The National Defense Authorization Act is the Greatest Threat to Civil Liberties Americans Face

[Ban Hammer 12,861]

If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law recently passed by the Senate currently which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.

So much for innocent until proven guilty. So much for limited government. What Americans are now facing is quite literally the end of the line. We will either uphold the freedoms baked into our Constitutional Republic, or we will scrap the entire project in the name of security as we wage, endlessly, this futile, costly, and ultimately self-defeating War on Terror.

Over at Wired, Spencer Ackerman gives us the long and short of things:

There are still changes swirling around the Senate, but this looks like the basic shape of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Someone the government says is “a member of, or part of, al-Qaida or an associated force” can be held in military custody “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” Those hostilities are currently scheduled toend the Wednesday after never. The move would shut down criminal trials for terror suspects.

But far more dramatically, the detention mandate to use indefinite military detention in terrorism cases isn’t limited to foreigners. It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority.”

An amendment that would limit military detentions to people captured overseas failed on Thursday afternoon. The Senate soundly defeated a measure to strip out all the detention provisions on Tuesday.

So despite the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to trial, the Senate bill would let the government lock up any citizen it swears is a terrorist, without the burden of proving its case to an independent judge, and for the lifespan of an amorphous war that conceivably will never end. And because the Senate is using the bill that authorizes funding for the military as its vehicle for this dramatic constitutional claim, it’s pretty likely to pass.

I seriously don’t care if you’re a liberal or a conservative or a libertarian or a Zen anarchist. So long as you aren’t Carl Levin or John McCain, the bill’s architects, you can join the Civil Liberties Caucus. Spencer writes:

Weirder still, the bill’s chief architect, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), tried to persuade skeptics that the bill wasn’t so bad. His pitch? “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States,” he said on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill would just letthe government detain a citizen in military custody, not force it to do that. Reassured yet?

Civil libertarians aren’t. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said it “denigrates the very foundations of this country.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) added, “it puts every single American citizen at risk.”

This is what I mean: Give me Rand Paul and Al Franken any day of the week over the Levins and McCains of the Senate. We need more elected officials with the sensibility of Ron Wyden or Al Franken* on the left, or Rand Paul on the right. Right and left are such shoddy, ad hoc descriptors these days anyways.

What’s truly at stake when we start talking about Big Government and such is far more dangerous and preposterous than high marginal tax rates.

We’re talking about the stripping away of our most basic freedoms. We’re talking about a potential state that can call me a terrorist for writing this blog post and then lock me up and throw away the key.

What’s the line from Batman? The night is always darkest just before the dawn. I like to think that’s true, because times seem awfully dark these days.

* Update: Actually, Franken voted for the NDAA so never mind. He’s also sponsoring the PROTECT IP Act which would clamp down on free speech online.

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[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The Democrats? How did it pass the House lacking GOP support? How did the GOP let it pass the Senate seeing that they can stop any bill they want there and have done so hundreds of times over the last couple of years? This one Mitch could not filibuster? Why?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Obama and his Brownshirts are at it again!

[Dakine10 5,452]

Obama and his Brownshirts are at it again!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Brothers from a different father?

[Dakine10 5,452]

Brothers from a different father?

They are related aren't they? Distant cousins? I can see the resemblance in those pictures.

[Ban Hammer 12,861]

The Democrats? How did it pass the House lacking GOP support? How did the GOP let it pass the Senate seeing that they can stop any bill they want there and have done so hundreds of times over the last couple of years? This one Mitch could not filibuster? Why?

Dec 1, 2011: This bill passed in the Senate with changes by Unanimous Consent. A record of each senator’s position was not kept.

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Current party standings

Democratic Party 51

Republican Party 47

Independent 2

so yeah, blame it on the minority party in the senate.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

link

Current party standings

Democratic Party 51

Republican Party 47

Independent 2

so yeah, blame it on the minority party in the senate.

I seriously don’t care if you’re a liberal or a conservative or a libertarian or a Zen anarchist. So long as you aren’t Carl Levin or John McCain, the bill’s architects, you can join the Civil Liberties Caucus.

Scoundrels come in all colors.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

link

Current party standings

Democratic Party 51

Republican Party 47

Independent 2

so yeah, blame it on the minority party in the senate.

It passed the Senate by unanimous consent. That means that the full Senate supported it. Any Senator individually and certainly the minority party collectively could have stopped this easily. Has Mitch suddenly forgotten how to filibuster a bill? But forget the Senate for a second. The Senate can vote only on spending bills that originate in the House. And so it's quite interesting that you forget to look at the huge margin by which this monster passed the House. Specifically on the GOP side where 227 votes were case for it and only 6 against. The Democrats cast 95 votes in favor and 90 against. Now tell me again how this is the Democrats wanting to enslave me.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Mr. Big Dog

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It passed the Senate by unanimous consent. That means that the full Senate supported it. Any Senator individually and certainly the minority party collectively could have stopped this easily. Has Mitch suddenly forgotten how to filibuster a bill? But forget the Senate for a second. The Senate can vote only on spending bills that originate in the House. And so it's quite interesting that you forget to look at the huge margin by which this monster passed the House. Specifically on the GOP side where 227 votes were case for it and only 6 against. The Democrats cast 95 votes in favor and 90 against. Now tell me again how this is the Democrats wanting to enslave me.

The Democrats are wanting to enslave you.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The Democrats are wanting to enslave you.

How? Why? Because you say so?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

How? Why? Because you say so?

Don't get all factual when the RWN's are busy pontificating, all problems are caused by the Dems. End of story.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Don't get all factual when the RWN's are busy pontificating, all problems are caused by the Dems. End of story.

PS the VJ'rs up in arms about this Gubm't intrusion on their rights are uniformly the same folks advocating the rights of common citizens to shoot fellow common citizens anytime the former feel the least bit threatened, go figure!

[웃 910]

If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law recently passed by the Senate currently which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Ban Hammer 12,861]

It passed the Senate by unanimous consent. That means that the full Senate supported it. Any Senator individually and certainly the minority party collectively could have stopped this easily. Has Mitch suddenly forgotten how to filibuster a bill? But forget the Senate for a second. The Senate can vote only on spending bills that originate in the House. And so it's quite interesting that you forget to look at the huge margin by which this monster passed the House. Specifically on the GOP side where 227 votes were case for it and only 6 against. The Democrats cast 95 votes in favor and 90 against. Now tell me again how this is the Democrats wanting to enslave me.

95 in favor and 90 against - that's what i'd call a majority

the senate could have rejected it - but it didn't happen - but let's fixate on the house instead for a deflection.