NDAA - Congress Votes Down Amendment to Eliminate Indefinite Detention

23.May.2014 | SCG


For some reason, the power to disappear people without a trial is really, really important to America's ruling class.

Here's a "which came first, the chicken or the egg" question for you: Does Congress have a 13% approval rating because of blatant abuses like the NDAA's indefinite detention provisions, and the NSA's out of control domestic spying program, or has the U.S. government been building up these powers because they know that they are unpopular, and fear that the American people may turn on them one day?

One thing we know for sure, the indefinite detention provisions which shipped in the 2012, 2013, and now the 2014 versions of the NDAA didn't slip in by accident. It was bad enough that Congress pushed the law through in the face of widespread uproar, and that Obama signed it each time when he could have easily vetoed it with a single stroke of his pen, but yesterday when they voted down an amendment proposed by Adam Smith (D-Washington), which would have done nothing but eliminate indefinite detention in the U.S. and its territories, that demonstrates that America's ruling class really, really wants this power.

Now of course, those who support the elimination of habeas corpus will tell you that this law is only for "terrorists", but that's precisely where the issue lies. Who determines if someone is a terrorist? Under the NDAA, faceless bureaucrats can make someone disappear based on a mere accusation. If you don't get your day in court, you don't get a chance to prove your innocence. Such an arrangement subjects the people to the whims of those in power.
These are the powers of a monarchy, only instead of a single throne, we have a board of directors and a CEO.
Related: What the Supreme Court Ruling to Uphold the Indefinite Detention Provisions of the NDAA Tells Us about America
It's worth noting that the way that the bill is worded, every single member of Congress and the Senate could be indefinitely detained. After all, they've been funding and arming Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria.

http://scgnews.com/ndaa-congress-vot...nite-detention