“The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist.”

Throughout history, we witness the suspension of habeus corpus as one of the first signs of tyranny.

I agree with E Archer....its also one of the first things done when the war is in the homeland...ie Lincoln. This points out the great danger of the times we live in...and the great wisdom we must use to defeat the insidious threat among us but to preserve all we hold dear. Freedom lost is not easily regained...but then again, lives don't come back either. God bless to all

Read Lord Acton for more on this subject - this my dear friends is why a liberal education is paramount with regards to our continued existence. Those who think liberal is a dirty word need to go back to school and look it up the the dictionary.(not the modern version)

... or 21st century United States of America...

Kudos Robert. When exactly did 'liberal' become a dirty word anyway? Does anyone wonder who is ACTUALLY running the country? Could it actually be our Alfred E. Newman? Could it be interests outside of the US? It seems not entirely unlikely.

A fine truth and truths are not responsible for who expresses them. It's a pity Churchill excluded Iranians, Arabs and Indians in his statement during the British control of Iran and India.

Since when do prisoners of war have the right to a speedy trial? The war on terror will result in many more prisoners taken, who should be held until it is convenient to dispose of them according to the conditions of that time. If they want to stay free, let them stay at home. If they are of American citizenship, try them today and hang them tomorrow.

The answer to David's question "Since when . . . ?" is; since we've had a Constitution and since we signed on to the Geneva Convention - it's the law of the land and the law of war. Inserting the issue of a 'speedy trial' is a cavalier amendment of the quote in question which makes no mention of 'speedy', speedy.

Excellent Anonymous but now you see the dilemma - do you think we stand a chance against this kind of undercurrent? or should we just switch off the light...

You are wrong

You are wrong -- Tina, Rochester . What the HELL does that mean? Don't understand the need for due process? You must be tired after composing that half-sentence. Take a rest!

Tina needs to be thrown in jail indefinitely without the benefit of a lawyer or of due process and then we'll see how long it takes her to change her mind about the whole situation. Fantastic quote by the way.

Hey DAVID according to YOUR president these people are not pow's this is the whole justification for denying them even the most basic human rights. And by the way I do "stay home" how does this guarantee my freedom? Are we americans free from spying or free to speak unless herded into a "free speach zone" or even free to vote and to be sure our vote is counted or counted accurately.Are we protected from "illegal searches and seizures " secret imprisonment or torture? " Try them today and hang them tomorrow "is how you put it why try when you have already convicted and sentenced them? You should show your conviction to this statement by enlisting and donating all of your assets to the effort.

Bush has done more to erode the wonderful liberties and rights provided by the Constitution & Bill of Rights than Osama, Benito, Adolph combined.

Welcome to the Union of Socialist America where the Obamunist has made popular the Nazi take over play book once again and even exceeded the Bushes..

Take THAT George W Bush!

And good grief people, just because someone attacks Obama doesn't mean he is pro-Bush. There really isn't much difference. Don't start pulling a Waffler.

When there is no due process, under "any" circumstances, the law becomes whatever they say it is on any given day. Again, never give up the power to defend yourself. The enemy within just might not be a terrorist after all...

I've mentioned before that an attorney friend was driving a U-Haul full of his recently departed mother's household items when he was pulled over, put in jail with no charges, and the truck confiscated. Luckily my friend was talking to his brother (another attorney) at the time he was pulled over. Several days later my friend was able to get to court (straight from jail) and the officer tried to justify his actions under the Patriot Act. My friend was lucky; one of the tactics of the executive is to keep people in vans and other forms of transit so they can not be found to even get to court. It is really getting scary out there. It doesn't look like it is going to be very long before this quote's full application will be realized.

