So today's post is meant to be the first in a series of who knows how many posts (or on what days they will appear for that matter)concerning endangered species. Now, I am not talking about the same species that say the WWF is concerned with. Not that we *shouldn't* care about those species and help out the organizations concerned with them, that is just not my 'specialty', so to speak.

No, the 'species' I am referring to are our constitutional rights and privileges. These rights are in just as much danger of extinction as say the American Pika, sometimes more and often by the same forces. And as with the Pika (cute little guy isn't he??), while they are endangered, they are not yet extinct and we still do have time to save them. Step number one is awareness (what I am humbly trying to do with these posts), but the important step is step two, action. We need to vote for elected officials who will honor and protect these rights. We need to hold them accountable when they lax in those responsibilities. We need to get others informed and involved. Basically, we need to participate fully in the democratic process as we should be anyway.

So without further ado, today's 'Endangered Species':

Habeas Corpus

Appearance in Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2:
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

Latin Translation:
You should have the body.

Brief Definition:
Writ directed by a judge to some person who is detaining another, commanding him to bring the body of the person in his custody at a specified time to a specified place for a specified purpose. The writ's sole function is to release an individual from unlawful imprisonment; through this use it has come to be regarded as the great writ of liberty. The writ tests only whether a prisoner has been accorded due process, not whether he is guilty.

Shawn Translation:
If you are going to hold someone in prison; you better do a basic check to make sure they are the right person, you better tell them why they are imprisoned, and you better give them their day in court.

Under Attack By:
Current administration's 'Military Commission’s Act' here

Thanks for reading...