Obama To Get Indefinite Detention Powers Against U.S. Citizens
H/T Sodahead
Last week I wrote about a couple of traitorous additions to the Defense Authorization bill written in secret by John McCain (RINO-AZ) and Carl Levin (D-MI).
According to the ACLU and DownsizeDC.org, among other watchdog organizations, sections 1031 and 1032 of the bill give Obama—and every future president, if there are any—“the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world….The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.”
And (SURPRISE!) it turns out that Obama asked for that power himself.
How nice of our favorite backstabbing Constitution-shredding s0-called “Republican” John “Benedict Arnold” McCain to oblige him (may he rot in HELL, after losing a brutal primary fight that bankrupts him.)
But McCain wasn’t alone in his treachery.
Sen. Lindsey “Rights for Illegals, but Not American Citizens” Graham said about it on the Senate floor: “1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and it designates the world as the battlefield, including the homeland.”
It is a sad commentary on Mr. Graham–a co-sponsor of the bill–that one can’t predict if that was praise or criticism without looking at the replay. Turns out, Senator Graham thinks it’s awesome that one person the the U.S. government can pick up a phone, make a call, and make you disappear, without charges, without trial, forever.
More gullible and/or partisan members of the DNC-controlled media have been trying to insist for the past two weeks that the law doesn’t apply to Americans here, in America. And The White House was claiming that Obama was going to veto the bill if it applied to American citizens (now, not so much.) But…
“Another sponsor of the bill – Senator Levin – has also repeatedly said that the bill applies to American citizens on American soil, citing the Supreme Court case of Hamdi which ruled that American citizens can be treated as enemy combatants:
‘The Supreme Court has recently ruled there is no bar to the United States holding one of its own citizens as an enemy combatant,’ said Levin. ‘This is the Supreme Court speaking.’
Levin again stressed recently that the bill applies to American citizens, and said that it was president Obama who requested that it do so.”
I’ve tried to find out what happened to the bill in Conference Committee, but the general consensus in the Liberty blogosphere this evening seems to be that the bill is just as bad coming out of committee as it was going in.
This evening at 6:58 p.m., 90 Democrats and 193 Republicans voted AYE to give the most corrupt president in U.S. history the power to kidnap and detain Americans anywhere in the world, forever, just on the basis of his opinion that they’re terrorists.
I’m kind of at a loss for words here, which may be appropriate, since technically anything I say can now be used against me by the president of the United States.
The bill now heads back to the Senate. Now may be a good time to pick up the phone and let your Senators know what you think.
UPDATE: Here’s the web page you can use to contact your Representatives.
Thoughts? Comments? Last words? Condolences?
How did YOUR Reprehensibles Representatives vote?
© 2011, Kathleen4HB. All rights reserved.
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I have never spent as much time as I have in these last few years scrutinizing every word of every piece of crap legislation because if you miss something, you will regret it later. Never has so much effort by so many citizens have been spent on trying to keep our freedoms as we have today. I applaud you for staying on this issue. I know I certainly missed it. Keep up the great work!
I know how you feel Lombardian. And Kevin, KAthleen and all the citizen watch dogs at Hillbuzz deserve praise for taking the resonsibility and having the courage to stand for the freedom that the US constituaion and Bill of Rights grants all of US citizens. Liberals have a religious devotion to the state and they trust crooket politicains like Obama way more than they should. Others who speak against Obama while doing nothing to stop his path of destruction are as lame as the left.
I thank God for the people who believe in this nation and know why freedom loving people from around the world have flocked to our shores for over twoo hundred years. The left doesn't understand that. They are adolesant rebels without a clue. We must be the ones to lead.
No big surprise. Remember all the comparisons to that earlier Sen. from IL who became POTUS, and the suggestions that Obama might be channeling him?
I sent an e-mail to my Rep., who voted Aye, asking him to explain his vote. I made it clear to any aide who was thinking of giving me a predictable "national defense is a priority, and it is an honor to serve you in D.C." response that I will not hesitate to read said response at the next town hall meeting. I campaigned for my Rep. in 2010, and I will campaign against him at the next opportunity should I receive a generic, condescending response. I normally do not waste my time with contacting my Senators because they are both rabid liberals (one tries to present himself as a moderate, but he always votes with Harry Reid). I am going to call them (forget e-mail). Perhaps if enough of us do, this bill will die in the Senate if it does not include Rand Paul's amendment. Thank you, Kathleen, for keeping this topic current.
I listened to this yesterday. Andrew McCarthy was on one of our conservative local talk radio stations
discussing this issue. McCarthy was the prosecutor for the 1993 WTC blind sheik trial.
http://www.wibc.com/podcasts/Episodes.aspx?PID=22… 12-14-11A
My biggest surprise is that Allen West voted for it. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/see-becks-passion… I hold Mr. West in very high esteem. Does he not see the very real danger in this policy?
Hopefully Rep. West will use this law to arrest Obama and Holder and hold them in indefinite detention for acts of treason.
Sen. Mike Lee is arguing against it. http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/12/14/senator-mike-…
so does this mean everyone who made fun of "ATTACKWAAAAAAATCH!" is on this list for detention at the pResident's "discretion"?
I would not be at all surprised.
We are all on the list, at least we will be in good company. This is so disappointing, after working so hard on the 2010 elections, the GOP freshman class and the Dems who should have been outraged about this were largely silent. Hat's off to Senatosr Rand Paul and Mike Lee for speaking out and voting against this
Don't forget if, by some stretch of the imagination, we elect Ron Paul, he'll have those same powers too.
When we elect Ron Paul, what kind of message do you think it will send to our Reprehensibles in Congress? The People will have spoken and said (to both the Ruling Class and DNC-controlled media) “We’re mad as HELL and we’re not gonna take it any more.”
Electing Ron Paul will embolden the Tea Party voting block…the liberty-loving members of Congress will gut up and realize that voting for the Constitution will be the only way to keep their jobs.
It will be a beautiful thing.
I’m confident that his son Rand and perhaps Michelle Bachmann (one can hope) will immediately introduce legislation to repeal that provision (along with Obamacare), and Ron Paul will instantly sign it.
Dr. Paul is all about sending power back to the States and the People, not keeping it for himself.
Kathleen, while I philosophically support the domestic changes offered by Ron Paul, his failure to stand up for principle and put his name in the 'nay' column doesn't bode well with me. This was a pivotal opportunity for him to show the very strength of character he emphasizes, and he shrunk from it with a non-vote. How can I trust he'll stand up to Iran? Oh, never mind, he wouldn't.
The inclusion of these sections in this legislation are a travesty, especially given Obama's supporters histrionic hatred of the Patriot Act, which I now feel needs to be repealed. I was for annual renewal before, but we can't just shore up the damn by overturning this turd, we need to step back a couple of years.