We Have Crossed the Rubicon

Eric Peters Autos ^ | 12/14/2011 | Eric Peters

[JohnKinAK]

Do you suppose cows have any idea what’s coming as they’re marched down the chute? Or do they stare with bovine indifference at the tail and hind quarters in front of them, until they’re suddenly – and very briefly – startled by the man with the nail gun? Perhaps Americans will – likewise too late – ask themselves What Happened in the very near future. Perhaps just after the midnight knock comes and they are taken away into the night.

It is not an exaggeration.

America is now on the cusp of becoming a state that does exactly such things; things exactly like the things done by 20th century horror shows such as NS Germany or Stalin’s USSR. Literally. Not “this is where it might lead” or “the tendency is similar.” Exactly, literally, the same thing. The only difference is that it awaits being done on a mass scale. But the power to do it openly – brazenly – has been asserted.

And is about to be sanctified by law.

The National Defense Authorization Act will make it official. It will confer upon the executive branch and the military (increasingly, the same things) the permanent authority to snatch and grab any person, U.S. citizens included, whom it decrees to be a “terrorist” – as defined or not by the executive or the military - and imprison them, indefinitely, without formal charge, presentation of evidence or judicial proceeding of any kind. These “detainees” will have neither civilian rights in the civil court system, nor – crucially – even the minimal rights to due process and decent treatment conferred upon prisoners of war. (And we are allegedly “at war,” are we not?)

The language of the bill specifically includes American citizens “caught” within the borders of the United States – aka, the “battlefield.” It is claimed by sponsors that only those awful them – you know, the enemies of freedom The Chimp and his successors like to reference as they systematically gut our freedoms – need worry. But read the actual document, and be afraid. The wording is such that any shyster lawyer for the government will be able to draw up a memorandum at some point in the near future equating, say, criticism of the federal government’s policies in the Middle East with “substantially supporting” the enemies of the United States. As defined by the United States.

That is, as defined by the government. At its whim. At the personal discretion of whomever happens to be the Maximum Leader, or even one of the ML’s duly appointed minions.

As the always excellent Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone recently observed, what happens when some nutjob who attended a few Tea Party meetings tries to bomb a federal building? Will the Tea Party itself – and anyone who “substantially supports” it be thus transformed into an “enemy combatant”? How about the OWS protestors? How about this web site – and this author – which have on several occasions called bullshit on the federal government’s usurpations and follies? How hard will it be, really, to describe such actions – such thoughts expressed in an article or an interview – as “substantially supporting” whatever the government decides amounts to “terrorism” or the threat thereof against itself?

Surely, the door is now wide open for such an interpretation by some John Woo or Dick Cheney waiting in the wings. Prospective jefe Newtie is practically turgid at the prospect of getting his hands on such power. And there is no longer (or soon won’t be) any legal means available to contest a one-way trip to Treblinka in Topeka – or wherever it is they will send you.

Taibbi writes:

“The really galling thing is that this act specifically envisions American citizens falling under the authority of the bill. One of its supporters, the dependably-unlikeable Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, bragged that the law ‘basically says … for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield’ and that people can be jailed without trial, be they ‘American citizen or not.’ New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte reiterated that ‘America is part of the battlefield.’ ”

Graham further stated:

“It is not unfair to make an American citizen account for the fact that they decided to help Al Qaeda to kill us all and hold them as long as it takes to find intelligence about what may be coming next. And when they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them, ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer.’ ”

The key thing being, it is entirely up to the government to decide what constitutes “helping” al Qaeda. It can be nothing more than a vague assertion. Indeed, no evidence of any kind whatsoever is necessary to “hold them as ling as it takes” in order to “find intelligence” (not defined, either) by any means it wishes to employ.

As Taibbi notes:

“If these laws are passed, we would be forced to rely upon the discretion of a demonstrably corrupt and consistently idiotic government to not use these awful powers to strike back at legitimate domestic unrest.”

The Fuhrer (oops, President Obama) is about to sign this latter-day Enabling act and when he does, it will mark the moment that America’s coffin is nailed shut. The corpse has been on view since 9/11. But there was always some hope that, perhaps, it might be jolted back into life. Now we know the awful truth. Death is permanent.

And it’s coming for us. Throw it in the Woods?

[JohnKinAK]

This commentary is spot on. I am seriously considering supporting Paul, as how can I not now view my own Govt as enemy #1 to my Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness; and not some foreign power like Iran.

[tflabo]

Rubicon = Conned by Republicans? (the GOP elitist variety)

[Uncle Ike]

Related thread supporting the author’s thesis...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2820967/posts

[stockpirate]

The Obama justice department has said if you are a terrorist you have given up your citizenship. That my friend is how they get around it.

