"a state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens."



Supreme Court to Hear Tribunals Challenge By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 1 minute ago
THE NEWS:

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider a challenge to the Bush administration's military tribunals for foreign terror suspects, a major test of the government's wartime powers. Justices will decide whether Osama bin Laden's former, driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, can be tried for war crimes before military officers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

THE ISSUE: Just in case you need some talking points for when you are embattled with neo-patriots created by the fear mongering that the Bush Administration has stirred up; THIS is why a balanced court is ESSENTIAL and why Judge Alito can NOT be allowed to sit on the bench.

As the article states, the Supreme is going to hear a challenge to the Bush administration's military tribunals for foreign terror suspects, which is not only a major check of the government's wartime powers, but will put Chief Justice Roberts (who as an appeals court judge, ruled against Hamdan this summer) in the difficult situation of sitting in judgment of one of his own rulings.

In contrast when the Supreme Court first took up cases involving or as a result of the government's war on terrorism, the well known swing vote, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in one case, found and wrote that "a state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens."

ACTIONS: Also send it your local, state, and congressional representatives. Send it to your local and national newspaper editors. Send it to the local news producers and news desks. This is SPAM appropriate. Send it to your entire address book. Begin and end each broadcast with Justice O’Connor’s words "a state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens."

To contact your elected representatives: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

League of Women Voters Media email database: Http://www.capwiz.com/lwv/dbq/media

TV news addresses: http://digbig.com/4bqmq

Addresses for major U.S. daily publications/wire services/weekly publications: http://digbig.com/4cqge

Major publication addresses by state: http://digbig.com/4bwxw

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