted by the Secret Service, who accused him of assaulting the Vice President. He was handcuffed, and his boy was threatened with being taken into protective care. Luckily Howards’ wife returned in time to take his son away, by which time Howards was being driven to jail.

At the jail, the charge against him was reduced to harassment and he was released on $500 bond. The Eagle County DA’s office eventually dropped the charge, and Howards is suing for being deprived of his First Amendment right of free speech and his Fourth Amendment right to be protected from illegal seizure.

Howards was lucky. He was arrested before the new law came into effect, and his rights, while violated, still existed. Otherwise we might never have seen him again.

Will you be so lucky, next time you tell our leaders how you feel?