Stripping Terrorists of American Citizenship

In the article, Bill aims to strip certain Americans of their citizenship, by Ed Hornick of CNN on May 7th, 2010. There is a bill being introduced to Congress that would allow the government to strip people of their citizenship if they are believed to be involved in terrorist actions. The bill is being introduced by a bi-partisan group, some of which are saying that they are simply updating the 1940 bill, the Immigration and Nationality Act, to fit the present times. There are critics of the bill who say that this is a direct reaction to the attempted car bombing of Time Square. The group claims that their actions are based on the current situation with the wars we are fighting, and the world we live in. This bill could violate a citizens civil liberities, by going against the framers original idea of any citizen guilty or innocent to receive due process of the law. The bill includes clauses that could potentionally violate the original intent of the constitution involving how treason should be viewed. In our opinion this bill could be potentionally dangerous to civil liberties. While we think the idea behind the bill would be helpful, like the Speaker of the House, we would like to know what consistutes terrorism, we would like to see the definition of what would strip someone of their citizenship to the United States.

Posted by TFavaron and EMckee

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"National Day of Prayer goes on despite ruling."

In this CNN article, the National Day of Prayer, (May 6, 2010) which was a bill signed into law in 1952 by President Truman, is becoming controversial as a U.S. District Judge stated it violated the constitution. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb believes that having a National Day of Prayer violates the constitutions ban on the governments support of religion. The case is being appealed on behalf of the White House by the Department of Justice. Until all the appeals have been exhausted, there will be no action taken against the National Day of Prayer. Shirley Dobson, the organizer of the event, believes that a small group of people are attempting to get rid of a day which is viewed by her as a "magnificent day". Dobson's husband, James Dobson, is one of the most powerful conservative Christian leaders in the country. Obama has explained that despite Crabb's claim, the National Day of Prayer will continue this year, however he will not be participating in any specific events and believes it is the citizen's job to pray for the success of our country. Last year the public participation of the White House in the event was decreased. The decision on this case did not affect the National Day of Prayer this year, however next year it could change the event completley depending on the ruling.

The issue Crabb expresses with the National Day of Prayer, is that it violates the seperation of church and state and is unconstitutional. Although the government does not state how citizens should pray, Crabb believes that the government is pushing towards certain religions and is violating citizens civil rights and liberties, such as freedom of religion.

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L.Ambrose and S.Hatcher