Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Anthony Romero on Habeas Corpus

On June 26th, thousands of activists will gather in Washington, D.C . to speak out against the Military Commissions Act, and other imperious legislation that has come down the proverbial pike courtesy of the current regime.

In the words of Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

"So on June 26th, we have an opportunity to tell our story and an obligation to speak to Americans in ways that will bridge the partisan divide...It is a story of American strength and American values--of 13 colonies that went to war with a global empire who listed the suspension of the right to trial by jury as a serious grievance against the British King in Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence."

Yes, and history has shown that the Declaration of Independence is a work in progress. By the simple act of overturning the Military Commissions Act of 2006, the empire will strike back, and we will, once again, live in a country that would make Thomas Jefferson proud.

Thank you Anthony Romero, and the A.C.L.U., for continuing to remind us that, more often than not, those who fight the wars aren't those who write the laws.