June 12, 2002
it�s just politics
I�ve spent a large majority of my work day writing letters for my boss to various individuals (most recently, Senator McCain) in regards to the Gramm/Kyl amendment to permanently repeal the Death Tax, and listening to Rush Limbaugh on News Talk Radio. I�m not telling you all know this in some misguided attempt to get sympathy because of the overabundance of right wing propaganda I�ve been dealing with, but rather to set the scene. That said, allow me to move forward.
Something rather rare happened to me today, I agreed with Rush Limbaugh, not with a sentence he uttered, but with an entire opinion on a certain topic - Jose Padilla. If the name doesn�t ring a bell I suggest you read this statement by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. But in case you don't want to go to the trouble, let me give you a quick summary.
Basically, Padilla is a US citizen who joined al Qaeda and was studying how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion devices. Because of this he was arrested at Chicago�s O'Hare International Airport and is currently being held as an enemy combatant. This means that our government has the legal authority both under the laws of war and with clear Supreme Court precedent, to detain him until the war on terrorism is over.
The problem is that a lot of people are saying his constitutional rights have been violated and that he needs to be charged with something if they intend to detain him any longer. Limbaugh disagrees and so do I. If the September 11th bombers had been imprisoned ahead of time and were charged with plotting to hijack planes and fly them into building do you really think they would be held for very long? The truth of the matter is that with the extremely circumstantial evidence the government had, any judge would have released them and history would be very similar to what it is now. So how can anyone have a problem with Padilla being held in protective custody? I�ve never heard anyone complain about all the prisoners of war we captured during WWI and WWII which were being held for the same reasons that he is. It just doesn�t make any sense to me. Grr.. okay, time to go home...
5:01 p.m.