Will Obama Veto S1867?

Nov 30th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker (still not detained... for the time being)

Will the President veto the NDAA now that the Levin/McCain provisions have withstood Sen. Mark Udall's challenge? This is the question. He should. Then again, there are lots of things he hasn't done that he should have.

There are also lots of things he hasn't done that he said he would have.

For as much time as I have spent pushing back against what I call the Other Obama Derangement Syndrome, the nearly irrational liberal opposition, I am not exactly confident.

"Battlefield America"

Nov 29th, 2011

Democracy Now examines the nightmarish betrayal of American principles in SB1867

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.