Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 10/19/06 5:42 pm:
BTW, I'm sure that there were some who made the same arguments when Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War. But guess what... the country didn't fall apart because the President used his Presidential War Powers. We didn't all end up living in a gulag, and the country survived just fine, thank you.

The great thing about any government, no matter what type, is that the PEOPLE hold the real power. Even in places like Iran or North Korea or China that are ruled under an iron thumb, the people outnumber the military by several-hundred-to-one (in the case of China, several-THOUSAND-to-one). If the people REALLY wanted to overthow the government, they could do so without too much trouble... but only if they wanted to. The same applies to the USA. If the majority wanted to overthrow a repressive administration and start again from scratch, we could do so pretty easily. The civilians outnumber the military 300-1, and in many states (Texas, Alabama, etc.) they outgun the military as well. So the threat that Bush might decide to become a dictator really doesn't frighten me all that much. Not only do I not believe that he would do so, I also don't think that he COULD do so.

Ultimately, the power is ALWAYS in the hands of the people, assuming the people are willing to excersize that power. As the old saw goes, "No government rules without the consent of the people."

So I just don't buy your doom and gloom argument. It doesn't follow through historically or based on the reality of the nature of political power.

Elliot

Clarification/Follow-up by ETWolverine on 10/19/06 7:25 pm:
>>>Tell me I’m wrong. But I am NOT.<<<

Okay... you're wrong, but I'm not.

Clarification/Follow-up by Itsdb on 10/19/06 7:51 pm:
ex,

No, I don't trust the government nor do I believe Bush (or any other individual) never makes a mistake. What I'm not getting is how this new law permits you to be declared an enemy combatant subject to this law. 'Splain it to me.