While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines and west Africa defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” Republican George W. Bush signs the Department of Defense Authorization Act of 2006, giving the president unfettered power to hold prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for the rest of their lives, with no criminal charges, and no right to challenge their confinement by Habeas Corpus.

       [restored 2/4/2024]

       If the least among us does not have habeas corpus, none of us has its protection and the presumption of innocence. –– JL

       The ostensibly pro State sovereignty Republican George W. Bush signs the Violence Against Women Act of 2005, making it a Federal crime to harass a woman over the Internet.

       NOTES:

• While the editors are certainly not in favor of the harassment of women, sexual or otherwise, they do feel that adequate protection against harassment of women, or anyone else, already exists in state criminal and civil statutes.
• The 2004 Republican Party Platform contained the following passages:

       Our leaders must make sure that the growth of the federal government remains in check.

       We must maintain our commitment to free and fair trade, lower taxes, limited regulation, and a limited, efficient government that keeps up with the new realities of a changing world.

       We endorse creating a commission to evaluate discretionary spending on federal agencies and programs to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used for the best, most efficient purposes.  Such a commission would determine whether certain programs are duplicative, wasteful or inefficient, outdated or irrelevant, or failed.  It would recommend to Congress programs that could be terminated, moved, or restructured to make the government more efficient.

       [restored 2/4/2024] Thanks to Jim Lorenz for this entry.