There has been considerable confusion over the past few hours as to whether the Senate — which passed the National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2012) — included a last-minute “waiver” to protect American citizens from some of the bill’s more outrageous and fascist elements, including the right of the US government to detain citizens — even those on American soil, and not charged with a crime — indefinitely in military prison. This means that peaceful protesters could be rounded up, dishonestly labeled as potential terrorists or “suspicious,” and imprisoned for life without a trial or attorney. This means that federal military personnel would be patrolling our streets, literally signaling the end of our free republic.
The offending section of the NDAA has been compared to the internment camps the US government ran during World War II, except this time around it will be Ron Paul supporters, Tea Party members, and young Occupy Wall Street organizers in the detainment camps.
It doesn’t matter if a last-minute waiver is in the bill; the offending portions are currently worded so vaguely, that any US citizen can be considered a “terrorist” or an aid to terroristic activity. Any US citizen who is inconvenient to the US government can be detained and silenced.
Also, the intent was extremely bad here — Sens. John McCain, Carl Levin, and Lindsey Graham INTENDED for this bill to redefine the US homeland as a “battlefield” (Graham’s words, not mine), allowing the revocation of even our most basic civil rights and access to due process.
When the intent is bad, an intentionally vague section of the NDAA can be interpreted by authorities in the worst possible way. The whole bill must be thrown out, except for key parts to continue military operations and crucial funding of our armed forces.
Let me remind you that this is not a drill. This is not an inflammatory blogger’s post. This actually happened, and with the Senate’s passage of this bill, it is very close to becoming law. The US mainstream media is not covering this AT ALL, as I pointed out in a recent column. The only source for even remotely accurate information right now is on the social networks, especially Twitter — this reminds me of something you’d experience in Iran or Syria, not in America.
The best CNN has done, for example, is to mention there’s been some “controversy” about new “detainee rights” outlined in the National Defense Authorization Act.
The network neglects to tell its readers and viewers that “detainee” now means American citizen. This is chilling. Americans now have the same rights as random enemy combatants in Afghanistan. Your government is now treating you as it’d treat a member of the Taliban. Congress has committed treason against the American people.
Up until now, no matter how much (or how little) wealth you had… no matter how much or little education and influence you had… every American was at least guaranteed a freedom from fear: your government could not come in the middle of the night with military non-police forces, without charge, and take you away.
If the National Defense Authorization Act clears the House and is not vetoed by President Obama, that will no longer be true. None of us will be safe. And you won’t be given access to a trial or a lawyer.
The media is not telling the public about this bill, which means you have to, before your right to speak out disappears. Tell everyone. This cannot be allowed to stand. This is still the United States of America. And any senator who voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act in its current form should be forced to resign from public office immediately. They’ve crafted a bill that turns America’s military against its own people and suspends habeas corpus.
