THE PROCESS AGAINST DUE PROCESS

The Administration vs. The People

Let us imagine a man who desires to have all of the power of a king or dictator. What would such a man do if he were to gain power in a country that has a long tradition of reciprocal protection between the Rule of Law and Democracy that serves to the benefit of all of its citizens, and even its visitors according to the Constitution? What if even the military is obligated to abide by the rule of law? The problem is how to take from the people any and all expectation of due process of law. In order to accomplish this objective, it is necessary that the people not realize that it is their own protection, their own rights, that are under attack. The first thing that our aspiring despot should do is select only specific minorities and make up excuses for why due process of law for them is an obstacle to public safety. As long as it is only those people, those others, the majority may look the other way. As long as life goes on as before, the majority may not notice the deadly precedent by which all of their own protections are being dismantled.

To make this strategy work, it is useful to label the chosen minorities in derogatory terms built on nothing more than fabricated accusations. For example, by now, everyone reading this should be aware of Trump’s designation of Haitian immigrants as pet-eaters (“They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the cats!”), of his portrayal of undocumented immigrants, even those cooperating with immigration court, as violent criminals, and his claim that everyone in any small boat off the coast of Venezuela is a “narco-terrorist.” So, the Haitian immigrants, after working in Springfield, Ohio to build new lives in America, have in the last few days lost their legal protections. Last year a large number of innocent men were sent to the torture prison CECOT in El Salvador where they were, by intention, to be tortured every day for the rest of their lives (rescued from that only after months of suffering and with no help from the United States). Over the last several months approximately two-hundred innocent civilians were murdered by the United States Navy. That particular set of Crimes Against Humanity, called Operation Southern Spear, has now been proved to have been based on a complete tissue of lies because, as reported by the Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.), the amount of cocaine coming into the United States has not diminished at all. And, when we add to these atrocities the consistent terrorism perpetrated on innocent people by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) agents, we see a pattern.

That pattern is twofold: First, that in each of these endeavors the victims of government abuse have been denied due process of law, and, second, that none of these efforts has produced the promised good. In Springfield there was no crisis of “pet-eating,” so by stripping the Haitian immigrants of their protection (who had been welcomed by a community that needed a large number of working people), nothing good was accomplished. The persecution of immigrant men from Venezuela by sending them to CECOT did not reduce violent crime in America - mostly because none of those men had criminal records anyway. Persecution of hard-working grandmothers, little children in bunny-rabbit hats, Home Depot employees (not to mention a few murders by Federal goons here and there), has made life in America more dangerous, instead of safer, because rather than violent crime having decreased, the violent criminals are the Federal agents themselves. And, after approximately two-hundred counts of murder, war crimes each and every one, the same amount of cocaine has entered the United Staes as before. But was it really all for nothing?

So, what has this really been about? In a recent exchange of The Five on FOX “News,” Jessica Tarlov (who must have a very strong stomach) was verbally attacked and ridiculed by Jessie Waters. She had dared to point out that the deliberate killing of people on the basis of suspicion happens to be a war crime, that it is, in fact, murder every time it is done. She went on to point out that the survivors of U.S. Naval strikes are supposed to be rescued from shipwreck. That is required by law. Waters objected to the word “Survivors.” He interjected, “They’re not survivors. They’re terrorists.” Tarlov, undaunted by the idiocy, buffoonery, and essentially inhuman behavior of her childish colleague, continued by citing international law and Navy regulations that require rescuing the survivors of the strike. To this Waters pretended to laugh, and shot back, “So if we strike a terrorist, and he survives, we’re supposed to send a helicopter and rescue him, and give him First Aid…?” Apparently, everyone should just laugh at this silly female: Gee, chuckle, chuckle, how silly. Women say the darndest thangs.

Inasmuch as I am convinced that FOX “News” is a place where rejects from Romper Room are hired to promote State propaganda, I am sure that Jessica Tarlov was hired for the same reason as Juan Williams before her: To allow FOX to pretend that it is a “Fair and balanced” news channel. The only useful purpose I have in taking notice of this exchange is the insight it provides into how the propaganda of Trump’s fascist regime plays out. I have used the word “innocent” several times so far. One might fairly and reasonably object: We do not know if all of the men sent to CECOT were innocent. Maybe there was a bad egg or two in there. We do not know if all of the grandmothers rounded up by “brave” men in excessive combat gear were innocent. Maybe they stumbled onto a potential Hispanic Ma Barker who knows how to make a good tortilla. And maybe, just maybe, some of those Venezuelan boaters were not innocent fishermen trying to feed their families. Maybe some really were drug smugglers. Granted, the majority of those boats had outboard motors that cannot be fueled sufficiently to get anywhere near to the United States; but maybe some of those crafty devils have the power. What power? Hey! Like Cary Grant put it in an exchange from The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer:

‘You remind me of the man.”

“What man?”

“The man with the power.”

“What power?”

“The power of Hoodoo.”

“Hoodoo?”

“You do.”

“What?”

“Remind me of the man…”

Yes, some of those outboard motorboats may have been enhanced by the power of Hoodoo and might have made it all the way to the United States. For an Administration that is opposed to science, anything goes.

Look, I have used the word “innocent” because unless and until a person is proved guilty of a crime, beyond reasonable doubt - you know, like Donald Trump was thirty-four times (so far) - that person is, by due process of law, innocent. It is ridiculous to abuse language for propaganda purposes anyway; ridiculous but very effective. So, undocumented residents, even those who are under the legal protection of immigration court because they are cooperating with the same, are called “illegals.” And anybody targeted for killing by the U.S. Navy, by virtue of being in a boat near Venezuela, Colombia, or Ecuador, is labeled a “terrorist.” Even real drug smugglers and dealers are not terrorists, even though they deserve to be caught and punished. But what a powerful word “Terrorist” is. How silly of that mere woman to think that a “terrorist” should be pulled from the water. It is almost as if she thinks they deserve due process of law. Oh no; not them. Not those “terrorists.”

Big Brother’s power must be unlimited. It is not enough for the dictator to subdue just those people, those others. Yes, as long as it is just them, the majority can go about life as usual. “Everything is normal. I mean, if I ever get into trouble because I am suspected of something, I will be alright: I’m a white guy. Nobody bothers us. I can even speed in my car and generally get away with it, instead of being pulled over regularly like some of my best friends who are black - or brown. What? Me worry?” Allow me to burst the bubble of anybody who qualifies as a member of the majority: James Comey is also a white guy.

No, I think we had better hang onto the word “innocent;” In fact, we should be downright presumptuous about doing so: We should require our government to Presume Innocence, even if Jessie Waters laughs at us in his spectacularly fifth-grade manner. I am afraid that means even pulling the survivors of our war crimes out of the water. It would be ever so convenient to use words like “terrorist” instead. That is what Pete “Double Tap” Hegseth’s lawyer will, no doubt, try to use in his defense when he is tried for multiple counts of murder. he will answer in a federal court. Those who obeyed his orders will answer in Courts Martial. And even those terrorists (pardon my French) will, on that future date, be entitled to due process of law. Or so I hope.