[DownInFlames]

You are a terrorist if they deem so. All it will take is a stroke of a pen by the POTUS, then a phone call or two then it will be set in motion for you or yor neighborhood.

[Yardstick]

Here the writer reveals himself as either ignorant, stupid, or a liar:

...nor – crucially – even the minimal rights to due process and decent treatment conferred upon prisoners of war. (And we are allegedly “at war,” are we not?)

And here we really see his true colors:

...you know, the enemies of freedom The Chimp and his successors like to reference as they systematically gut our freedoms

I'll pass on this garbage.

[Alex Murphy]

America is now on the cusp of becoming a state that does exactly such things; things exactly like the things done by 20th century horror shows such as NS Germany or Stalin’s USSR. Literally. Not “this is where it might lead” or “the tendency is similar.” Exactly, literally, the same thing. The only difference is that it awaits being done on a mass scale. But the power to do it openly – brazenly – has been asserted.

And is about to be sanctified by law.

The National Defense Authorization Act will make it official. It will confer upon the executive branch and the military (increasingly, the same things) the permanent authority to snatch and grab any person, U.S. citizens included, whom it decrees to be a “terrorist” – as defined or not by the executive or the military - and imprison them, indefinitely, without formal charge, presentation of evidence or judicial proceeding of any kind. These “detainees” will have neither civilian rights in the civil court system, nor – crucially – even the minimal rights to due process and decent treatment conferred upon prisoners of war. (And we are allegedly “at war,” are we not?)

Ping for later

[Ancesthntr]

I agree that the commentary is spot-on. But this is, after all, just a law (or will be when Zero signs it). It can be challenged in court, and because its prospective effect is so drastic (life imprisonment without charge or review), I have to believe that it’d be struck down.

Meantime, let’s toss out a few targeted Congresscritters that voted for this - starting with the sponsors.

[savagesusie]

It is the difference between God’s Law or Man’s Law. Zero kicked God out of the military with his forced abomination into the military. We no longer have a military with the Christian morality necessary for our Freedom and Natural Rights from God.

We eliminated God and force reeducation into muslim sodomy morality—We eliminate Rule of Law—the idea that there is a Supra Positive Law—God’s Law higher than man’s arbitrary law.

We now are just like Russian/Nazi governments—God is not allowed—so neither will His morality...it is the morality of Barney Franks and Stalin and Hitler now. Pure evil.

Nuremberg Laws are next.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Better roll up your sleeves. Its more than a few congress critters. I believe 286 to be exact so that is going to include a significant number of republicans. Did you ever believe you would live to see the republican party overwhelmingly vote to allow the govt to snatch US citizens off the street and confine them indefinitely without benefit of legal cousel or a court hearing?

Never doubt that the Republicans love power and control as much as the Democrats. Its a two headed snake. The only thing standing between us and a tyrannical police state is the 2nd ammendment and 90 million gun owners. At some point the american public is going to say enough and then the dance will begin.

[Travis McGee]

CW2 Ping

“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.” ― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

[CodeToad]

The age of rebellion is upon us. Wars are not started by misfits. They are started through necessity of aggression forced upon the people.

[Noumenon]

Nuremberg Laws are next.

With civil war to follow.

[Noumenon]

Solzhenitsyn understood this all too well. A lesson that many of us will learn only after it’s far too late. For those of us who have been paying attention, we have a pretty good idea as to what’s coming next.

As for our erstwhile rulers, hey’re going to have to pay for what they think they’re going to get.

[Chode]

UP!!!

come to my house in the middle of the night to serve me a Bullsh!t warrant and you'll get shot for your trouble!

of course, you takes yer chances of serving me a Bullsh!t warrant in the daytime too...

the Doc's give me ten years more or less so i don't really have that much to lose

[COBOL2Java]

I'll pass on this garbage.

Same exact place where I stopped reading.

[TLI]

A few thoughts from some guys that ought to know or actually lived through it.

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
JFK

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell

“When all government, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the Center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.”
Thomas Jefferson

.

[fr_freak]

And here we really see his true colors:

Yeah, I almost stopped there, too. But, to be fair, there is this line at the end:

"The Fuhrer (oops, President Obama) is about to sign this latter-day Enabling act and when he does, it will mark the moment that America’s coffin is nailed shut. "

[CodeToad]

To secure peace, prepare for war. (various people through the ages)

To not be hunted, be the hunter. (me)

[sport]

I was listening to Snitt, Shit, or whatever he calls himself today on WFLA. Essentially, he was praising obama and Graham for being in favor of and pushing this law. He thinks that it will only be used against islamic terrorists. I don't think he actually believes this, but this was what he was saying.

You, me, and every other Conservative knows who this law is aimed at. Us.