All Things
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How secure are we? – 2 Authoritarian governments have always told their subjects that the government's coercive and violent acts were necessary in order to protect the people. The inquisition protected the faithful against helpers of the Devil....
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Yes, it's a relief but… Like so many other Americans I was very afraid of four years under the leadership of a cynical, callous capitalist like Mitt Romney whose only real interest is piling up more money at the expense of American working...
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Creeping Fascism? Not too long ago President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act. Most of it concerns funding for the military but at the end there are some sections that essentially allow the military to arrest American...
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Whatever happened to the Rule of Law? About half the first ten Amendments to the Constitution have to do with the rights of persons suspected of having committed a crime. The 4th amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. If the police...
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Are Corporations Persons? In1886theUSSupremeCourtdeclaredthatcorporations—suchasGeneralElectricorGeneralMotors—werepersonsforthepurposesoftheFourteenthAmendment.Inthisview,treatingcorporationsas"persons"isaconvenientlegal fictionthatallowscorporationstosueandtobesued,thatprovidesasingleentityforeasiertaxationandregulation,thatsimplifiescomplextransactionsthatwouldotherwiseinvolve,inthecaseoflargecorporations,thousandsofpeople,andthatprotectstherightsoftheshareholders,includingtherightofassociation....
All Things
Whatis there to be afraid of?
“Irangreaterthreatasal-Quaidaslips,USsays” trumpetedaheadlineinyesterday'spaper.AtfirstIthoughtthiswasonemorecompetition:thePatriotsversustheGiants,MittRomneyversusNewtGingrich,Iranagainstal_Quaida.Iranisupinscariness;al-Quaidaisdown.Onemorehypedcompetitiontokeepusamused.
Isitalsoonemorecompetitionsetuptoconfuseusaboutrealissues,realthreats?AstheRomney– Gingrichcompetitionisorchestratedtodeceiveusaboutwhoholdstherealpower inourcountry,thiscompetition ismeanttoconfuseusabouttherealthreatstoourlibertiesandourlives.
Yesterrorismisathreat.9/11wasjustaparticularlygruesomeexampleofthat.
Buthereiswhatscaresme:MittRomneyhasreleasedthenamesofsomeofthedonorstothesuperPACsupportinghim.AmongthemisahedgefundmanagerwholastyearsupportedanadvertisingcampaignagainstbuildinganIslamiccenterneargroundzero.AlsorepresentedisaTexasbuilderwhofinancedthe“SwiftBoat” campaignagainstSen.Kerry.ThenthereisJohnPaulsonwhosoldsecuritizedsubprimemortgagesandthenbetthattheywouldfail. Also on the list isoneoftheKochbrothers,amongotherthingsanopponentofthewindpowerprojectonNantucket.Bothbrothersstandtogainheavilyfromthetranscontinental KeystoneXLoilpipeline.
ShouldRomneywin,andbethenextpresident,hewouldbesurroundedbyracists,bypeoplewho do not hesitate to stooptodirtypolitics,byotherswhoseviewsaredesignedtohastenenvironmentalArmageddon,byinvestorswhoshamelesslyenrichedthemselvesattheexpenseofmillionsofAmericans.That'ssomethingtobereallyscaredabout.
Butthereismore.
JoshuaFox,alittlewhileagomadeadocumentaryagainst“fracking.” Heisworkingonasequeltothisdocumentary.HewasintheaudiencewhenaHousesubcommitteeheldahearingabouttheEPA'sreportaboutfracking.Whenhepulledouthiscameratofilmtheproceedings,hewashandcuffedandarrested. No free speech rights for him while millionaires may literally spend a million dollars in support of their favorite political candidate. To limit that spending, the Supreme Court said, would limit their 1st Amendment rights.
Anyone who takes a picture of police in action will have the same problems as Joshua Fox. It is illegal in the Land of Abraham Lincoln to take a picture of on-duty police—especially when they beat up on people.
WemaybeworriedaboutIran,butwearegettingtobemorelikethatcountryeveryday.
Doesthatscareme?Itmakesmethinkofmoving.
AndfinallythereistheNDAA,theNationalDefenseAuthorizationAct.ThisactannuallyauthorizesthebudgetoftheDepartmentofDefense.ButhereishowCounterpoint describesthisyear'sversionoftheNationalDefenseAuthorizationAct:
“Thisyear’slegislationcontainshighlycontroversialprovisionsthatempowertheArmedForcestoengageincivilianlawenforcementandtoselectivelysuspenddueprocessandhabeascorpus,aswellasotherrightsguaranteedbythe5thand6thAmendmentstotheU.S.Constitution,forterrorsuspectsapprehendedonU.S.soil.ThefinalversionofthebillpassedtheHouseonDecember14,theSenatethefollowingday(ironically,the220thbirthdayoftheBillofRights).ItwassignedintolawbyPresidentObamaonNewYear’sEve.Withhissignature,forthefirsttimesincetheInternalSecurityActof1950andthedarkdaysoftheMcCarthyerathatfollowed,ourgovernmenthascodifiedthepowerofindefinitedetentionintolaw.”
If they call you a terrorist, the military can lock you up and throw away the key. That's just a step away from Syria where the government calls its opponents “terrorists” and bombs them in their houses and kills significant numbers of them.
The US government has a secret no-fly list of people who should not be allowed on airplanes. How do you get to be on that list? No one knows. If you are on it, can you go to court and confront your accusers? Don't hold your breath but send a contribution to the ACLU anyway. They are trying to fight this.
Worse, the government has a secret kill list. They have already assassinated two American citizens in Yemen with drone strikes. Who else is on the list? Is there a way of getting off it? Again, there is very scant information.
The Constitution and its implementation is getting a bit frayed around the edges.
For those of us who have lived under totalitarian governments, the idea of secret government lists of people to be kept off planes, out of Congressional hearing rooms, and perhaps to be killed, is profoundly frightening. The provisions of the National Defense Appropriations Act add to the fear.
When constitutional law professors, turned President, are willing to kill citizens without their day in court, and send others to the military brig indefinitely, no one is safe.
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How secure are we? – 2 Authoritarian governments have always told their subjects that the government's coercive and violent acts were necessary in order to protect the people. The inquisition protected the faithful against helpers of the Devil....
-
Yes, it's a relief but… Like so many other Americans I was very afraid of four years under the leadership of a cynical, callous capitalist like Mitt Romney whose only real interest is piling up more money at the expense of American working...
-
Creeping Fascism? Not too long ago President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act. Most of it concerns funding for the military but at the end there are some sections that essentially allow the military to arrest American...
-
Whatever happened to the Rule of Law? About half the first ten Amendments to the Constitution have to do with the rights of persons suspected of having committed a crime. The 4th amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. If the police...
-
Are Corporations Persons? In1886theUSSupremeCourtdeclaredthatcorporations—suchasGeneralElectricorGeneralMotors—werepersonsforthepurposesoftheFourteenthAmendment.Inthisview,treatingcorporationsas"persons"isaconvenientlegal fictionthatallowscorporationstosueandtobesued,thatprovidesasingleentityforeasiertaxationandregulation,thatsimplifiescomplextransactionsthatwouldotherwiseinvolve,inthecaseoflargecorporations,thousandsofpeople,andthatprotectstherightsoftheshareholders,includingtherightofassociation....