On this anniversary of the Bill of Rights, we are here to commemorate it’s demise
History has a habit of repeating itself whenever We The People get lazy and forget to do our duty by continuing to be vigilant
The Declaration Of Independence was not a warning to the Crown, and it was not an ultimatum
The warning had already come. And the ultimatum had already come
The Declaration was the solution
What was the complaint ?
Specifically, “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government…”
So that’s what they did. They threw off that government, and formed their own
And then The People empowered the federal government with 18 specific items known as the “Enumerated Powers” act in The US Constitution
The body of the Constitution also mentioned treason : “Treason against the United States shall consist ONLY in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of TWO Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”
Even though the language in the NDAA is as ambiguous as it is, when the NDAA says that suspicion of treason is good enough, it is CLEARLY in violation of the Constitution itself
The Founders also knew that the federal government had to be chained down in order to keep The People free, so they added the first 10 amendments (thanks to the Anti-Federalists), known as the Bill of Rights, which were meant to guarantee the rights of the people
It didn’t GIVE rights to the people, it simply guaranteed that the government can NOT take away the rights that all people are born with
Like the 4th Amendment, which states that “The rights of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall NOT be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”
The NDAA is quite obviously in violation of this amendment, with warrantless searches, warrantless GPS tracking, warrantless wiretaps, no probable cause required, no oath or affirmation, nothing but mere “suspicion” is good enough to label you a terrorist
We also have the 6th Amendment, which states that “the accused shall enjoy the the right to a speedy and PUBLIC trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of council for his defense”
By making the accusations private, and with no proof other than suspicion, and no chance to face your accuser, along with indefinite detention, the NDAA is glaringly, blatantly, and unrepentantly in violation of this amendment as well
I are here today to exercise my first amendment right of redress of grievances in the hopes that I won’t have to come back tomorrow and exercise my second amendment right
Two Congressmen represent the Capital District — Republican Chris Gibson in NY-20 and Democrat Paul Tonko in NY-21.
Gibson was elected in 2010 with tea party support, from people like Spyder.
Tonko is on the tea party’s shit list, as was evident at the raucous Bethlehem town hall in August 2009.
Gibson voted for the NDAA bill, and attempted, unsuccessfully, to defend that vote on Al Roney’s show yesterday.
Tonko voted against the NDAA bill, presumably because of its habeas corpus problems.
I doubt the NDAA vote will become a tea party litmus test, since most tea partiers, here and elsewhere, tend to vote and work for the most conservative Republicans possible.
But if NDAA were to become a litmus test, then local tea partiers would be working for Tonko and against Gibson next year.
Devtob,
The NDAA will never be a plus as far as dems are concerned, because they’ve had too many minuses on their side, but, on the other hand, Gibson now needs to prove his worthiness, which is totally questionable at this point since he voted FOR it
Don’t get your hopes up just yet, because we’ll need to find a candidate who can beat him first, and right now, I’m not seeing that happening
I don’t, and never have, voted blindly for repugs, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t vote for a dem
There needs to be a BETTER candidate than either the repug or the dem for me to do that
I COULD skip voting on that line altogether and let the chips fall where they may, but I will NOT vote for an R just because he’s got an R next to his name
Tonko got ONE vote right, I’m not buying into the idea that he’s found the Constitution
Any Gibson primary challenge from the right would be a waste of time.
So you all will have to settle for a politician who’s sometimes disappointing.
Join the club.
BTW, you must agree that Tonko got another one right in his vote against extending the Patriot Act.
Yes indeed
And I remember finding it curious at the time it happened too
As to the NDAA, why do you say “presumably” ?
The last thing I would expect from Tonko is for him to do anything to support habeas corpus, or posse comitatus, or the 4th Amendment, or, in fact ANY amendment or even a single word of the Constitution
I know for a fact that Colonel Gibson has, at least, READ the thing
Obviously, the United States Constitution was too ambiguous for him though, because he, not only voted for the damn thing, but, stood beside his logic for doing so, even though he was completely wrong, and so is everybody else who got fooled into thinking this thing was in any way a good thing
Congress should be REPEALING the fucking Patriot Act, not passing this kind of shit omnibus legislation
As much as I hate making new laws, I would be in favor of a law that was a “ONE THING AT A TIME” law, meaning, no more omnibus bills…
If you want funding for a highway, that’s one bill
If you want 100 new jet fighters, that’s one bill
No more thousand page laws that nobody reads so that they can sneak their covert freedom reduction plan onto the people
I mean, staying vigilant is one thing, but, 1,000 page bills ?
Seriously ?
How the fuck is a single citizen supposed to keep on top of that kind of shit ?
The ambiguity inherent in this legislation is cause enough for it to be voted against. That there is an argument about what it really means and allows says it is badly written and unfit for inclusion in our legal code. The two bastards from Vermont voted “yay” though with absolutely no outcry from the progressives in this state. I guess when your side violates your civil rights it’s somehow acceptable.
Spyder, I agree wholeheartedly that omnibus bills are a huge problem. The anonymous hold is another really bad idea with the same intent — to let lawmakers strongarm one another so they can slip through legislation that would never have the popular support to pass on their own, or which the electeds want to pass without taking direct responsibility for doing so.
I used to share your view on the undesirability of new laws, but I’m coming to the conclusion that the real issue is the lack of government accountability to the people, and that we should demand as many laws and regulations as are necessary to protect the peoples’ interests — which, considering the number of bad actors who are happy to exploit every gap and loophole in existing law at our expense, might be a considerable number. I don’t care about the quantity of laws as much any more, I’m just interested in making sure they’re written and enacted for the benefit of American citizens and the national interest.
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