December 16, 2011
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There are moments in America when our freedoms depend on the willingness of a President to act firmly and decisively to sustain our fundamental values. This is one of those moments.
As I write this, the Defense Authorization bill is on its way to President Obama's desk. The bill contains dangerous, sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provisions.
Leading members of Congress have already indicated that they believe that these provisions could be used by this and any future president to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial — even American citizens and others picked up within the borders of the United States.
According to reports, the President's advisors are recommending that he not veto this legislation despite earlier promises to do so. We need to tell the President to listen to the American people.
President Obama must veto indefinite detention. Urge him to uphold the freedoms and values we cherish. (Do not forward: This link will open a page with your information already filled in.)
The ACLU and countless supporters like you worked hard to prevent this indefinite detention provision from making it into the National Defense Authorization Act in the first place. But now that it has, we must do everything in our power to stop it.
If we fail, this great nation will become a place where no one will ever be completely safe. Because once America has flouted basic rights like due process and a fair trial, what's next? We can't let "innocent until proven guilty" become "innocent unless suspected otherwise."
We cannot allow our leaders to cross that dangerous line. The future of American freedom rests in President Obama's hands. Let's make sure he’s holding a veto stamp.
Tell President Obama you’re counting on him to veto indefinite detention and uphold the freedoms and values America was built on.
This moment will decide the course our nation takes for years to come. You and the ACLU have prevailed over far-reaching threats before, but this one is going to take all of us.
Thank you for doing your part.
Laura W. Murphy
Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
Comments (2)
It's so chilling on freedom of expression too. People will have to be careful what they say or write about. Anyone could just be arrested on a whim. I can't figure out why Obama wouldn't veto this.
This scope of this law is chicken-feed compared to the one they enacted in Canada, but only really applied in Québec and the francophone parts of Acadie, in 1970 (War Measures Act). I'll grant you that in the U.S. it would be for a much longer period of time and applied across the land. On the other hand, we were not facing then a worldwide bunch of Islamist freaks gone on a civilization destruction spree, but only around 10 or 20 young naive idealists who thought way too much of themselves. Most today are back in society, in respectable jobs like publishing editors and the likes. But what this event told us, it's that if you give special powers to any police organization "in case something happens", sooner or later they will use them, whether something happens or not. Eventually, these laws are used for other purposes, like making razzias in protestor movements locals, or NGOs which try to help people and have conflicting views on social matters with the current administration (the Executive in the U.S), something impossible to do under regular laws. They will use the term "apprehended events" to justify their using those laws, as they did here. The ACLU has every reason in the world to be deeply worried. If it could happen right next door, in this supposedly highly democratic country which some imprudently call "le plusse meilleur pays au monde", it sure can happen on its own side of the border.
All I can say is that when some journalist will ask Obama or one of his successors how far he'd be willing to go and he replies "Just watch me", you'll know you are in deep democratic and human rights 'mierda' up to your eyeballs, because it will simply be the replay of an old movie -> http://www.tagtele.com/videos/voir/11560, a replay made possible because of those laws. (they call it 'inquisition' on that site - it'd be cute if 400 civilians having nothing to do with terrorism had not been savagely shoved in jail with no warrant, at the time). Heads of State are not all clueless ignorants like Dubbya. Some are highly intelligent and learned, and therefore all the more dangerous. One could become President. Mind you, if the past is any indication (Irak, 2003), maybe it's just bonnet blanc/blanc bonnet all things considered. The main difference here being that what has (and still is) been done abroad would now also be done at home.
I can't figure out Bradley Manning. Either he's a fluke, or he's a National Hero. I lean for the second. Either way, he's cute. Well was, on the last pic of him I've seen. In his case however, I'm not sure they waited for a new law to Orwell his brains a little.
I read today in my paper that in Switzerland in 2006, there were sufficient antiatomic shelters to house 114% of the population, push comes to shove on these matters. Those were apparently mandatory under construction codes. This info would come from a Swiss government site dedicated to expats. So I guess you are all set and ready for the big Mayan Hooplah forecasted for next December.
Have a Happy New Year, and a nice 2012, well up to November at least. After, ¿Quien lo sé?
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