“justice & liberty for all”? 2007.04.03
Posted by Hakuna in justice, politics, social commentary.2 comments
again, i find myself utterly disappointed in how far we as americans aspire to live up to our own values. this is an old story but i was amazed while reading a story in the ny times that it has now been more than five years since we began our “war on terror” (whatever that actually means) in response to “911.” one of our more questionable actions since then has been our holding of 45 men of various nationalities in a prison at guantánamo bay on cuba. these men have never been charged with any crime and last year, congress actually made it illegal for these men to challenge their detainment! here’s the paragraph that caught my attention:
The men have all been held at Guantánamo Bay for more than five years, and none has been charged with a crime. They filed petitions for habeas corpus, challenging their continued confinement, before Congress ordered in the 2006 law that all such petitions must be dismissed and no new ones could be accepted for filing.
we’re suppose to be about individual rights and the rule of law but do these actions accurately represent who we as americans really are? i certainly hope not! i hope it is just a reflection of a president and a republican party (btw, i am neither a democrat or a republican.) that has completely lost perspective!
but if this is the case, why are we — the american public — not outraged? we have lost our way because of fear and the “freedom” that we are trying to defend is being eroded by our very own hands.
Over 1/3 of the Federal Tax Goes to What?!!! 2007.04.18
Posted by Hakuna in social commentary.1 comment so far
this can be interpreted in many ways. some might think this is a reflection of the dangerous world we live in and in order to defend ourselves, this is the cost we must pay. others of you believe that this pathetic budgetary reality is due to our country’s predilection for self-interest and dominance in the world.
i am certain that the truth is somewhere in the middle, but no matter what you believe about the “why” for this amount of spending on war and violence, i hope that this percentage disturbs you deeply!
(i tried to look up an estimate for what the u.s. government will collect in federal income taxes this year but could not find anything to relay to you. if any of you knows this figure, please inform us by commenting on this entry.)