Achtung, Herr Ashcroft!

By: Frederick H. Winterberg III

In spite of the fact that I consistently expect the worst from Bush and his administration, the actions of Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft since 9/11 have managed to catch me by surprise. Their all out offensive to gut the Constitution has been the most disturbing power grab that has ever been witnessed in this country.

For starters, Ashcroft is a former governor of Missouri who was defeated in a Senate race last year by a dead man. I don't mean dead as in boring, no sense of humor, witless, etc. I mean a man who was really dead, lost in a plane crash weeks before the election. It speaks volumes about what his former constituents think of him when he can't even defeat a dead opponent. And yet, given his fundamentalist background, his history of racism, his penchant for trying to bend the law to serve his personal beliefs, he was still confirmed as Attorney General by Congress.

He jumped right in, as virtually all members of Bush's administration did, and started doing exactly what he did before as a Senator (despite his denials during his confirmation hearings), that is, bending the law to suit his personal ideology. First, he unilaterally changed the way the 2^nd Amendment has been interpreted by our government for the last hundred years or so by saying that the right to bear arms applies to individuals, not "a well regulated militia" as has been the understanding. Next, he says he wants to settle the U.S. government's lawsuit with the tobacco companies, commenting that the case against them was not very strong. Even if it wasn't strong (which I do not believe), what lawyer on earth would admit their case is weak? It's like giving your opponent an uncontested slam dunk in the game's waning moments. Next, Microsoft was let off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Have to keep big business happy in the Bush administration, despite the fact that their business practices were (are) sleazy, at best, and in many cases illegal.

But it took 9/11 for John to really get rolling. First came the Patriot act of 2001, which effectively dismantled the 4^th Amendment. Then came the executive order dictating that the conversations between suspected terrorists and their lawyers could be monitored, which tosses the 6^th Amendment out the window. Then, the kicker: accused terrorists will be tried by military tribunal. The trials are closed to the public, not subject to judicial review, the normal rules of evidence do not apply, there is no right to appeal, and the death sentence can be conferred on the accused if a mere 2/3 majority [present] agrees.

This type of action is unconscionable, even more so because with the exception of the Patriot act, this was all done by executive order, with no consultation or input from Congress. This was done unilaterally by Bush, Ashcroft, and the administration alone, and is an offense of the worst kind. No one person, not even the President, has the right to subvert the Constitution just because he feels like it; technically he does not even have the right to do so.

So here is what we have. We have a President usurping as much power as he can get his hands on, an Attorney General who is gleefully trampling the Constitution and Bill of Rights he swore to uphold, and a Congress more interested in handing huge sums of money to corporations than in monitoring what the executive branch is doing. The fact that 60% or more of the people polled are supposedly in favor of this tells me that far too many people are not paying any attention whatsoever, as it is the only logical conclusion.

It is time for the democrats in Congress to stop worrying about appearing 'partisan' and do their jobs, which, by the way, is to look out or the interests of their constituents and formulate sound public policy. They need to start speaking out against this administration, exposing it for what it really is; a corrupt to the bone front for corporate America. The evidence is right there in front of our noses, and if the press refuses to report it, it is their job to speak out against it as loudly and as often as possible, until people start realizing what is really going on.

Likewise, people like us need to do the same. It is difficult, in the current climate of "unity" and "patriotism" and intolerance of dissent, to speak out against the President and his policies. The very fact that people from the Bush administration over-react so dramatically to any dissent encourages me, because it shows they have something to hide. If our criticism was unfounded, or weak, it would be paid no attention; the fact that it evokes such a vicious response is proof in itself that they are up to no good. I am liable to be called a peacenik, a communist, a terrorist supporter, even a terrorist; yet I will continue to speak out, as loudly and as often as I can. It is my right, as defined in the 1^st Amendment to the Constitution, and I will keep speaking out until people start listening and paying attention to what is being done in their name by our so called elected officials.

It's way past time for these people to start being held accountable for their actions.