I attended a rally in DC on the 26th. It was about the Military Commissions Act that congress passed last year. It is a really bad and unconstitutional law. If you do not know about it you should really find out immediately. The law makes a mockery of our bill of rights. For one thing it gives the President the right to declare someone an enemy combatant and place them in a prison cell for ever with no trial. It denies the right of habeas corpus which is really a cornerstone of our freedom and dates back to the Magna Carta.
In order to get to the rally I spent about 12 hours on a bus from Detroit. It left around midnight and I presumed we would sleep during the ride. The sleep did not happen as the bus was cramped and my seat did not recline. Not to mention the foul smell from the chemical toilet in the back of the bus. But we made it there and arrived just as the rally started.
During the rally I took these photos:
I missed Senator Leahy’s speech though I did see him in the hallway outside his office. He has been one of the biggest critics of the Military Commisions Act. I might have spoken to him but he was moving pretty fast and his entourage would have probably tackled me anyway. I heard most of the other speakers including some who were survivors of torture. I got these shots of Kucinich and Dodd who were the only presidential candidates who attended.
Later we spoke with Senator Carl Levin and Stabenow as well as an underling of Sander Levin. I was only really impressed by Carl Levin. He seemed to be the most genuinely concerned about the problem. It was disappointing though to hear him talk about the strategy to get a bill through Congress. I think that I can tell his heart is in the right place. But it is clear that, even if you are well intentioned and even if you are dealing with matters of great import like people’s lives and our basic freedom’s, getting things done in government is really treated like a game.
The whole trip was pretty arduous. A long sweaty uncomfortable ride there. Then rushing from the rally to the offices of the Congressman. And then a long sweaty uncomfortable ride home. At least I was able to snag a seat that reclined on the way home. The ACLU people were very nice and the ACLU leadership thanked us for our time and assured us we made a difference. At least I tried.
