Land of the free now land of the secret jails

Congress just passed a law permitting the president to arrest anyone even remotely suspected of being a terrorist, to place them in a secret location and hold them without bail, and to try them and to sentence them secretly without a jury — all legally. This is not “habeas corpus” as we know it. Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or a member of the Green Party, this is not justice nor a legitimate way to fight against terrorism but sheer, unmitigated, unconstitutional power. In the meantime, the war in Iraq, which should have been focused solely in Afghanistan, continues. One can only guess that there will be a pre-election event to scare everyone into voting for President Bush's fellow Republicans. Even my Republican friends are scared of these events, but they feel trapped. It is time that we vote to keep America the land of the free, not the land of secret jails. J David Alcantara, Atlantic City - Published in the Atlantic City Journal, October 9, 2006