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Hedges writes: "Last week, round one in the battle to strike down the onerous provision, one that saw me joined by six other plaintiffs including Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg, ended in an unqualified victory for the public."

Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges. (photo: Truthdig)
Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges. (photo: Truthdig)

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+42 # oldibtgdy 2012-09-17 11:28
This, of all things Obama, simply mystifies me. It seems so totally outside the possible for this guy. There must be something brewing they think will require this outrageous provision. Or, holdovers in the JD are feeding the administration a boatload of hooey justifying the need for such an unconstitional thing. I've been held in jail on made-up charges. It ain't no fun, Jesse. To be held indefinitely, with no right of habeus corpus --- like quantanimo --- way too much like '50s Soviet Union. The realization that you can just "disappear" --- a whole new level of consciousness.
 
 
+38 # Raksha 2012-09-17 16:11
Unfortunately, this doesn't seem outside the possible to me at all. This assault on the Constitution is what I've come to expect from the Obama administration, and especially from Obama's so-called Justice Department. I don't know why so many liberals seem oblivious to the fact that Obama's record on human rights and civil liberties is every bit as abominable as Bush's, and in some ways worse. Chris Hedges and his co-plaintiffs definitely get it that without habeas corpus there *IS* no democracy. I am so grateful to him for fighting this battle for all of us, including those who are oblivious to the fact that their rights are under unprecedented assault. Sometimes it seems as though they aren't going to wake up at all until they wake up in Gitmo.
 
 
+27 # SMoonz 2012-09-17 14:55
Once again Obama fights to keep the Indefinite Detention clause in. When are people going to wake up and realize we are being lied to. The signing statement was a joke. It is honestly depressing hearing other Democrats giving blind support despite his betrayal.
 
 
0 # lexy677 2012-09-18 02:08
Who should Americans support? If you think Romney and the Republicans; who started all this in the first place under Bush would; would do better, you are mistaken. For the public its become "damned if you do and damned if you don't. I wish everyone would boycott the elections like I do.
 
 
+2 # SMoonz 2012-09-18 09:10
Flawed argument and reasoning. Who ever said we should support Romney and Republicans?
 
 
+10 # RLF 2012-09-18 03:10
No banksters in jail. No brokers in jail that sold shit to our pension funds and then bet against it with their billionaire buddies. No medical change, just a requirement that we all buy insurance. Only crap like this is what we get from a "constitutional scholar". Seems like our law schools aren't doing much of a job educating lawyers about the constitution... but then I guess Obama and Holder take their orders from his rich, Ivy League school mates...not the American people.
 
 
+33 # