What else is new?

The House of Representatives passed a bill from G. Bush JR to redefine the treatment of detainees and US Senate did the same. Buried deep inside this legislation is a provision that will pardon president Bush and all the members of his administration of any possible crimes connected with torture and mistreatment of detainees dated all the way back to Sep 11, 2001. At least President Nixon had Gerald Ford do his dirty work for him. President Bush is trying to pardon himself.

Here is the deal - under the war crimes act, violations of the Geneva Convention are felonies in some cases punishable by death. When the Supreme Court ruled that the Geneva Convention applied to Al Quad and the Taliban detainees, President Bush and his boys were suddenly in big trouble. They've been working these prisoners over pretty good. In an effort to avoid possible prosecution, they are trying to cram this bill through Congress before it goes on a break. The reason for this rush to do this is that if Democrats get control of the Congress and the House of Representatives, this kind of legislation will not pass. You want to know the real disgrace of what they are trying to do? Senator Bill Frist and Senator Dennis Hastert and their republican stooges apparently see nothing wrong with this.

The Act has also been denounced by critics who assert that its wording makes possible the permanent detention and torture as defined by the Geneva Conventions of anyone - including American citizens - based solely on the decision of the President. Indeed, the wording of section 948b of the act appears to explicitly contradict the Third Geneva Convention of which the United States is currently a signatory.

Here is the Paragraph that is most disturbing.

Sec. 948b. Military commissions generally

(a) Purpose- This chapter establishes procedures governing the use of military commissions to try alien unlawful enemy combatants engaged in hostilities against the United States for violations of the law of war and other offenses triable by military commission.

(b) Authority for Military Commissions Under This Chapter- The President is authorized to establish military commissions under this chapter for offenses triable by military commission as provided in this chapter.

(c) Construction of Provisions- The procedures for military commissions set forth in this chapter are based upon the procedures for trial by general courts-martial under chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform Code of Military Justice). Chapter 47 of this title does not, by its terms, apply to trial by military commission except as specifically provided in this chapter. The judicial construction and application of that chapter are not binding on military commissions established under this chapter.

(d) Inapplicability of Certain Provisions- (1) The following provisions of this title shall not apply to trial by military commission under this chapter:

(A) Section 810 (article 10 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), relating to speedy trial, including any rule of courts-martial relating to speedy trial.

(B) Sections 831(a), (b), and (d) (articles 31(a), (b), and (d) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), relating to compulsory self-incrimination.

(C) Section 832 (article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), relating to pretrial investigation.

(2) Other provisions of chapter 47 of this title shall apply to trial by military commission under this chapter only to the extent provided by this chapter.

(e) Treatment of Rulings and Precedents- The findings, holdings, interpretations, and other precedents of military commissions under this chapter may not be introduced or considered in any hearing, trial, or other proceeding of a court-martial convened under chapter 47 of this title. The findings, holdings, interpretations, and other precedents of military commissions under this chapter may not form the basis of any holding, decision, or other determination of a court-martial convened under that chapter.

(f) Status of Commissions Under Common Article 3- A military commission established under this chapter is a regularly constituted court, affording all the necessary `judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples' for purposes of common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

(g) Geneva Conventions Not Establishing Source of Rights- No alien unlawful enemy combatant subject to trial by military commission under this chapter may invoke the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights.

Furthermore:

No court, justice or a judge shall have the jurisdiction to hear or consider any claim or cause of action whatsoever including any action pending on file after Sep 11, 2001.

Basically this states that no one shall have the authority to hear any cases relating to charges made against someone who is deemed an enemy of United States as defined in this bill. And the definition of who the enemy is really for interpretation by George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. That means that anyone can be held as an Unlawful Enemy Combatant without due process or recourse.

With the signing of this bill, George Bush becomes the greatest threat to freedom of all Americans.

I want to talk about an issue. The US Government voted not to raise the minimum wage, which for the last 9 years has been $5.75 per hour. So if you are working 40 hours a week, you are making $200 large ones. They DID, however, vote themselves a pay increase, but they didn’t vote to increace the minimum wage. I believe they were going to raise it to $7.25, so if you were working 40 hours a week, you would be making $280 large ones. Or may be $300 large, I don’t know. I just want to say - GOOD! I'm glad they didn’t do it. Because, you know, the lower strata of American society have had a free ride for too long. And if you were to give them $7.25 per hour, you know it would just go 'in their nose and out their hose'. You know what I'm talking about, don’t you? You don’t want to give them walking around money. So kudos to American government for literally taking a giant shit on poorest people in the country. Cause they deserve it!

FOR THOSE WHO DONT UNDERSTAND ECONOMICS:

Increase in Minimum Wage = Increase Cost of Production = Increase in Price of Good = Zero Increase in Purchasing Power

Increasing the minimum wage affects long term contract producers. Those who are required by contract to produce a good at a pre-determined price. But this effect only happens if the long term contract producers can not predict the increase in minimum wage. Aside from that effect minimum wage is a change in numbers not a change in situation.

The fact that the gap between rich and poor in this country is widening and that the rich tend to hoard their wealth rather than invest it into communities is why we have things like social security, welfare, and federally mandated minimum wages. We could do a lot better by the majority if we eliminated payroll taxes and instituted a national sales tax. This is a fair tax and the wealthy can't dodge it.

Cost of living has increased. Ergo, wages need to increase to match that. No full-time job should pay a wage that sets a reasonably-sized household at the poverty level; anyone who is contributing an honest day's work to society should be getting a quality standard of living in return. The only other solution is to completely eliminate inflation. But thats communism.

http://jim.com/econ/chap19p1.html