In the final hours before adjourning in 2006, Congress passed and the president signed the Military Commissions Act (MCA). In doing so, they cast aside the Constitution and the principle of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. They also gave the president absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and to set his own definitions for torture.

The Military Commissions Act transforms the United States of America from a nation of laws into a nation of power unaccountable to law. It transforms the United States of America from a free democracy into a de facto dictatorship.

The following are the major components of the Military Commissions Act:

• It revokes habeas corpus, thereby giving the power to imprison people without trial for as long as the President likes
• It gives George W. Bush and other top officials legal amnesty for any war crimes he may have committed
• It legalizes torture
• It creates a secret committee controlled by the President that can declare anyone to be an enemy, and thereby strip away their legal rights guaranteed by the Constitution
• It ends protection of prisoners of war by the Geneva Conventions
• It removes the right to a speedy trial
• It sets up absurd kangaroo courts that fail to meet the most fundamental civilized standards of justice, with unfair trials kept hidden from the American public

  If even just one of these effects of the Military Commissions Act matters to you, then you need to act. Nobody will do it for you. The Democratic Congress has so far failed to act to repeal the Military Commissions Act. A few pieces of legislation have been introduced to repeal some parts of the Military Commissions Act, but these bills have not received widespread support among Democrats in Congress, and wold fail to achieve a complete repeal the Military Commissions Act, even if they were passed.

  There is no part of the Military Commissions Act that is necessary to protect American security. What we need is a total repeal of the Military Commissions Act.

  The Military Commissions Act is not a purely Republican or Democratic problem. Both Republicans and Democrats voted for this infamous law. Both Democrats and Republicans need to be part of the movement to repeal the Military Commissions Act.

• What Can I Do?

  Don't just fret about the Military Commissions Act. Don't just throw your hands up in the air. You are not helpless. You are not powerless, unless you choose to be. There are many things you can do to help make the repeal of the Military Commissions Act a reality.

  1. Call your member of the U.S. House of Representatives and both of your U.S. senators. Tell them that you want them to support a total repeal of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. You can find the contact information for your representative and senators at Congress.org.
  
  2. If you are not a citizen of the United States, contact the U.S. embassy in your country to protest the passage and implementation of the Military Commissions Act.

• You can find contact information for the nearest embassy here.