talkpolitics | (no subject)

If you haven't heard, New York was under attack by an idiot. As opposed to past idiots, this idiot happens to not only be brown and born in Pakistan, but is also an American citizen. This last bit introduces hoops that our proud lawmakers must jump through to maintain their integrity on terrorism:

“Obviously that would be a serious mistake until all the information is gathered,” John McCain said when asked whether the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, should have been Mirandized.

“What I was talking about was that we don’t have to Mirandize someone immediately. You don’t – before you charge them, there’s time that elapses,” McCain later clarified to POLITICO.

“I hope that [Attorney General Eric] Holder did discuss this with the intelligence community. If they believe they got enough from him, how much more should they get? Did they Mirandize him? I know he’s an American citizen but still,” Peter King (R-NY) told POLITICO.

Joe Lieberman has another idea: "I think it’s time for us to look at whether we want to amend that law to apply it to American citizens who choose to become affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, whether they should not also be deprived automatically of their citizenship, and therefore be deprived of rights that come with that citizenship when they are apprehended and charged with a terrorist act."

Apparently he thinks domestic terrorist organizations should get a free pass.

So, aren't these the guys who keep harping on restricting the amount of power the federal government has over its citizens? They've previously tried to claim these powers only over unlawful combatants, but if they can invent a charge that lets them revoke someone's citizenship at the drop of a hat... the slope these men walk along is mighty slippery.