Freedom Is Not Free

Frustrated in its attempt to deny U.S. citizen Jose Padilla his Constitutional right to an attorney, the Bush-league Administration is poised to push for a Constitutional amendment that would deny all rights to anyone critical of this Presidency, the Republican Party, conservatism in general and any current or past holder of public office who is Republican.

Padilla, who is accused of plotting an attack by means of a radioactive "dirty bomb," has been held incommunicado for six months in a Navy brig. Calling him an "enemy combatant," the U.S. Justice Department argues that street gang member Padilla, who may well have aligned himself with Al Qaeda, can be held indefinitely and denied the right to counsel.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey, sitting in Manhattan, hasn't quite figured it out yet, but he ruled Wednesday that Padilla can meet with his attorneys and have his detention reviewed by a court.

Meanwhile, Louisiana-born Yaser Hamdi, who was captured while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan, remains sequestered in a Navy brig in Norfolk, Va. A federal judge had granted him access to his lawyers, but the ruling was stayed by an appeals court In Richmond, VA.

Ed. believes that the destruction caused by Osama Bin Laden, while immense and tragic, is insignificant in its scope compared to the damage to Liberty and Freedom that we are doing to ourselves.