sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
I am writing this from the heart. Full of Emotion. Please excuse any typos or grammatical mistakes. My eyes are tearing as I write.
I just can't believe it.....
Our Congress has voted to take away our rights to a speedy trial, a jury of our peers, and our right to have a trial in our local area.
They have passed a bill that will let the military come to our homes take us away and lock us up, without a trial - for years.
These provisions are buried in the huge National Defense Authorization Act. A secret conference committee of selected Senators and Congresspeople are crafting the final form of the bill to be passed by both houses and then be sent to President Obama for signature. From the ACLU:
"Behind Closed Doors: Congress Trying to Force Indefinite Detention Bill on Americans
The Senate voted last Thursday to pass S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would authorize the president to send the military literally anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.
Now, the NDAA and its House equivalent are in conference committee. The chairmen and ranking members of the Armed Services Committee — known as "the Big Four" — have been having one secret meeting after another over the past few days to quickly write a final bill. Three congressmen of the Big Four are responsible for writing the indefinite detention provisions."
The ACLU is not the only group that is against this bill in its current form. This from Amnesty International:
"In summary, once the NDAA becomes law a US citizen on US soil can lawfully be killed by the US military if the military believes that citizen to be a terrorist affiliated with Al Qaeda or its allies.
The key word in that last sentence was “believes.” In the past ten years our intelligence hasn’t been that good. You may we recall we invaded Iraq because our intelligence indicated that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. He didn’t. No small mistake that."
This is shocking and will have a Chilling Effect on all segments of society.
Who is a terrorist exactly?
Title 22 of the U.S. Code, Section 2656f(d)(2) defines terrorism "the term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents;"
This is where the word "believes" is important. You do not have to take any violent action to be detained by the military - without charges being filed against you or a trial being scheduled - if anyone in the government "believes" you may be a terrorist.
Again from the ACLU:
"No corner of the world, not even your own home, would be off-limits to the military. And there is no exception for American citizens. Section 1031 — one of the indefinite detention provisions — of the Senate-approved version of the NDAA has no limitations whatsoever based on geography, duration or citizenship. And the entire Senate bill was drafted in secret, with no hearing, and with committee votes behind closed doors.
I'm not sure which was more surprising — that the majority of senators ignored the pleas of countless constituents, or that they also ignored every top national security official opposed to the provisions. Opposition to the detention provisions came from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, CIA Director David Petraeus, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, White House Advisor for Counterterrorism John Brennan, and DOJ National Security Division head Lisa Monaco. The Senate ignored them all."
So how does this affect public health? Well...who is going to disagree with anything that the government says if this law is passed and enacted?
It was very apparent to me at two Department of Health and Human Services media events, that I attended in Washington D.C., that the Department of Homeland Security considered a pandemic to be a threat to the United States. Not only the disease itself, but also the social disruption due to potential delays in the supply chains i.e. food and medicine. In the last pandemic we did not agree with the US official government position in several areas. One is schools. As parents we think schools should be closed when local public health authorities determine there is a public health threat. Another area where we disagree is vaccination. We are 100% against forced vaccinations for health care workers.
What will happen if we do not publish the mantra of the US government? How do we publish, analyze, critique, discuss any threatening disease or disaster situation in the United States now if the President signs this bill in its present form?
Do we even try?
I never imagined that our own elected officials would pass such a bill. It will take years for the US federal courts to sort out this mess.
I can only hope that the President will veto this bill and/or the United States federal judges will uphold the U.S. constitution:
4th Amendment: "The right 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."
6th Amendment: "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."
A very, very sad situation for freedom, democracy, and the human spirit.
I just can't believe it.....
Our Congress has voted to take away our rights to a speedy trial, a jury of our peers, and our right to have a trial in our local area.
They have passed a bill that will let the military come to our homes take us away and lock us up, without a trial - for years.
These provisions are buried in the huge National Defense Authorization Act. A secret conference committee of selected Senators and Congresspeople are crafting the final form of the bill to be passed by both houses and then be sent to President Obama for signature. From the ACLU:
"Behind Closed Doors: Congress Trying to Force Indefinite Detention Bill on Americans
The Senate voted last Thursday to pass S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would authorize the president to send the military literally anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.
Now, the NDAA and its House equivalent are in conference committee. The chairmen and ranking members of the Armed Services Committee — known as "the Big Four" — have been having one secret meeting after another over the past few days to quickly write a final bill. Three congressmen of the Big Four are responsible for writing the indefinite detention provisions."
The ACLU is not the only group that is against this bill in its current form. This from Amnesty International:
"In summary, once the NDAA becomes law a US citizen on US soil can lawfully be killed by the US military if the military believes that citizen to be a terrorist affiliated with Al Qaeda or its allies.
The key word in that last sentence was “believes.” In the past ten years our intelligence hasn’t been that good. You may we recall we invaded Iraq because our intelligence indicated that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. He didn’t. No small mistake that."
This is shocking and will have a Chilling Effect on all segments of society.
Who is a terrorist exactly?
Title 22 of the U.S. Code, Section 2656f(d)(2) defines terrorism "the term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents;"
This is where the word "believes" is important. You do not have to take any violent action to be detained by the military - without charges being filed against you or a trial being scheduled - if anyone in the government "believes" you may be a terrorist.
Again from the ACLU:
"No corner of the world, not even your own home, would be off-limits to the military. And there is no exception for American citizens. Section 1031 — one of the indefinite detention provisions — of the Senate-approved version of the NDAA has no limitations whatsoever based on geography, duration or citizenship. And the entire Senate bill was drafted in secret, with no hearing, and with committee votes behind closed doors.
I'm not sure which was more surprising — that the majority of senators ignored the pleas of countless constituents, or that they also ignored every top national security official opposed to the provisions. Opposition to the detention provisions came from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, CIA Director David Petraeus, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, White House Advisor for Counterterrorism John Brennan, and DOJ National Security Division head Lisa Monaco. The Senate ignored them all."
So how does this affect public health? Well...who is going to disagree with anything that the government says if this law is passed and enacted?
It was very apparent to me at two Department of Health and Human Services media events, that I attended in Washington D.C., that the Department of Homeland Security considered a pandemic to be a threat to the United States. Not only the disease itself, but also the social disruption due to potential delays in the supply chains i.e. food and medicine. In the last pandemic we did not agree with the US official government position in several areas. One is schools. As parents we think schools should be closed when local public health authorities determine there is a public health threat. Another area where we disagree is vaccination. We are 100% against forced vaccinations for health care workers.
What will happen if we do not publish the mantra of the US government? How do we publish, analyze, critique, discuss any threatening disease or disaster situation in the United States now if the President signs this bill in its present form?
Do we even try?
I never imagined that our own elected officials would pass such a bill. It will take years for the US federal courts to sort out this mess.
I can only hope that the President will veto this bill and/or the United States federal judges will uphold the U.S. constitution:
4th Amendment: "The right 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."
6th Amendment: "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."
A very, very sad situation for freedom, democracy, and the human spirit.
