Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The John Yoo memos

Naomi Wolf may well have a number of detractors but she's no crackpot (you know, of the David Icke variety). I want to direct your attention to her article entitled "Do the Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason? Top Constitutional Scholar Says Yes". It is, quite frankly, chilling. Here's just a sample:

In early March, more shocking details emerged about George W. Bush legal counsel John Yoo's memos outlining the destruction of the republic.

The memos lay the legal groundwork for the president to send the military to wage war against U.S. citizens; take them from their homes to Navy brigs without trial and keep them forever; close down the First Amendment; and invade whatever country he chooses without regard to any treaty or objection by Congress.
...
The memos are a confession. The memos could not be clearer: This was the legal groundwork of an attempted coup. I expected massive front page headlines from the revelation that these memos exited. Almost nothing. I was shocked.

As a non-lawyer, was I completely off base in my reading of what this meant, I wondered? Was I hallucinating?

Astonished, I sought a reality check -- and a formal legal read -- from one of the nation's top constitutional scholars (and most steadfast patriots), Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has been at the forefront of defending the detainees and our own liberties.

Please. Click through and read the transcript of their conversation. But be sure you're sitting down while you do. And maybe have some smelling salts handy.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous11:07 AM

    This will also be a real test of President Obama's moral courage, in my opinion. A large part of the problem in addition is the lack of an independent press, which allows the abuses to perpetuate. I've been very concerned for a long time, as you know. Marilyn

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