A victory from SCOTUS...? Maybe so, maybe no, and god help us in November...

the ruling certainly SEEMS to be a reaffirmation of the constitution...

The 5 to 3 decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld will be controversial; indeed, legal scholars will debate its many components for years to come. In practical terms, however, it is a huge victory for fundamental American values -- and one that will dramatically aid in putting the war against terrorism on a sound legal basis.

but, heaven forbid that a mere supreme court ruling will keep bushco from business criminality as usual...

"If they rule against the government, I don't see how that is going to affect us," the commander, Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris [Guantánamo's commander], said Tuesday evening as he sat in a conference room in his headquarters. "From my perspective, I think the direct impact will be negligible."

The Defense Department repeated that view on Thursday, asserting that the court's sweeping ruling against the tribunals did not undermine the government's argument that it can hold foreign suspects indefinitely and without charge, as "enemy combatants" in its declared war on terror.

Privately, though, some administration officials involved in detention policy — along with many critics of that policy — were skeptical that Guantánamo could or would go about its business as before. "It appears to be about as broad a holding as you could imagine," said one administration lawyer, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the ruling. "It's very broad, it's very significant, and it's a slam."

and robert parry reminds of us the INCREDIBLY HIGH STAKES this november...

The narrow margin of the U.S. Supreme Court’s rebuke to George W. Bush on military tribunals highlights the stakes on the table for the November 2006 congressional elections – nothing short of the survival of a meaningful constitutional system in the United States.

The majority opinion, which stopped Bush from proceeding with a kangaroo court that stripped Guantanamo Bay detainees of basic legal protections and mocked the Geneva Conventions, carried a profound secondary message – that the Court was not prepared to endorse Bush’s vision of his “war powers” as limitless and beyond challenge.

But it was equally noteworthy that only five of the nine justices believed that the rule of law and constitutional limits on Bush’s powers should prevail. Four justices – Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and John Roberts – have made clear that they are prepared to rubber-stamp any judgment that Bush makes.

yes, november could well seal the fate of the united states as a bona fide dictatorship... may god have mercy on our souls...

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