Forum Post: What Bill of Rights?
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 15, 2011, 4:22 p.m. EST by TrevorMnemonic
(5827)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
December 15, 1791:
Amendment I Congress shall make ████ law respecting an establishment of religion, or ████ the free exercise thereof; ████ ████ ████ ████ , █ █ ██ ████ ; or the right of the people ████ ████ ████ ██ to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV ████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ █████ ██ ███ ██████ █ ████ ███████ █ █████ ██ ██████ ████ █ ███ ████ ████ ███████ █ ████ ████ ████ ██████ ████
Amendment V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be ████ ████ ██ ████ ████ ████ ███████ █ ████ ████ ██ █████ ████ █ ████ █ confronted with █ witnesses against him; ████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █████ ████ ████ ████ ████ ██ ██
Amendment VII In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII █ ███ ████ █████ ████ ██ ███ ████ ███ ███ ████ ████ █ ████ ██ ████ ███ ████ █████ ████ ███ █ ██ ██ ████ ██.
Amendment IX The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X ████ ████ ██ ████ █ ████ ███ ███ ████ █ ███ ████ █ ██ █ ███ ███ ████ ██ ███ ████ ██ ██ ███ ████ █ ███ ███ ██ ████
Thanks for getting the message across that our Bill of Rights is being violated. The other day under another thread I posted this. I admit that I was really in the heat of anger (and it is far from perfect), but we must discuss what is happening with our Bill of Rights. So to keep the conversation going--here it is. I apologize for this being so long.
Well, let see The Patriot Act which should be immediately repealed because it is unconstitutional easily violates our 1st and 4th amendment rights. Well, let see The Patriot Act which should be immediately repealed because it is unconstitutional easily violates our 1st and 4th amendment rights. The NDAA bill (soon to be a law) could easily violate a whole load of our constitutional rights.
Let's see if one is not allowed a trial to defend themselves (they have no voice). If our Government could have American citizens thrown in jail for speaking out on something they find wrong by calling it belligerent behavior and further labeling the person a terrorist then you can SAY GOODBYE TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
If our government gets abusive with who they call a terrorist (please see DSH 2009 report on the profile of a Domestic Terrorist, also look at the Missouri Militia Movement's profile--it is scary because it could be anyone). They could easily confiscate the guns of those suspected of terrorism. Also, under Marshall law, our constitutional rights are suspended, and guns could easily be confiscated then. If this happens then SAY GOODBYE TO THE LONG CHERISHED SECOND AMENDMENT.
Since NDAA is a Fascist piece of legislation, the military could drop by your house at anytime to take you to a military prison. The door is being opened wide for a police state and this amendment could easily be violated. SO SAY GOODBYE TO THE THIRD AMENDMENT.
The Fourth amendment has already been violated under The Patriot Act. No search warrant is needed if you are suspected of engaging in terrorist activities. They can enter your house at any time (whether you are home or not and take what they want). The NDAA would only take things to the next level. SO GOODYBYE FOURTH AMENDMENT.
The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh amendments will be seriously violated when this bill becomes law. If you are suspected of terrorism (remember the lists I mentioned earlier which could represent millions of Americans) then they just come and get you no matter where you are in this world--without you being charged of anything and having a trial--and you could be locked up indefinitely. Also, if they have there way there would be no such thing as double jeopardy. You are guilty as sin in their eyes. Say goodbye to lawyers representing you and to a jury of your peers hearing your case--because there will be none. So say GOODBYE TO OUR FIFTH, SIXTH AND SEVENTH AMENDMENTS.
Once you are in military prison they can hit you with all the cruel and unusual punishment they want. Remember, water boarding for real terrorists? Well, who will make sure that suspected terrorists are treated right. Habeas Corpus and the Geneva Convention Human right laws will be ignored, as they put more value in the NDAA law which they believe overrides this. So say GOODBYE TO OUR EIGHT AMENDMENT.
Forget the Ninth amendment and the Tenth amendment. Our constitutional rights will be greatly violated by this Fascist legislation. There is no respects for the rights of the American Citizens anymore. There will be many more draconian laws to come. Also, if any of our State Governments try to do something for the people, they will squash it. So time to SAY GOODBYE TO THE NINTH AND TENTH AMENDMENTS AS WELL.
