by Smitty
Apparently the ACLU is feeling stretched by the Defense Authorization Bill, emphasis original:
The Defense Authorization bill is now on the Senate floor with troubling provisions that would give the President — and all future presidents — the authority to indefinitely imprison people, without charge or trial, both abroad and inside the United States and would mandate military detention of some civilians who would otherwise be outside of military control. The indefinite detention without charge or trial provisions are so harmful that the Obama White House has threatened to veto the bill if they are not removed from it.
#OccupyWallStreet, that fount of reliability, says:
The Udall amendment, eliminates these unconstitutional elements. Supporters of the National Defense Authorization Act: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”
Past the heavy breathing, Udall’s site offers a link to the amendment in question, which looks straightforward, for a quick glance.
National defense is a no-kidding Constitutional job of the POTUS. We can and do argue that #OccupyResoluteDesk is shanking that job into fail bunker more or less daily.
And yet, the POTUS is given that power to protect and enhance liberty. We have a Bill of Rights intended to prevent overachievement. To prevent allergic reactions to healthy citizens from our Executive immune system, if you will.
After the Stupor Committee fiasco, the politics get flakier still. The President appears to sound like he’ll reject additional power. Yet power seems to be what BHO understands. The Stupor Committee gambit raised the debt ceiling early this year, pointed a spear at the heart of military funding, and provided finger pointing opportunities, so that #OccupyResoluteDesk can claim to run against a broken Congress.
Is there something like that afoot here? We really do not want the federal government doing any more policing inside the country than is already going on. Expanding federal power means admitting that state and local government are impotent. Also impotent: our Ruling Class, for demagoguing their way down the Greecy slope.
The Underpants Gnome theory of this Administration seems to be:
- Trigger crisis.
- Demagogue crisis to advantage.
- ???
- Profit (albeit not yours).
I really can’t tell what the preferred answer is here. What I do know is that whatever pleases BHO least is likely to be most in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.
via Troglopundit
