I am referring to Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev as the Boston suspect, because he has not yet been formally accused and convicted. I personally am of the opinion that the evidence will be more than enough to convict him of a pile of violations of the law when this matter is over.
But the hot news is that a bunch of Republicans want Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev held and interrogated as an enemy combatant.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, is among the earliest and most vocal proponents of declaring Mr. Tsarnaev an enemy combatant. Others include Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and John McCain of Arizona, as well as Representative Peter T. King of New York, all also Republicans.
To keep it short and sweet, not only is this guy a naturalized US citizen (and we KNOW how bullshit these Republicans get about the holy status of US citizenship -- Benghazi, anybody?), but at the moment, there is ZERO evidence in the public domain that Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev personally ever had anything to do with any foreign organization of any description. (His brother Tamarlan might be a different matter, but the last time anybody checked, he was DEAD.)
While I am revulsed at the activities of this guy and his brother Tamarlan as reported in the press, there does not appear to be any rational basis for designating this guy as an enemy combatant. He is apparently a very bad person. He should be tried under Federal criminal law. If he is convicted of what is alleged, I think he should fry. (I happen to live in Brookline, Massachusetts, and I take last week's events personally.)
Oh yeah, by the way, Sen. Lindsay Graham is apparently a 30 year military JAG type, so one would think that he would have a handle on the law. Evidently not.
All these idiot Republicans know is slogans such as "Constitution" and "Second Amendment." Actually understanding what they mean, and thinkng about other Constitutional provisions like the 4th Amendment, or the 5th Amendment, not so much.
And these guys get to pass laws that affect YOUR rights. Amazing.
Update -- April 22, 2013 -- More Republican nonsense below the fold
The NY Times is now reporting about immigration legislation:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
With legislation now under consideration, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, sent a letter to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, underscoring the call from some of his colleagues “to incorporate the following national security concerns into the comprehensive immigration reform debate.”
“Before Congress moves forward, some important national security questions must be addressed,” Mr. Paul wrote. “The facts emerging in the Boston Marathon bombing have exposed a weakness in our current system. If we don’t use this debate as an opportunity to fix flaws in our current system, flaws made even more evident last week, then we will not be doing our jobs.”
His letter continued: “We should not proceed until we understand the specific failures of our immigration system. Why did the current system allow two individuals to immigrate to the United States from the Chechen Republic in Russia, an area known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, who then committed acts of terrorism? Were there any safeguards? Could this have been prevented? Does the immigration reform before us address this?”
Wow!
I guess Rand Paul can't do the math. Ten years ago, this 19 year old was a 9 year old kid. I imagine he was at that point a HARDENED CRIMINAL TYPE, whose antisocial tendencies should have been obvious to the most casual observer, RIGHT?
Well, Rand, RIGHT? Especially obvious to an ophthalmologist like you?? Like maybe you can SEE STUFF us mere mortals can't see??
Holy cow. These guys are FC. In my house that is shorthand for Fuckin' Crazy.