Administration Seeks to Narrow War Crimes Act

The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a U.S. war crimes law “passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions.” The changes would mean interrogators would no longer face possible prosecution for committing “outrages upon [the] personal dignity” of prisoners.

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Where's Jefferson When You Need Him?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

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Something A Little Queer in Congress?

I’ve let the dust settle some from the recent insistence of Congressional Republicans to throw their “base” a bone. I am referring to, of course, the recent attempt to ingrain discrimination against gay people into the Constitution.

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Senate Kills Bill to Police Haliburton

In an effort to stop companies like Halliburton and its subsidiaries from cheating our troops and stealing from Americans, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), introduced S.AMDT.4230 and attached it to the Defense Authorization bill currently being debated in the Senate. The bill was intended to improve contracting “by eliminating fraud and abuse and improving competition in contracting and procurement.”

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First Amendment Poised for Repeal

In even numbered years, Republicans attack the Constitution. Having failed to write homophobia into the Bill of Rights, Republicans are reduced to making their biennial appeal for a partial repeal of the First Amendment. When Democrats are dared to support the rights of (relatively rare) flag burners, they need to make clear that it is the Constitution they support.

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Could $90,000 In A Freezer Save the Republic?

Citizens have been writing about the imperial aspirations of this White House since shortly after Bush’s first inauguration. Helen Thomas fired a tough broadside on the subject back in 2002. And just this week Gary Hart wrote a comprehensive summary of our current constitutional crisis.

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