U.S. National Bill of Rights Day
Today, we take solemn notice National Bill of Rights Day - marking the 217th anniversary of the ratification of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.
After eight years of George W. Bush doctrine, we should all really have hope that President-Elect Barack Obama's administration will restore some of the despicable infringements made by the Bush administration on the rights guaranteed to us by our forefathers.
As Abdus-Sattar Ghazali wrote on OpEdNews.com last year:
The Bill of Rights limits the power of the government and protects the rights of the people. It was so important that several of the original 13 states would not ratify the Constitution without it.More detailed background on Bush Administration's abuses to the fundamental rights & liberties guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the Bill of Rights can be found here.
Nearly everything that makes an American proud to be one comes from the Bill of Rights.
Freedoms to speak, print, read, assemble, pray, petition the government, keep and bear arms. Protection from unreasonable arrests and searches, excessive bail, double jeopardy, coerced confessions, cruel and unusual punishment. Rights to due process, jury trials, counsel, and to present defense witnesses. These are the freedoms and rights that define America.
The Bill of Rights was meant to ensure basic rights during times of war and times of peace, regardless of who is in power. In order to ensure its future, we must keep using the First Amendment and speaking out when our rights and the rights of non-citizens are threatened.
Seven years of President Bush have probably done more harm to the freedoms in the Bill of Rights than this country has seen in thirty, maybe even fifty years. Nearly everything the government does today is unconstitutional under the system they instituted. Under the Bill of Rights, governmental powers were expressly limited; individual liberties were not. Now it seems it is the other way around.
- ferg
posted by Fergie @ 12/15/2008 12:01:00 AM
2 Comments:
If I'm doing my math right (and we all know how wonderful I am at math), today is also the 235th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
But as far as abuses go, let's keep in mind that while we both blame Bush 43 for a lot of despicable things, many of the things on that list could not have been done without the cooperation of Congress, which includes a lot of Democrats.
Oh jeez... I did the math right but got the date wrong. It's tomorrow that's the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
I give up with anything numerical... money, dates...
Pass the Prozac, please.
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