Torturing Terrorists & Constitutional Rights

Last Friday night I was listening to a local radio talk show. The discussion was about torturing terrorists in order to gain information about future attacks & terrorist activities.

I think I may have been the only individual who called in to think that it's wrong to do so.

Other callers said that torture was completely acceptable... by any means necessary!

Wow. That's just plain scary.

When I called in, I said that I was fairly confident, more than 98% sure, that when the feds apprehend someone they think is a terrorist, they've got the right guy.

Great. Give him a trial and prove it.

That's right. Give the suspected terrorist a trial (and a lawyer). After all, if the government is so certain, the trial should be open and shut in a day!

What ensued quickly thereafter were numerous callers saying that terrorists don't have a right to a trial. In fact, they don't have any rights, period!

Well, that's just plain ignorance of how our government works.

When our government suspects someone of a crime or other illegal activity, there are certain rules that must be followed. The individual(s) must be charged, given a trial, etc.

Other calls didn't seem to think so... that our constitution doesn't apply to others.

That's true. Our constitution applies to our government. It's the set of rules that restricts what our government can and cannot do.

Other callers chimed in using the term 'constitution rights.'

Folks, there are no such thing as CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. That's a ridiculous term that implies that the rights and freedoms we have come from a document that specifies what our government can and cannot do.

Not so.

Our rights come from above. Period. Our constitution was created by our founding fathers to ensure that the government does not impede or trample on the rights we, as human beings, have. Our rights are therefore constitutionally protected.

Private Property Rights

When you own something, you can do what you like with it, as long as it doesn't interfere or violate anybody else's rights.

Not so in Athens, Alabama.

The city has passed an ordinance making it ILLEGAL keep a vehicle on your property that isn't able to move under its own power. Those in violation can face a fine anywhere from 100-500 dollars... and even jail time!

It's being called the 'junk car' ordinance.

The purpose is to clean up yards and neighborhoods that look, well... 'trashy.' Afterall, who wants to live next door to someone who has a junkyard in their front yard?

I don't. Do you?

Probably not. But we don't get to decide how ours neighbor live and maintain their home and its appearance. We can't choose our neighbors nor can we dictate how they live their lives. Besides, someone having a defunct car parked in their front yard (or back) doesn't interfere or violate anybody else's rights.

You may not like it. But you may not like the way your neighbor trims his bushes once a month either.

The real travesty in this new ordinance is that those in violation can be face a YEAR IN JAIL if convicted.

Wouldn't you sleep better in Athens knowing that the streets are safer with all of those 'defunct car owners' behind bars?

Afterall, it just looks trashy.