Off and on I’ve been watching the debate in the Senate today regarding Bush’s retroactive amnesty bill . I have to say, I believe this legislation will pass and I also believe, besides the Patriot Act, this has got to be the most damning piece of legislation this Republican congress will have instituted. Senator Byrd was asking for an amendment that would put a “sunset clause” into it so that it would be reviewed in 5 years, so that if they happened to be wrong, they would have the opportunity to review it. What harm could there be in that? My guess is…..that won’t fly either. God I hate what this Republican congress has done to this country. God help our servicemen and women if this goes through. What kind of people do we have in Congress, that put politics ahead of what is in the country’s best interest, in the military’s best interest, and in the citizen’s best interest? What are they thinking? Imagine the greed and power that must fuel these acts! And I have to ask, as I think Frank the Liberal asked yesterday, does this apply to U.S. citizens as well that might be suspected of terrorist ties and arrested? If it does……. God help us all. I can’t believe Americans are so complacent in watching the Bill of Rights be stomped on. I can’t believe so many Americans don’t even know what rights the Bill of Rights affords us. More than any other time that I can recall in history, Americans should be well versed in the Bill of Rights. They should be actively exercising them…….and vigilantly fighting for them. But alas, they are not. What a sad state of affairs.

AP Photo DCCD104
By ANNE PLUMMER FLAHERTY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate, siding with President Bush shortly after he personally lobbied lawmakers at the Capitol, rejected a move Thursday by a leading Republican to allow terrorism suspects to challenge their imprisonment in court.

The vote paved the way for final passage of Bush’s plan to establish “military commissions” to prosecute terrorism suspects in legislation that also spells out violations of the Geneva Conventions, a treaty that sets international standards for the treatment of war prisoners.

Republicans say the bill is necessary to ensure that terrorists can be brought to justice and that CIA personnel will not be charged with war crimes when interrogating these suspects.

Barring any last-minute hiccups, the bill could reach the president’s desk as early as Friday.

You can read the rest of the sad story at The Guardian