As Robert Redford pointed out in a recent interview on public TV, “Attorney General Eric Holder knows full well that in reversing his position on Guantanamo he and the Obama administration are yielding to a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution.”That is undoubtedly true. Nearly 400 years of legal precedent holds that the right of due process and the writ of habeas corpus (appeal to the courts of law to challenge detention) are inviolable, irrespective of whether the prisoner is held by the state at home or abroad.Such is the clear requirement of international treaty law, which, once ratified under the U.S. Constitution, becomes “the supreme law of the land” in the United States and in all signatory countries. There is no higher law. We cannot just make things up. Just because we label a person as an “enemy of the crown,” or as an “enemy of the state,” that action does not change the law.Of course, a “terrorist” or any person suspected of doing imminent criminal harm can be temporarily detained, while under investigation, to prevent that harm, pending adjudication under law. As the Obama administration has proposed, we would do well to better clarify and codify as necessary the conditions governing such legitimate detention.Arbitrary and indefinite detentions are not in the cards, and torture is utterly out of the question, as well as unconstitutional and immoral. To date, no one of rank has been investigated and prosecuted for torture at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. A principal objection to military tribunals or commissions, as so far described, is that they do not provide the full basic constitutional rights of due process and they permit the introduction of tainted evidence coerced by torture. Unless they meet constitutional standards, such tribunals are unacceptable.President Obama and Attorney General Holder know where they stand on both the law and the morality of Bush-era detention. They promised to close Guantanamo. But they are stymied by a so-called conservative block in Congress from closing down Guantanamo and from transferring accused persons for trial in U.S. courts and possible conviction and incarceration in U.S. prisons. The Republican block in Congress has cut off all funding for closing Guantanamo. They have passed legislation blocking criminal trials here in the United States. So what can the administration do? In baseball jargon, this is a forced play at base. They have to try the accused somehow, somewhere; they have no real alternative. They do not really have the power of decision to do more than this at this time.The administration cannot even rely on the remedy of the courts, ultimately by appeal to a Supreme Court packed 5 to 4 by a block of like-minded conservative justices. Any court that can find in the U.S. Constitution a greater right of “person” and “free speech” for corporations (which are nowhere mentioned in the document) than for actual persons (repeatedly mentioned) can hardly be counted on to find due process and habeas corpus rights for ordinary persons who are detained at Guantanamo and suspected of acts of terrorism, of which they may or may not be guilty.When some Supreme Court justices themselves or their family members are seen engaging in fundraising or participating in extreme political activities, promoting deregulation, economic inequity and denial of social benefits, they can hardly be expected to put their ideological and political biases aside when reviewing cases, even those involving democracy and fundamental human rights.That is why we need new legislation requiring the Supreme Court justices to be bound by a code of ethics as other federal judges are. Connecticut’s U.S. Congressman Chris Murphy has introduced a bill to do precisely that. Such a bill probably cannot bypass the blockades in Congress and in the Supreme Court, at least not at this time, but it’s never bad to propose legislation simply because it’s right.Sharon resident Anthony Piel is a former director and general legal counsel of the World Health Organization.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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