Habeas Schmabeas and Guantanamo Bay

I recently finished listening to an episode of This American Life from NPR. It’s essentially a documentary series on the radio. This episode, called “Habeas Schmabeas,” was a look at the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It was fascinating and I would love for any of you guys to listen to it too and tell me what you think about it. You can get it by either subscribing to the free podcast through iTunes or other program like it, or just click here to listen to it online.

The people that created this show said their idea for this episode came from the realization that, while it’s known that there have been several hundred former detainees that have been released from guantanamo over the years, no one they knew of had ever heard an interview by any of these former prisoners. So, these guys tracked down some former detainees and talked to them. They also talked with some U.S. attorneys that had been assigned to represent prisoners at guantanamo about what it is like to represent a detainee.

One thing I found very interesting is that guantanamo was built to house high-profile terrorists—the worst of the worst—like Bin Laden and others like him. It’s essentially a supermax prison. However, one of the complaints that has come out from the military commanders in charge of the prison is that they’ve never received those high-level prisoners, they’re all kept in “black sites” run by the CIA. Instead, guantanamo ended up being used to house mainly lower-level, fringe players that provided very little valuable information, or very often, people that weren’t even terrorists to begin with. You’ll need to listen to the interviews to find out why it is that guantanamo received so many detainees that, upon review, got re-classified as NLEC’s (No Longer Enemy Combatants) and what the consequences have been.

The title of the episode “Habeas Schmabeas” refers to habeas corpus. A petition for habeas corpus is what’s known as a collateral attack against criminal charges. It doesn’t address the actual charges against you, it is a way of saying to the government, “before I answer anything else, you need to show me first that you had the right to arrest me and charge me with this crime, because I believe you didn’t follow the rules.” It requires the government to justify their actions and show that they behaved properly. This right first popped up in the Magna Charta in 1215 (Wow! politics, legal terms and now history. Could this post get any better?!) and is in Article I of the U.S. Constitution—it was such a fundamental, non-controversial right that it didn’t even need to wait until later to go into the bill of rights.

This concept of habeas corpus comes into play with the detainees at guantanamo because the current administration (we’re not naming any names here) has made a very interesting claim concerning the legal rights of the detainees. On the one hand they claim that U.S. legal rights, chief among them habeas corpus, don’t apply to the detainees because they’re prisoners of war. On the other hand they claim that the rights of the Geneva Convention don’t apply to the detainees because they’re not really prisoners of war. A little crazy, huh?

So, if I haven’t totally turned you off of it (and put you to sleep just a little), go listen to it and let me know what you think.

Calling All First Grade Girls

Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (And Me!) is a book that Emma just loves. There is a whole series of Junie B. books that the kids really relate to because “she” thinks a lot like they do. I discovered this book when my friend Mary and her daughter Ashley were telling me how much they liked it, and how Emma would love it too. I thought they were right and gave the book to Emma for Christmas. It is still one of her favorites. Inside are entries with a page that “Junie B.” wrote, and on the next page is a space for Emma to write what she thinks. There are also entries for artwork and your favorite jokes and nicknames. Junie B. lists her favorite food as Fruit Loops—the kids get a laugh out of that one every time. Emma took a wallet sized school picture and cut out her face which we taped on the front cover and it looks so cute. Emma loves to write in it, and I think she has finished filling in the pages, but I still catch her erasing and rewriting entries. Either she has changed her mind or figured a better way to write it, I’m not sure. I think it is the perfect way to get kids to write about who they are and get some confidence in expressing themselves. With Junie B’s entry there too, it gets them thinking about clever answers, not just a bland yes or no. Highly recommended!

Favorite Shopping Spots

Kohl’s: They always have something on sale, and it’s so fun to find a great deal on their clearance racks.

Trader Joes: An upscale feeling grocery store that offers lots of unique foods and many organic choices. I hate grocery shopping, but it’s actually fun to go here- if only for the atmosphere. Their prices are surprisingly similar to the local grocery store too.

Target: Ours isn’t a supercenter, but they have a small grocery section so I can get some of the staples there and not have to stop someplace else. I love that I can find all of the basics here and they are usually clean and tidy.

World Market: So many fun and exotic things at this store. A great place to find decorative features for the house or a fun and interesting gift. I’ve noticed that Santa finds lots of fun trinkets here for Christmas stockings.

Home Goods/TJ Maxx: TJ Maxx is a great place to find reduced prices on name brand things like clothing and toys. I bring the kids here a lot to pick birthday gifts for their friends. They also have a lot of housewares too. Some stores are pretty ghetto and sometimes you have to dig through the piles to find a deal, but every once in a while there is a great steal. Home Goods is the housewares version of TJ Maxx. They have more big things like furniture. I used to love to go here in NC, and want to check out the one here, but haven’t had a chance yet.

