Amos, ([The US Constitution] was originally intended for those who qualified by literacy and landing. I agree we have done a lot to broaden it since those WASPY male chauvinisty years...)

Although it was only white males who were initially given the franchise, many constitutional rights were, even in the original Bill Of Rights, granted to all "persons." Except during the period in which SCOTUS declared blacks as 3/4 (?) of a person, protections such as habeas corpus, due process, and the prohibitions against double jeopardy, unreasonable search and seizure, and cruel or unusual punishment were supposed to apply to all people -- presumably even to non-citizens visiting from other countries.

Yes, courts martial had different standards for military people and prisoners of war were in a different category. But the internment of Japanese-Americans and the confiscation of their property during WWII was clearly unconstitutional, because they were not citizens of a nation with which we were at war. And detaining people indefinitely now without due process is also hard to justify on the basis of our being "at war," since we do not have a clearly defined enemy, except, perhaps Al Quaeda.

The Bush administration's willingness to toss aside our Constitution during this vaguely defined and possibly indefinite period of "war on terror," is really scary.

Genie