Yesterday, the Supreme Court readily complied with the Bush regime’s
blatant manipulation of the judiciary in order to
avoid exposure of the Padilla case. Jose Padilla has been held in a
military brig as an enemy
combatant for 3 and a half years on the order of President Bush (“trust
me, he’s a bad guy”). His appeal of this illegal and Orwellian
detention was ready to go into federal court. In the midst of
controversy surrounding Bush’s NSA
spying order, the Patriot Act, and other police state measures, the
administration decided to finally press charges against Padilla (which
incidentally had nothing to do with their justification for detaining
him as an enemy combatant), and request he be moved to civilian prison. This, like everything the Bush regime does,
was not motivated by a change of heart for the better, but was an
attempt to avoid Padilla’s appeal, which could further expose
their illegal police state measures. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
saw through this and denied the Bush regime’s sly move, but the Supreme
Court readily granted Bush’s request during its holiday vacation.
This
is a Supreme Court that gave Bush the presidency in 2000 despite vast
evidence of voter fraud and suppression aimed at black people, and is
now headed by a far-right Bush appointee, John Roberts. We cannot sit
by while Alito, a fascist bent on outlawing abortion and extending
executive authority, is appointed. Every move the Bush regime makes
towards implementing its fascist program, including the stacking of
federal courts with compliant, theocratic, fascist judges cannot be
allowed to go down. Bush’s whole program must be repudiated. And
throughout the volatile political events of January (such as the Alito
hearings and Padilla appeal), thousands and thousands of people must be
mobilized to demand “Bush step down” at protests all across the country
during Bush’s state of the union address.
The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!