I really haven’t been paying enough attention lately, because I didn’t know about the National Defense Authorization Act until it was already passed by Congress. There might be many fine points in this bill, and spending on military is one area where I don’t quibble too much with government spending. But some have argued that this bill gives the government the right to detain American citizens indefinitely.
Yes, I’m sure indefinite detentions could make America a much safer country. If we were all locked in rooms with the government monitoring our every move, crime would abate. But this is one of those bills that make me question if the essence of America is irretrievably gone.
Indefinitely detaining even non-Americans is wrong, not leastways because of where it has led us. It makes me sad that Al Franken and I agree on this issue, or any issue. And what the hell happened to all the Tea Party constitutional conservatives that went to Congress? I can only hope that we will read about this bill in our history books like we read of the Alien and Sedition Acts of old, with disbelief and shame of an egregious national error.
FemCon3 