If a cop stops you and finds a speck of Hemp in your car , he can take your car on the spot and doesn't even have to arrest or charge you with a crime. No "Due Process' necessary. If you are carrying a few hundred dollars in cash, your money can be confiscated as "fruits of a drug deal". It's now a crime in this country to carry cash over a few dollars. Think I'm wrong ? Read "Bad Trip" or "Drug Crazy". Stuff like this is why we call 'em "Police States", and our country is just that. LEAP.CC

Robert - liberal became a dirty word when "liberals" first claimed that for a label. The word was then perverted beyond recognition from its true meaning. There is absolutely nothing liberal about "liberals".

With tongue in cheek I say, Nah, it could never happen in America. We're free and our government works for us.

Excellent Sir Winston Churchill. But this is just what's happening in our beloved Island in the form of the EU and it's European Arrest Warrant. Our Government has thrown away the key to Brussels. Yahovah help us all.

I've also given here on this blog first hand knowledge that cops would rather lie in court when the truth would be better. I have a close friend that went to court without as much as a grand jury and charged with a statute that had expired. While in Prison he tried to get his court transcripts - he got three sets of transcripts - each COMPLETELY different from the ones before. I have a close friend (a mild mannered minister) that spent five years in prison without benefit of a trial (while in prison he was beaten and will never walk normal again). Most recently, I was in a court where the judge was arguing statute and stare decisis with the defense attorney (the prosecutor was an idiot). Another incident was an acquaintance that was held 2 years past her release date (completely bogus charges) and then, a few years after being released, she was told she was on executive parol (OK, what the hell is executive parol). I have a good friend that was a secretary at a bank and was convicted for someone else's activities in an entirely different part of the bank (the prosecutor said some one had to go to jail and she was easy). Lastly here (I could go on and on) I'm closely acquainted with another victim of the executive / judicial system where the individual was cited for a made up charge and then after appearing, the court sent a letter to the effect that since the individual did not appear, costs were going up. After a rather large pay-off to the court - the issue just faded away. The occupying statist theocracy infesting this land is a criminal system (executive, legislative, judicial, etc.).

Sadly so Mike. I'll be retiring after this year and my wife and I are seriously looking at International Living.com for another place to live. It's scary here.

Scary indeed, even though many officers know, not a word is said of Habeas Corpus, it is deleted from the inmate law library. Most have no idea. Defense attorneys being afraid of the bench make no mention. When ask about the jinni in the bottle, some think it can never be put back in the bottle. very hush, hush around the local courthouse. A legalist attitude much like China is manifesting itself, the harshest charge for the smallest so-called offence.

Just a reminder, habeas corpus has been suspended in the US as per the Patriot Act, still being renewed every year by the president. And all talk of the controlled demolition of the Twin Towers has effectively ceased.

Ron13 and E Archer, said well ! ! ! Anciently, traditionally and until the last decade or so, there were two entirely different foundations and applications of habeas corpus. One at accusation (up through trial) and, the other - after imprisonment. A 'term', not having made it to the current dictionaries, called dieselling is when a prisoner is cuffed and put in the back of a van, while being moved from facility to facility so as to hide the whereabouts of any specific prisoner. Habeas corpus was traditionally filled in the jurisdiction where the individual or prisoner happened to be at in the moment. Reasons for dieselling have expanded to what ever the inhumane malefactors want to accomplish. In the late 80s, an acquaintance was diesselled around for almost a year before we could find him to file a habeas corpus. More recently, another individual was lost in the system for about a month before a kidnapping charge was found out to be in the works (being created and processed), just before filling. The individual was found in another State.

There is another power of the Executive (besides the quote referenced prison) that covers murder. By way of example: Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin had multiple murders under his belt that were just written off as within job description. Waco, Ruby Ridge and covered up police shootings are another example. I know of IRS murders and other actions where mental institutions have been expanded with political deplorables (only to be pumped with drugs and die quickly of a disease that didn't exist before going to the hospital).

I forgot to mention the most current event of the Bundys and LaVoy Finicum.

To paraphrase the Hubble fellow; you educate politicians, what else can you do with them?