A bill even bigger and worse than the PATRIOT Act is waiting in the wings for American citizens. It’s called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 (S. 1253) and has received less coverage than the true amount of radiation levels at Fukishima, and can prove to be as lethal.
Talk about the PATRIOT Act, just wait until you wrap your eyeballs around sections 1031, 1032, 1033, and 1036 of this killer bill. It’s so unjust that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote a letter about its many dangers to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 1 of this year.
It was addressed to the chairman of the committee, the “Honorable” Patrick Leahy, and ranking member of the committee, the “Honorable” Charles Grassley who spoke out strongly against the bill.
The title of the four-page letter itself reveals the notorious nature of this legislation: “Judiciary Committee Should Assert Its Jurisdiction Over Those Aspects of the Detention Authority Provisions in S. 1253, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Sections 1031, 1032, and 1036), That Affect Civilians Who Are Otherwise Outside of Military Control, Including Civilians Within the United States Itself.” It’s not catchy but its proposals could harm you quite a bit.
The provisions in it, if acted upon, would give the federal government the complete power to jail civilians, including American citizens, indefinitely, and with no charges or trial. This would include individuals caught inside and/or outside the United States. This bill hands the federal government the power to detain American citizens for their whole lives without a single charge. If that doesn’t take your breath away, you’re probably already gone.
And, as you may know, the federal government okays murders of American citizens abroad based on the decision of a non-legislated, secret death panel within the National Security Council. This would be the first time since 1950 that Congress will have explicitly authorized indefinite detention of Americans without charges or a trial.
By the way, this provision includes people who had absolutely nothing to do with the WTC attacks on September 11, 2001, or taking part in any hostilities whatsoever that would mandate their military detention. This includes civilians arrested within the United States who would otherwise be outside of military control and transfers all responsibilities concerning them to the Department of Defense.
So, say goodbye to the Department of Justice Criminal Division, National Security Division, the United States Attorneys, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Prisons, Marshals Service and/or state attorneys general handling of the prosecutorial, investigative, law enforcement, penal and custodial authority. The Department of Defense would handle it all. Control would be taken out of the hands of civilians and put into the iron grip of the American military, which amounts to a military coup of our ersatz justice system.
All the military would have to do is classify you as a terrorist. There would be no need for actual charges or taking part in hostilities. You could be locked up indefinitely for any reason or no reason at all if the Department of Defense saw fit under the NDAA. It’s enough to make you throw up. Pass the bucket.
In fact, this is fundamentally so un-American that the ACLU writes the provisions are “inconsistent with fundamental American values embodied in the Constitution and in the country’s adherence to the rule of law.” The United States of America, if you’re not listening, is the country we’re talking about. These provisions of the NDAA are so radical that they wipe out most of the protections American citizens have had since 1878 under the Posse Comitatus Act and the Non-Detention Act of 1971.
Section 1031 of S. 1253 would mark the first time in over 60 years that our dubious representatives in Washington would allow indefinite detention of American citizens without any charges or trial without Congressional authorization. Since 1971 the Non-Detention Act has stipulated, “No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress” but S. 1253 could make that landmark legislation a thing of the past.
The ACLU points out that while Subsection 1031(c) of S. 1253 claims that it doesn’t apply to lawful residents of the United States or citizens “on the basis of conduct taking place within the United States except to the extent permitted by the Constitution.” This language leaves some glaring loopholes in place. If the government’s actions of late are any indicator, we can expect these loopholes to be taken advantage of in every possible way.
That is, just as the federal government has used the PATRIOT Act’s so-called “Sneak-and-Peek,” or delayed notice, warrants were issued for over 1,600 drug cases and only 15 cases of terrorism in 2006–2009, we can expect the government to use S. 1253 for detaining people for completely illegitimate reasons. Tag, you’re under arrest for life.
These loopholes allow suspects to be imprisoned without charge or trial, including citizens or lawful residents who are suspected of some sort of wrongdoing outside of the United States. It’s the ubiquitous arrest bill. And you can’t bill your bail to American Express no matter your max. You’re there to stay.
The creepiest aspect of it all is that the deciding factor in determining if an individual can be detained forever is not any proof of guilt, but instead entirely by over-the-top officials of the executive branch, which, according to the ACLU would be “following some future agency regulations.” It’s 1984 and more, much more. Orwell must be turning over in his grave.
It’s reminiscent, too, of the unlegislated death panel that resulted in the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old son, leaving it up to the executive (read president) who may live, who dies, without any guidelines whatsoever. You’re toast on his or her okay.
Bottom line, it’s a real eye-opener to see how hard the federal government is attempting to push us beyond a dictatorship to a zombie totalitarian state, providing no legal protection whatsoever from being locked up with no hope of a fair trial or even charges. If this draconian bill is passed, any citizen can become a military prisoner for the rest of his or her life. No fun at all, scary as hell. So say “no” loud and clear it to your representatives.
Jerry Mazza is a freelance writer, life-long resident of New York City. An EBook version of his book of poems “State Of Shock,” on 9/11 and its after effects is now available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. He has also written hundreds of articles on politics and government as Associate Editor of Intrepid Report (formerly Online Journal). Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.
Update: The NDAA was approved this morning in the Senate by a majority of traitors: 88-12. If you were planning to move to the moon, now would be a good time to do it. The last chance for passage is if Obama chooses to use his Veto power to override the Senate. Call the White House and ask him to do it, and tell everyone you know.
Jerry Mazza.