NDAA: Message in a Bottle
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 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 the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence
As the nation prepared to bid adieu to 2011on News Years Eve, President Obama signed into Law, the National Defense Authorization Act. The annual events share the similarities of an ensuing next day hangover; of which 2012 may prove to be crippling.
I have a proclivity of incorporating my personal life with subconsciously associating the TV news into my dreams. This is my recollection of that confluence in the dream state…
I was straightening up, gathering empty beverage containers from the New Years Eve bash the night before. In the dream, I discovered a message in one of the empty bottles.
The NDAA note read; $662 Billion in National defense and interest abroad; DOD healthcare, counter-terrorism, military modernization. It also imposes economic sanctions on Iran, military capabilities on China, Russia and Iran.
The mind-numbing dysfunction of my hangover then erupted as what was to follow next jumped off the page…
…Detention provisions include U.S. citizens on American Soil which may be held indefinitely. Well, that did the trick, now I’m sober, but now the hangover has evolved into a migraine.
At that moment, the thought occurred to me, if only our elected officials could take some kind of oath to uphold, protect and defend the Constitution. I decided I should be sending out an S.O.S.; a message in the bottle of my own, in the event someone discovers it whilst straightening up their dream state.
Before reaching the White House desk, here’s a look at the box score from Congress:
H R 1540 RECORDED VOTE 14-Dec-2011 6:58 PM
QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Conference Report
BILL TITLE: To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes
Republican 190 43 8
Democratic 93 93 6
Independent
TOTALS 283 136 14
Link to Individual House Members Vote: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll932.xml
HR 1540 - Voting Record Conference Report Adopted (Senate)
Date: Dec. 15, 2011 Yea: 86 Nay: 13
Link to Individual Senate Members Vote: http://www.votesmart.org/bill/votes/37472
Statement by the President on H.R. 1540
The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it. In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists
“My administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens … Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a nation,” wrote Obama.
