By Doug Newman
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“nor shall any person … be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself” — Fifth Amendment, U.S. Constitution

This case – Salinas v. Texas – deserves special attention. From this short article comes the following: “The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether a suspect’s refusal to answer police questions prior to being arrested and read his rights can be introduced as evidence of guilt at his subsequent murder trial.”

If you can be presumed guilty until proven innocent for any reason whatsoever, and sent to prison without the Due Process protections of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, the game is over.

If only we had heard one percent as much about this during 2012 as we did about the absolutely meaningless presidential election. Trust me, neither Obama nor Romney cared one iota about this issue. You are far more likely to encounter a policeman than you are to meet the person – federal, state or local – for whom you voted.

If you neither know your rights or are not willing to assert these rights when accused by the authorities of wrongdoing, nothing else really matters. The greatest threat to our freedom and security comes not from some foreign land, or even from Obama, monster that he is. Rather, it comes from an ignorant and spineless populace.