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Showing posts with label S. 1867. Show all posts
Showing posts with label S. 1867. Show all posts

Monday, November 28, 2011

The Steady Erosion Of Rights

Nov 28th, 2011
Information on how to act is at the bottom of the post
The U.S. Senate is poised to vote today on S. 1867, the annual National Defense Authorization Act. This year's bill is very different. It is a threat to our fundamental way of life. This is not hyperbole.

There are two provisions contained in the legislation, drafted by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), which would allow the current and all future Presidents to declare a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil an enemy combatant. Any one of us, for any reason, could be arrested, detained and held indefinitely without charge or trial by our own military.

It is an existential moment for our country. We are now faced with the question of whether or not we are still America. It has been long coming. Many of us have argued since the initial passage of the Patriot Act and the launch of our now more than a decade old state of Permawar that the steady betrayal of our founding principles would eventually lead to just this sort of casual dismissal of the most basic guarantees provided by the Constitution.