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A bipartisan group of senators is poised to force through dramatic changes to how the US government handles suspected terrorists - over the objections of the White House and Senate Democratic leadership.
Legislative language that emerged from the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday afternoon would mandate the automatic, indefinite military detention of noncitizens apprehended in the United States who are suspected members of Al Qaeda or associated groups. The wording, which is part of a must-pass bill to fund the military, also appears to allow the indefinite military detention of citizens and legal permanent residents. The bill would also extend restrictions on transfers of detainees from Guantรกnamo Bay, though only for one year.
Obama administration officials fear that the mandatory detention provisions could force the FBI to interrupt ongoing investigations in order to hand suspected terrorists over to the military. They also worry that the new rules could interfere with the prosecution of suspected terrorists in federal courts. At a homeland security and counterterrorism conference in September, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan warned that "this approach would impose unprecedented restrictions on the ability of experienced professionals to combat terrorism." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) held up the defense funding bill in mid-October on the basis of the those objections. The latest changes to the bill appear to address some of the administration's concerns by claiming that designating an individual a terrorist "does not require the interruption of ongoing surveillance or intelligence gathering activities." But civil liberties advocates are disappointed.
"The problems with these provisions have not been fixed - they've been made worse," says Chris Anders, legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. "There is absolutely no reason for Congress to now pass legislation that would put in indefinite military detention American citizens and other suspects apprehended far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself. "
Anders also points out that it's entirely possible that the detention provisions could become more restrictive once other Senate Republicans start demanding changes to them. Reid, however, doesn't sound like he's willing to hold the bill up any further. "It hasn't been worked out to the satisfaction of everyone," Reid said of the defense bill, "but there comes a time when we have to stop negotiating and move to the legislation."
A Senate Democratic aide said that Reid was hoping to move the bill to the floor as early as next week.
"He's made no commitments on final passage until we see what comes out of the Senate, and then what comes out of the conference," the aide said. "He just wants to move the bill to the floor before Thanksgiving."
Gee, I wonder which chosen culture of bacteria decided this is a good idea. All Federal legislation, no matter what it entails, is in violation of the constitution. You cannot modify the constitution without amendment, which must be ratified by the proper percentage of the sovereign states.
There either is no Federal government in power or there is no constitution. Which is it? Quit supporting one like it is functioning as the other. Quit voting like you are making a constitutional contribution and decision. Quit acting like a democracy exists where a dictatorship clearly is in force.
My God, people, what in the name of justice and liberty, and level of opposites does it have to come down to before you actually call freedom something other than communistic oligarchy? Is it when they take your worthless and pathetic vote away? How about your pittance of property? Maybe it's just your life. That's the last thing they'll do. They've got a mass populace by the short hairs with the idea that a single vote in a mass of 350 million people is going to make a difference. They've convinced that many that there is private ownership and public accountability of its servants. The sell you the lie that you are secure while they build cages to house you in.
Your vote has no more effect than the worthless difference it has made in the last 50 election cycles. I am ashamed of America not because of its people, but because of the government those people have allowed to replace the social contract it applauds in song, flag and pledge.
It's all gone. Quit propping up a dead man's religion, namely Federalism (though there are many others) and start taking on FULL liability for yourself. If you don't do it now, you will be ill prepared for the shock of the outcome of what the crooks that have hoodwinked you have been up to, and how catastrophically your dreamland is going to be a temporary but horrible nightmare.
I want to love you all, I want to encourage you, and ensure you, and stand by you to make things better and alright. But that cannot happen as long as you fund and vote for and support the dis-ease that afflicts this society. None of it can function as it is without the support of a massive amount of people. By vote or payment or praise, it survives and thrives like the multi-tentacled life sucking cancer it is.