Thank you for listing the Bill of Rights and how they are being violated at this time. I just thought I further emphasis this, so anyone who reads this becomes very alarmed by this horrible bill and what will happen to our Bill of Rights once it passes. I just wished more people were outraged by this--they should be, instead I see such a disconnect. Only a few get it--the rest do not. Sad, just very sad.The NDAA bill (soon to be a law) could easily violate a whole load of our constitutional rights.
...and how the heck does the military using drones for law enforcement fit into this?
Police employ Predator drone spy planes on home front...Everything from spotting “adversarial intent” to facial recognition, soft biometrics, general threat assessments and even nano drones that mimic nature itself.
This was done with no discussion whatsoever and is clearly a violation of the bill of rights.
We have to hold these criminals accountable now, with the laws we already have on the books.
Almost Every Congress person has violated their oath of office, they need to be held accountable.
Because they go well beyond just listening to your cell or wireless phone conversations, which is allegedly legal as SCOTUS ruled you have no reasonable expectation to privacy using them, pretty much like the internet. However, it takes effort and resources to intercept and decrypt either.
Oh, now I see you posed a rhetorical question that actually needed answering.
The NDAA is fucked. The world is a battlefield. This piece of government information target the entire continent of Africa.
http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=23d194d7-78c9-4c57-b2d9-31bc3bb7daeb
Yup, you aren't kidding.
I was thinking about this alot, but didn't want to post to scare people, but with this bs could you see the draft being brought back? I hate to say this, but I think WWIII is not too far off. They are certainly setting the stage for it--the evil powers that be.
That's a great way to start a thread. That said, I'd like you to go through and provide examples of how the amendments you "marked up" have actually been flouted. I probably already know some of what you're going to say, but it gives us a solid foundation for debate.
Did you ever hear about the patriot act?
Have you ever heard about million dollar bail?
In God we trust is on our money. Specifically the Jesus God.
Have you ever seen a trial?
Have you ever read the 10th amendment?
In answer to your post:
1) I completely agree with you about the Patriot Act; it pretty much ignores our Fourth Amendment rights and has a chilling effect on the First Amendment as well if used very much at all. SOPA and PIPA effectively flout the First Amendment and need to be either blocked from reaching the president's desk, vetoed, or if they somehow make it into law struck down by the Supreme Court in that order of preference.
2) I know about the irregularity involved in setting bail before a criminal trial, and I don't like it. There needs to be an establishment of a legal minimum of risk criteria before bail can be denied, and if bail is going to be posted so high that a person has to go in debt to a bail bondsman to get out then it should just be denied altogether and then the merits of that denial debated. Stupidly high bail is in fact deceptive and needs to be regulated.
3) I'm only turning 19 this February, so I haven't done jury duty yet and thus have never been present at a trial. That said, I have read a number of discussions on the issue of plea-bargaining and the creation of an "assembly-line" justice system in which innocent people may plead guilty to avoid a trial they're not equipped to win. I feel that we need to answer that by better staffing the courts and subsidizing law school for public defenders much the same way some places are beginning to subsidize med school for primary care doctors to ensure that the poor have a fair shot at talented representation.
3) Honestly, I do agree with your complaint about "In God we trust" and "under God" and am highly uncomfortable with the whole idea of a Christian nation that whole groups of evangelicals are pushing for; freedom of religion must include freedom from religion. At the same time, the two specific examples you cited are enough a part of our cultural heritage that it would be better to let them die on their own rather than risk the backlash associated with attacking them.
4) I have somewhat of a problem with the Tenth Amendment as it's currently construed. I would much rather it read: "The powers not necessary to enable the United States to fulfill its Constitutional obligations to its people, nor explicitly permitted to it by the people, are reserved to the people." and then let it stand and be defended as such.
Nice reply. Very honest. Also, I didn't mark this up. Someone posted on our Occupy Omaha wall and i found it to be disgustingly accurate. It is pretty much what I speak about all the time and I loved how the person blacked everything out.
The 2 things I speak out against most with the government are unconstitutional infringement of rights and going broke for a never ending war. Followed closely by the big guy is trying to fuck over the little guy theory.
Ah, OK. Thanks for the reply. I'm not happy with anybody screwing with the First or the Fourth Amendment to any appreciable degree, and while the issues involving the Sixth and the Eighth Amendments are an ongoing problem they do at some point need to be addressed because otherwise the justice system makes it too likely for an innocent man to go to prison and be branded a criminal because he is poor and new to the system, and too easy for an actual criminal to get away with what he does if he's wealthy or has been through the system a few times.