Nazi Germany Right Smack Dab in the Middle of Vermont
Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 10:03:00 AM PDT
Back in October 2006, Keith Olbermann did a segment on his Countdown show that highlighted the loss of Habeas Corpus and many of our rights included in the Bill of Rights through the use of executive orders, presidential directives and signing statements written by George W. Bush.
KO nailed it; as usual, in his own unique [poignant] but humorous way. I’ll never forget how he talked about each individual right and how if you take even one of those rights away the others seem to fall by the wayside as well. It was heartbreaking to watch him crossing off each right on a chart until only one right was left. (at the moment, I forget which one it was) He then scribbled out the ‘s’ in "Rights."
Well, this time it’s [the cadaverous one] DHS Sec. Michael Chertoff who’s working hard to decimate our cherished Fourth Amendment.
According to a report from WCAX in Vermont, the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to setup a permanent internal checkpoint in the middle of Vermont so they can look for illegal immigrants, drug dealers and terrorists. Obviously, these types of checkpoints are a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits the government from conducting searches and seizures without a warrant.
It appears that the DHS is attempting to use the illegal immigration issue as a way to justify the establishment of this checkpoint.
To me, this is just another example of the Bush regime’s 3-step program to rescinding the U.S. Constitution -- Article by Article:
• create or ignore a problem that could threaten national security.
• capitalize on that problem by using a full media barrage for public consumption, all the while intimidating members of Congress.
• implement a diabolically-contrived solution that inevitably terminates a right [or rights] enumerated in our Constitution.
To use immigration as an excuse to eviscerate the Constitution is laughable at best. After giving illegal immigrants all the incentive in the world to come into this country -- and doing virtually nothing to enforce U.S. laws already on the book to prosecute employers who hire them -- to propose installing a Nazi-style checkpoint in the middle of Vermont is as ridiculous as building a wall on our southern border.
It’s preposterous, I say – prepost... er... wait – umm...... never mind.
From the WCAX story:
Homeland Security wants to build a permanent immigration checkpoint in central Vermont.
An exact location has not been revealed, but officials say it would be similar to this one that used to be on Interstate 91 in Hartford. Agents use the check points to search for illegal immigrants, drugs smugglers and terrorists.
Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, is blasting the idea, saying the checkpoints are useless and an inconvenience to Vermonters.
Leahy questioned DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff about the proposed checkpoint during his testimony in front of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security on April 2nd, 2008. Sen. Patrick Leahy chastised Secretary Chertoff Wednesday for his agency's plan to build a permanent immigration checkpoint in central Vermont, wryly exclaiming that Chertoff should just "federalize Vermont."
Here’s a relevant part of the hearing on the exchange between Leahy and Chertoff from the Brattleboro Reformer. The interaction comes as the Bush administration is proposing a $4 million project to build fixed facilities within 100 miles of the Canadian border to conduct random vehicle checks for illegal immigrants, drugs and weapons, according to Leahy.
"So what you're saying is in a little state like mine everyone should be stopped going down that interstate, no matter whether they're going to visit a sick relative at the VA hospital?" Leahy prodded Chertoff in a Judiciary Committee hearing.
"We're all sort of presumed guilty until proven innocent," the Vermont Democrat added. "It sounds like Big Brother gone awry."
Chertoff said, "Here's the bottom line. Having checkpoints make sense."
He said drug dealers and child molesters have been captured at similar checkpoints.
Here’s a webcast of the hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security:
Are we in the Twilight Zone? To hear Chertoff Skeletor actually say that internal checkpoints are sensible when they are explicitly illegal and forbidden by the Fourth Amendment is truly bizarre. If this egregious violation of the 4th is allowed to stand in the courts, it means tyranny has indeed settled in America. (and the fact that this is happening at the close of the Bush era error is indeed an ominous development) The Nazis setup a system of internal checkpoints during World War II Germany and demanded citizens furnish the appropriate papers when questioned by government agents. The DHS is already attempting to setup a National ID card system through the implementation of the Real ID Act.
When we have a government agency that is trying to setup an internal checkpoint under the guise of searching for drug dealers, terrorists or illegal immigrants it is clear that America has turned a dark corner. There’s got to be more effective ways of dealing with the illegal immigration problem but the only solutions the government seems to bring forward are phony ones that serve their authoritarian agenda. Setting up an internal checkpoint in the middle of Vermont is insane. Chertoff should be removed from office for this attempt to violate the Constitution with this and countless other violations that the DHS has been involved in during his tenure as DHS Secretary.
Besides, anyone resembling "Skeletor" from the original, mid-1980’s cartoon "He-Man" is unfit for public office.
All Vermonters need to rise up!
Contact Senator Leahy here.
Peace (and Liberty Forever)
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