Mervyns: They have super great clearance sales for the kids clothes. I go there and stock up at the big sales.

Joann’s: I have seen all sizes of these stores and the small ones don’t have much variety, but if you find a larger one it can be a crafter’s heaven. Anything you can think of sewing or crafting or framing, you will find it here.

IKEA: The BEST place to find inexpensive things for your home. They are all very affordable, and your home can look like you hired a decorator because things are designed to go together. The only downside is you have to assemble all of the furniture yourself, but it usually isn’t too difficult.

There are always other places I like to go, but these are the top of the list for now. I try to avoid malls because the prices are usually higher, and they are too spread out to trail the kids along. That’s why I haven’t mentioned any of those type of stores here. What are your hot spots?

Thomas Hardy Novels

Rob and I just finished watching a series by A&E of the book “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy. I can’t get it out of my head because the story is not typical of the era in which it was written. Hardy was born in 1840 about twenty five years after the Bronte sisters (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights) and their well-loved novels. Hardy was different because he really gets into the suffering and the realities that were, and are still, a part of life. He was heavily criticized at the time they were published because of their strong, frank, content. He eventually gave up writing novels and stuck to poetry because of it. Although I’d like to hope that nobody’s life is quite as miserable as some of the characters he created, they certainly stick with you and make you reevaluate your judgements of others’ lives.

Rob and I listened to an abridged version of “The Mayor of Casterbridge,” another of Hardy’s books, on a road trip. These two novels are probably considered his best two. “The Mayor of Casterbridge” is the story of a man who creates his own misery by selling off his wife and child while drunk, while “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” is about a woman who’s misery is caused by a man that takes advantage of her innocence and youth, and she cannot escape the effects of his actions. In spite of her struggles, she still believes that she may find happiness and works diligently to find her own way to it.

Personally, the mayor’s plight is easier to swallow than Tess’ because it was his own doing that lead him down his life’s path. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot in case you want to read the book or watch the movie. Be warned, they are not something you want to watch when you’re looking for a warm fuzzy romance. However, I still recommend them because of the strength of the characters and the story’s ability to draw you in to their experiences. I feel like I’m not really able to get out on paper (or computer) what I want to say, because there are so many thoughts rumbling around in there. But, if you’re not depressed, and looking for a good read, or movie, give these stories a try.

Memories of Strawberry Shortcake

Not long ago, the kids were watching a recent version of a Strawberry Shortcake cartoon. It reminded me of an episode we had on video when I was a kid. I must have watched it a hundred times because I still know the words to all of the songs. And for some reason thinking back on that cute little girl and all of her confectionery friends makes me happy. I did a search to find it, and found that it was called “Strawberry Shortcake’s Housewarming Surprise.”

It aired in 1983, and features Strawberry’s move to a new house and a run in with the Peculiar Purple Pie Man. I found the full version of it that someone transferred from a video tape she had. She also has other fun episodes on BitTheDustTape.com of things like Care Bears and The Getalong Gang. I just had to share this bit of my history with anyone else that might have fond memories of these “vintage” cartoons.

The Time Machine

A little while back, I won a bid on eBay for a box full of illustrated classic books for kids. I’ve been working my way through them with Hunter and Emma, reading a chapter or two to them each night as part of their “bedtime routine.” We just finished reading The Time Machine and the kids really got into it. When we were done, I figured it would be fun to go rent the old Time Machine movie they made back in the 60’s and watch it with the kids. We had this movie when I was a kid and I probably watched it a dozen times at least. I had all these memories of the cool effects and of how scary the morlocks were.

We had a fun time watching it with the kids who remembered parts from the book and thought it was all fun but let’s just say, this is one of those movies that the years have not been kind to. Amy and I had a hard time not laughing at all the cheezy effects. The best part, I think, was one scene showing a city being destroyed that was clearly some kid’s train set with matchbox cars being set on fire. Hilarious! There were other problems too. It seemed like the time traveler just spent the whole movie yelling at people for being from the future. Plus, the morlocks all looked like they came straight out of a John Goodman look-a-like contest (that they didn’t win for being too fat. Zing!).

It’s kind of sad, actually. I had such good memories of that movie. There are other movies I liked when I was younger that I avoid watching again just because I don’t want to be let down like that. Does anyone else do that?

By the way, I know Uncle Rico’s time machine has nothing to do with The Time Machine movie, but I just couldn’t resist (Oh, it kills, it kills! Turn it off! Turn it off!).