Are You Next On The Government’s Hit List? Just for the record, I want to make it clear that I don't like scumbag terrorists... no matter who they are, which side of the political spectrum they claim to be from, or what voices they hearin their head that tell them to blow buildings and people up. As far as I'm concerned, people who do what Timothy McVeigh did in Oklahoma City or the Beltway Snipers did in Washington D.C. and surrounding areas deserve nothing more than trial, conviction, and execution. You target innocents in your bloody jihad, and then we're coming after you... sweet and simple. No one is asserting that anything less is desirable or wanted. However, note the proper orderof things... Trial... conviction... execution. Constitutional protections are in place not because we try to protect guilty men from the consequences of their actions, but because we must protect the innocent from an over- zealous government. The Founders were quite aware of government abuses in English history when they dedicated fifteen of the twenty-six rights mentioned in the first eight amendments to criminal court procedures. English kings and secret tribunals had imprisoned, tortured, and killed people for myriad reasons--real and imagined. Everything from disagreeing with the monarchy to choosing a non-state sanctioned religion was cause for retribution. Trumped up charges often precipitated a stay in the Tower of London and then you were at the mercy of the king and his court. The Founders understood that government existedonly at the consent of the governed. That we have allowed our federal government to expand to the monstrosity it has indicates we have no idea the magnitude of the gift we were given when this Republic was formed. We have allowed our federal government to assume powers never delegated to it by the Constitution. And we only have ourselves to blame for what is happening now. Everyone is aware that the American-born Muslim cleric, Anwar Al-Awlaki, was executed by drone attack about a week ago. The man once invited by the staff of the Secretary of the Army to a luncheon at the Pentagon (as a way to ease tensions in the Muslim community after 9/11) and to conduct prayer services in 2002 for Islamic staffers on Capital Hill was also suspected in plotting terrorist attacks against the United States. He was suspected of being the inspiration behind many attempts at terrorism, from the Fort Hood shooter to the UnderwearBomber. Do I believe that Awlaki was a terrorist who plotted against the United States? Without a doubt! Do I believe that he should have been executed for his crimes against this country? Without a doubt... if the evidence led to that conclusion. 1
