By Sam Milgrom, Washington Legislative Office at 5:52pm
The House just passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a provision to authorize worldwide war, which has no expiration date and will allow this president — and any future president — to go to war anywhere in the world, at any time, without further congressional authorization. The new authorization wouldn’t even require the president to show any threat to the national security of the United States. The American military could become the world’s cop, and could be sent into harm’s way almost anywhere and everywhere around the globe.
By Sam Milgrom, Washington Legislative Office at 1:06pm
A hugely important provision for Congress to authorize a new worldwide war has been tucked away inside the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was marked up by members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) last Wednesday that poured into Thursday morning (2:45 a.m. to be exact).
By Sam Milgrom, Washington Legislative Office at 5:01pm
You mean to tell me that it is legal for corporations from the private sector to team up with local law enforcement officials in efforts to spy on innocent members of our society? You also mean to tell me that the synthesis of law enforcement authority and the drive of for-profit companies operate under little to no guidelines or restrictions and it is unclear to whom they are responsible to?
A growing number of big-city police departments and other law enforcement agencies across the country are embracing a new system to report suspicious activities that officials say could uncover terrorism plots…
…Officers are filling out terror tips sheets if they run across activities in their routines that seem out of place, like someone buying police or firefighter uniforms, taking pictures of a power plant or espousing extremist views.
Really, taking pictures of power plants? Espousing extremist views? These actions are worthy of being written up in a daily intelligence briefing on terrorism? I never knew taking pictures of power plants was illegal or could be suspicious enough to be considered a potential terrorist threat. And last time I checked the First Amendment was still intact and protected the freedom to voice your own views.
By Sam Milgrom, Washington Legislative Office at 5:12pm
Hooray! With your help, we prevented the Senate from authorizing the president to engage in worldwide war.
For months, we have been pushing to prevent Congress from passing legislation that would give this president (and any of his successors) the authority to engage our country in a worldwide war without a defined enemy.
A couple of weeks ago, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 (NDAA), H.R. 1253. The committee recently released the official language — and the worldwide war authority provision was nowhere to be found!
The New York Times ran an editorial today that highlights the lunacy under which many members of Congress are operating as they look to authorize worldwide war. Or as the New York Times puts it, “A Conflict Without End”:
By Sam Milgrom, Washington Legislative Office at 2:57pm
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made it clear that significant changes to the detention provisions in the Defense Authorization bill are in order. In a letter to Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ), Reid told the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to fix the detention provisions in "S.1253" – the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA), a must-pass piece of legislation. Reid's letter states that he does not intend to bring the bill to the Senate floor until sections 1031, 1032, and 1033 are changed.
A hugely important provision for Congress to authorize a new worldwide war has been tucked away inside the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was marked up by members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) last Wednesday that poured into Thursday morning (2:45 a.m. to be exact).
