`No One, Not Even the President, Is Above the Law'
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It has become fashionable to say that the controversy surrounding President Bush's domestic spying program is about the problem of balancing civil liberties and national security. But I think the real issue is Bush's apparent belief that he can do anything he wants, and justify it in the name of fighting terror. Bush and others in the administration have argued that the President's wartime powers trump some of the important constitutional guarantees and civil liberties that Americans had previously taken for granted. But they don't seem to see the irony of fighting on behalf of liberty in Afghanistan and Iraq while curtailing precious liberties here at home. This is not China or the old Soviet Union. The U.S. should be the one place on the planet where even a devastating terror strike is unable to shake the foundations of the government, which is grounded in the rule of law, the separation of powers, and a constitution that guarantees the fundamental rights of the citizenry. The administration shouldn't be allowed to use war as an excuse. The U.S. is a special place in large part because no one, not even the President, is above the law.
—Bob Herbert [1/12/06]
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Sunrise Over Fallujah
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Sunrise Over Fallujah
by Walter Dean Myers
Scholastic Summer Challenge Book Pick.
Operation Iraqi Freedom, that's the code name. But the young men and women in the military's Civil Affairs Battalion have a simpler name for it: WAR.In this new novel, Walter Dean Myers looks at a contemporary war with the same power and searing insight he brought to the Vietnam war of his classic, "Fallen Angels". He creates memorable characters like the book's narrator, Birdy, a young recruit from Harlem who's questioning why he even enlisted; Marla, a blond, tough-talking, wisecracking gunner; Jonesy, a guitar-playing bluesman who just wants to make it back to Georgia and open a club; and a whole unit of other young men and women and drops them incountry in Iraq, where they are supposed to help secure and stabilize Iraq and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. The young civil affairs soldiers soon find their definition of "winning" ever more elusive and their good intentions being replaced by terms like "survival" and "despair. "
Caught in the crossfire, Myers' richly rendered characters are just beginning to understand the meaning of war in this powerful, realistic novel of our times.
$17.99
Learn more about Walter Dean Myers.
books;hardcover books;hardcovers | Ages 12 and Up
Ages 12 and Up $17.99
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10,000 Days of Thunder
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10,000 Days of Thunder
by Philip CaputoThe war that lasted ten thousand days sparked riots, inspired songs, and still reverberates today. This stirring chronicle presents a multi-faceted view of the Vietnam conflict to young readers, exploring the war and the controversies that changed the lives of a generation of Americans. Includes timeline, glossary and bibliography. "Dramatic and immediate." - Booklist
$12.95
Paperback Book | Grades 6-9
Grades 6-9 $12.95
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