# We can lock you up forever, now... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 2, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693 "2005-01-02T14:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/21 "2005-01-02T20:43:16Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > And comments like that will discourage him from sharing his opinion on those ocaisions when it does agree with yours. Quel dommage. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/22 "2005-01-02T21:14:38Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I notice none of the usual reactionary zealots have had the guts to defend this one. Then perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your opinion of these alleged “reactionary zealots”. Just sayin’… ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/23 "2005-01-02T21:15:23Z")
Me, I note the absence of our right-wing lawyer types. Always ready to stand foursquare for restricting even the most trivial stuff if they can figure out a way to wrap it in “strict constructionist” or “states’ rights” or whatever; but always unwilling to speak truth when it comes to abuse of power by the state, regardless of how awful that abuse might be. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/24 "2005-01-02T21:54:34Z")
I’m not a lawyer, but fortunately the Bill of Rights was written in language that’s fairly easy for the layman to understand. It was a revolutionary delineation of individual rights that the government is bound to respect. One of my favorite Amendments is the Fifth; that one repeatedly uses the word “persons”. Not “citizens” or “people we like”. And there’s no “except during a period of indefinite length described by the President as ‘a time of war’”. This stuff seems pretty clear to me. I hate how much my view of my country’s government has darkened, these last few years. It took this bunch of criminals, plutocrats and nutbags to make me use terms like “fascism”, “tyranny” and “imperialism” without joking. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/25 "2005-01-02T22:02:24Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Lemme see… indefinite imprisonment of people not convicted of any crime… check. Torture of detainees… check. When will our government start building rape rooms and hauling in the wood chippers? Silly girl. Abu Ghraid should have shown you that the government is crafty and doesn’t need to _build_ a room just to rape someone… Meanwhile, **Metacom** , I have to say I haven’t formed the “delicate flower” impression of **Brutus** you seem to have… ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/26 "2005-01-02T22:33:01Z")
Although I don’t see the wisdom in filing charges, trying and convicting **Brutus** based upon his potential for disagreement, since this is a time of war, maybe we can convince the mods to temporarily restrain him from posting until the SDMB is secure from those who would seek to destroy it from within. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/27 "2005-01-02T23:12:27Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > Meanwhile, **Metacom** , I have to say I haven’t formed the “delicate flower” impression of **Brutus** you seem to have… I don’t think he’s a “delicate flower,” I think he’s a human being. Insulting someone because they’ve yet to publicly agree with you is likely to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/28 "2005-01-02T23:14:26Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > I don’t think he’s a “delicate flower,” I think he’s a human being. Insulting someone because they’ve yet to publicly agree with you is likely to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. Or they could disagree just to spite you. “See, you said I wouldn’t, but now I am. Where’s that vaunted intellect of yours, eh, sparky?” But all this discussion is now verging on the ridiculous, no? ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/29 "2005-01-02T23:34:33Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > But all this discussion is now verging on the ridiculous, no? No. Making thoughtless partisan stabs really drags this board down, and I don’t think discussing them is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/30 "2005-01-02T23:42:16Z")
Hm, there still hasn’t been a single post by a Bush-supporting conservative. What’s keeping them? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/31 "2005-01-02T23:46:23Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > Hm, there still hasn’t been a single post by a Bush-supporting conservative. What’s keeping them? Could it be there’s a decision by the Bush regime even they can’t obey unquestioningly? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/32 "2005-01-02T23:50:27Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > Could it be there’s a decision by the Bush regime even they can’t obey unquestioningly? Would be nice to hear from both sides of the spectrum on this one, even if their answer is “This is bad.” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/33 "2005-01-03T00:00:38Z")
You forget the first commandment of the GOP: "Thou shalt not publicly speak ill of a Republican. In private, I bet a lot of Pubbies are stewing over this one. Won’t make a dime’s worth of difference though. They got Their Man in, they have to live with what he does to White House brand toilet paper, formerly known as the U.S. Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/34 "2005-01-03T00:02:04Z")
Could my dear American friends do me a favour? Next time you hear a fellow countryman of yours telling foreigners like me about how your country is the “home of democracy”, has “the best legal system in the world”, and is the bastion of freedom, tell them to [shut the fuck up](http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/30596.html), then kick them soundly in the bollocks. Which, indeed, one should do to anyone carrying on in similar vein from the “mother of democracies”, my home country the UK, which has also detained 12 people without trial for several years in Belmarsh Prison, with no appeal. (The difference being that they get a regular judicial review, and are offered deportation to their country of origin instead of detention - they’ve all declined so far.) ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/35 "2005-01-03T00:08:23Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Could my dear American friends do me a favour? Next time you hear a fellow countryman of yours telling foreigners like me about how your country is the “home of democracy”, has “the best legal system in the world”, and is the bastion of freedom, tell them to [shut the fuck up](http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/30596.html), then kick them soundly in the bollocks. It’s a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/36 "2005-01-03T00:16:44Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > Could it be there’s a decision by the Bush regime even they can’t obey unquestioningly? I’ll believe that when I see it. I’ve come to believe in the last few years that partisan blindness has no limits. There _will_ be people supporting this, a great many of them. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/37 "2005-01-03T00:17:37Z")
\ I used to work w/ a guy from Canada who was married to an American. One day day after a holiday he said they’d been to a party at the home of some friends. Someone there, learning that he was a Canadian immigrant, actually asked him how he was liking living in a democracy. My experience growing up in the US was that kids were regularly taught that the US has the most freedoms and the highest standard of living of any nation in the world. And that can be a difficult belief to shake. \ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/38 "2005-01-03T00:24:08Z")
I’ve e-mailed both of my state senators (Democrats), and my Congressional representative (Republican) to urge them to fight this action. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/39 "2005-01-03T01:31:17Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I’ve e-mailed both of my state senators (Democrats), and my Congressional representative (Republican) to urge them to fight this action. It’s so cute how you think this will actually change anything. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693/40 "2005-01-03T01:43:26Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > I think he’s a human being. Cite? I kid, I kid…😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-can-lock-you-up-forever-now/282693.md?page=3)