Pubdate: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2001 San Jose Mercury News Contact: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 Author: Tom O'Connell Letters To The Editor CIVIL LIBERTIES FALL VICTIM TO GOVERNMENT There are certain reliable litmus tests for comprehending our Bill of Rights. For example: anyone advocating a "flag burning" amendment is telling us he or she really doesn't understand the First Amendment. Similarly, someone using fear of terrorism to justify trials by secretly appointed tribunals with the rules of evidence suspended and sentences carried out without judicial review clearly doesn't understand the Fifth. That the most vociferous apologist for George Bush's executive order suspending the constitutional protections of those charged with "terrorism" should be Attorney General John Ashcroft is deeply disturbing. Those of us who opposed his nomination were concerned that he really doesn't understand the Constitution; how quickly he has shown that judgment to be correct. Tom O'Connell San Mateo - --- MAP posted-by: Beth