Several brilliantly written articles ago I had a friend who shared a link to my site on her Facebook page. Because I was tagged I was able to view the conversations back and forth between her and one of her friends. In the conversation my friend’s friend referred to me, your humble narrator, as a woman not once, but twice. Me? As a woman? When my friend corrected her as to my gender she said something to the effect of, “Well, his writing and his site are very feminine.” Gasp. GASP!!! Feminine? Moi? I was so offended I was tempted to climb on my Vespa, drive to her residence and smack her with my whimsical floral print tote. But I decided to take the high road and forgive her (despite my best “sherlocking” I was unable to find out where she lived).
So, in an attempt to MAN this article up a little bit, I will try farting several times while typing it. Please don’t be offended.
Several days ago I was driving to work and did something I haven’t done in months. I listened to Glenn Beck. It was obvious, as I listened, that Glenn was upset because 19-year-old suspected Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hadn’t been read his Miranda warning yet.
Since the time of my listening, the Obama administration has made the decision NOT to try this guy as a military combatant. Tsarnaey has been read his rights and has stopped talking. The administration sent Press Secretary and apologist Jay Carney out with this statement:
“He will not be treated as an enemy combatant. We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice… So this is absolutely the right way to go and the appropriate way to go. And when it comes to United States citizens, it is against the law to try them in military commissions.”
So it appears both Glenn Beck and the Obama administration are in agreement.
I’m not sure I agree.
I can see Beck’s point of view. I agree with putting restraints on the Government. That is the point of the Bill of Rights. And I’m not calling Carney a liar (this time), but he is completely wrong.
Let me explain. Six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (1942) the Supreme Court upheld the use of military tribunals for eight German spies captured on US soil, two of whom were United States citizens. In this case Ex parte Quirin the court found that where suspected enemies have entered (or after entry) engaged in acts of belligerency against the United States, military tribunals were appropriate. The Supreme Court unanimously decided Quirin in less than twenty-four hours. Three days after the Court’s decision a military tribunal found the saboteurs guilty. Five days after that, six of the eight were executed including Herbert Hans Haupt, a US citizen. Only the two who ratted out the plot to the FBI were given prison sentences.
Because I’m the stupidest person I know, I hate to be the one who has to point out the blatantly obvious (especially when just the obvious will do). We are at war. We have been at war since thousands of Americans were attacked and killed, without warning, on September 11, 2001. In case some of you were unaware of this fact President George Bush told us (in one of his best speeches ever) we were at war in a joint session of Congress shortly after 9/11. “On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country.”
In other words, you cute little buggers, the President does have the authority to have those suspected of belligerence against the United States tried in military tribunals, even if they are citizens of the United States. Because we live in a land of checks and balances, if Congress has an issue with this, the Constitution gives it two choices. It can cut off funding, or impeach the President. It is not against the law as Carney and Beck suggest.
Quick side note: Is it just me or has everyone noticed there has been a huge absence of polls regarding the use of military tribunals? What’s up with that? As Americans, we are inundated with polls on every imaginable topic, but on this, silence. As a rule of thumb whenever polls are NOT being taken on a particular subject your walls of defense should go up. Somewhere there is a big, fat, commie rat.
Do I think this 19 year old is the mastermind behind the Boston Bombings? NO. Do I think we could have gotten more information from the guy had the Justice Department not stopped the investigation? Yes. Will we be able to get intelligence of other radicalized Muslims from this guy, now? I doubt it. Do I think he should be put to death for his role in the bombings? Absolutely. In the current judicial system it could take YEARS before this guy is brought to justice. I guarantee in the coming months we are going to have to hear about this young man’s feelings being hurt because a teacher or fellow student couldn’t pronounce his name, or some bull crap like that. Reporter Bob Woodward has already said the Boston bombings were “not that big of an event,” as if we need to have 5000 die to set the new watermark. We are already having to endure crap like this headline: “Budget Cuts Could Delay ‘Boston Bomber’ Trial” Makes me crazy!!! It is stupid, stupid, stupid.
I’m not sure if the President is afraid of trying this guy with the military, or is this just one more example of the pussification of America. Our enemies already view us as a paper tiger. Putting this scared little, baby faced, 19-year-old (guilty as sin) boy to death swiftly will show the world we take care of our own, and more than likely deter future acts of terrorism. Let’s pull up our big boy pants and make some hard decisions.
LIFEZILLA: A doughnut a day keeps the ads away.
