Signs Of Hope

I'm glad there are people in high places who think that the Military Commission Act is an anti-democracy p.o.s. strongly in need of a complete overhaul. Senator Dodd from Connecticut is going to introduce legislation to fix the bill (much to the chagrin of President Bush, I'm sure).

Washington - Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), an outspoken opponent of the Military Commission Act of 2006, today introduced legislation which would amend existing law in order to have an effective process for bringing terrorists to justice. This is currently not the case under the Military Commission Act, which will be the subject of endless legal challenges.

The Effective Terrorists Prosecution Act:

• Restores Habeas Corpus protections to detainees
• Narrows the definition of unlawful enemy combatant to individuals who directly participate in hostilities against the United States who are not lawful combatants
• Bars information gained through coercion from being introduced as evidence in trials
• Empowers military judges to exclude hearsay evidence they deem to be unreliable
• Authorizes the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces to review decisions by the Military commissions
• Limits the authority of the President to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions and makes that authority subject to congressional and judicial oversight
• Provides for expedited judicial review of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to determine the constitutionally of its provisions

Well, he has my support.

Senator Dodd really should have the support of every person who thinks it is a bad thing for our government to be able to snatch any person off the street, and hold them indefinitely without trial or lawyer, torture them, and then use whatever they say when tortured against them in a secret trial.