Historic NDAA Battle Underway: TV Networks Silent
As reported earlier today, “The White House has filed an appeal in hopes of reversing a federal judge’s ruling that bans the indefinite military detention of Americans because attorneys for the president say they are justified to imprison alleged terrorists without charge.
Manhattan federal court Judge Katherine Forrest ruled in May that the indefinite detention provisions signed into law late last year by US President Barack Obama failed to ‘pass constitutional muster’ and ordered a temporary injunction to keep the military from locking up any person, American or other, over allegations of terrorist ties. On Monday, however, federal prosecutors representing President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta filed a claim with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes of eliminating that ban.”
If you’re new to this whole thing — that’s okay, the major U.S. television networks appear to be running an actual blackout on this court case today (I’ve been begging them for 8 months now to cover NDAA in-depth) — the key point is this: alleged terrorists. […]
Once you allow for imprisonment without trial on suspicion alone — a practice we see in some of the most oppressive regimes on Earth — you create a VERY slippery slope where anyone who disagrees with the government, anyone who attends a peaceful afternoon protest or politically-minded cookout, and anyone who sleeps with a TSA agent’s ex-girlfriend might be at risk of unimaginable injustice. It also creates a chilling effect within the media. Our journalists are lazy enough without letting them know that covering controversial issues could result in their black-bagging and imprisonment. They’ll stop doing journalism altogether.
Americans shouldn’t have to fear their own government. They shouldn’t have to fear being taken in the night. Things like right to trial and due process are at the very bedrock of our way of life. I’d like to see it stay that way.
This!!!
