From a correspondent, another gruesome reminder of what Georgie hath wrought:


http://baltimorechronicle.com/2007/011907Parry.shtml


In one of the most chilling public statements ever made by a U.S.
Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales questioned whether the U.S.
Constitution grants habeas corpus rights of a fair trial to every
American.


Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary
Committee hearing on Jan. 18, Gonzales argued that the Constitution
doesn't explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights; it merely says when
the so-called Great Writ can be suspended.
"There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there's a
prohibition against taking it away," Gonzales said.
Gonzales's remark left Specter, the committee's ranking Republican,
stammering.
"Wait a minute," Specter interjected. "The Constitution says you
can't take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn't
that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there's a
rebellion or invasion?"
Gonzales continued, "The Constitution doesn't say every individual in
the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right
of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says the right shall
not be suspended" except in cases of rebellion or invasion."

"You may be treading on your interdiction of violating common sense,"
Specter said.

While Gonzales's statement has a measure of quibbling precision to
it, his logic is troubling because it would suggest that many other
fundamental rights that Americans hold dear also don't exist because
the Constitution often spells out those rights in the negative.
For instance, the First Amendment declares that "Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

continued.....