Activists sue Obama, others over National Defense Authorization Act

[sailingaway]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/environment/la-me-gs-activists-sue-obama-over-new-terror-laws-20120417,0,1036357.story

[Myles]

Why can't this make news?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqTjCFyhFHI&feature=plcp&context=C4bc73c8VDvjVQa1PpcFNstpiZQy8JxwX9ZwFg3Fnx Nx_Ymh3pCQY=

obama has the nerve to talk about how he decreased americas dependence on foreign oil this whole time obama has been preventing a free market while suppressing the energy source hemp that can make america completely energy independent so fast its not even funny.

[kcchiefs6465]

A coalition of well-known journalists, activists and civil libertarians have sued President Obama, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and other members of the U.S. government to push them to remove or rewrite this year’s defense appropriations bill, saying it chills speech by threatening constitutionally protected activities such as news reporting, protest and political organizing in defense of controversial causes such as the Wikileaks case.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was launched by former New York Times foreign correspondent Chris Hedges, claim that the new provisions, which went into effect March 1, not only put them at risk of arrest but also allows indefinite detentions of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, and that the provisions are too vague.
....
Plaintiffs include Hedges, Bolen, scholar Noam Chomsky, Icelandic member of parliament Birgitta Jonsdottir and Kai Wargalla, both of Revolution Truth, Alexa O’Brien of U.S. Day of Rage, and “Pentagon Papers” activist Daniel Ellsberg.

The suit demands cutting or reforming a new section in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Subsection 1021 (b)(2) allows the U.S. military to detain anyone who may have “substantially supported” terrorists or their “associated forces,” without defining what those terms mean, and to detain those individuals indefinitely, without charge, including U.S. citizens. President Obama signed the bill on the last day of the year, Dec 31, 2011, with a signing statement saying the new powers would not be used against U.S. citizens.
...
Though presidential signing statements do not have the power of law, he goes on to state: “Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administrationwill interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law."
__________________________________________________ _______________________________

For those who are dissuaded by just a link. The bullshit gives me headaches. Literally.

[Lucille]

Why I’m Suing Barack Obama (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_im_suing_barack_obama_20120116/)
By Chris Hedges


...But I suspect the real purpose of this bill is to thwart internal, domestic movements that threaten the corporate state. The definition of a terrorist is already so amorphous under the Patriot Act that there are probably a few million Americans who qualify to be investigated if not locked up. Consider the arcane criteria that can make you a suspect in our new military-corporate state. The Department of Justice considers you worth investigating if you are missing a few fingers, if you have weatherproof ammunition, if you own guns or if you have hoarded more than seven days of food in your house. Adding a few of the obstructionist tactics of the Occupy movement to this list would be a seamless process. On the whim of the military, a suspected “terrorist” who also happens to be a U.S. citizen can suffer extraordinary rendition—being kidnapped and then left to rot in one of our black sites “until the end of hostilities.” Since this is an endless war that will be a very long stay.

This demented “war on terror” is as undefined and vague as such a conflict is in any totalitarian state. Dissent is increasingly equated in this country with treason. Enemies supposedly lurk in every organization that does not chant the patriotic mantras provided to it by the state. And this bill feeds a mounting state paranoia. It expands our permanent war to every spot on the globe. It erases fundamental constitutional liberties. It means we can no longer use the word “democracy” to describe our political system.

The supine and gutless Democratic Party, which would have feigned outrage if George W. Bush had put this into law, appears willing, once again, to grant Obama a pass. But I won’t. What he has done is unforgivable, unconstitutional and exceedingly dangerous. The threat and reach of al-Qaida—which I spent a year covering for The New York Times in Europe and the Middle East—are marginal, despite the attacks of 9/11. The terrorist group poses no existential threat to the nation. It has been so disrupted and broken that it can barely function. Osama bin Laden was gunned down by commandos and his body dumped into the sea. Even the Pentagon says the organization is crippled. So why, a decade after the start of the so-called war on terror, do these draconian measures need to be implemented? Why do U.S. citizens now need to be specifically singled out for military detention and denial of due process when under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force the president can apparently find the legal cover to serve as judge, jury and executioner to assassinate U.S. citizens, as he did in the killing of the cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen? Why is this bill necessary when the government routinely ignores our Fifth Amendment rights—“No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law”—as well as our First Amendment right of free speech? How much more power do they need to fight “terrorism”?

Fear is the psychological weapon of choice for totalitarian systems of power. Make the people afraid. Get them to surrender their rights in the name of national security. And then finish off the few who aren’t afraid enough. If this law is not revoked we will be no different from any sordid military dictatorship. Its implementation will be a huge leap forward for the corporate oligarchs who plan to continue to plunder the nation and use state and military security to cow the population into submission.

Lots more at the link.

[kcchiefs6465]

Was feeling lazy at the time. A lot more should have been bolded. The reason I bolded that statement imparticular is it is fucking ridiculous to trump up the fact that NO American citizens will be detained indefinitely in Obama's administration when they have already assassinated American citizens without trial. (LET ALONE FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS) I, in no way tried to marginalize the article and it is definitely a must read for those who know we have come too far or anyone else for that matter. I guarantee if you have seen the ever-so-obvious signs coming it will make you sick. All "they" can fall back on is, "Well, this adminstration won't do it." Disgusting to say the least.

[DamianTV]

Isnt there a Law on the books somewhere that says "you can only sue the Government with the Governments Permission"? Isnt that a bit like letting the fox watch the hen house?

$NDAA == High_Crimes_and_Treason::Impeachable_Offense unless contains($__President['attributes'], "Corrupt") == true;

[jimmight]

I would have thought a realistic wind instrument would have been even more difficult than a mechanically input device like a piano. Yet, they pulled it off.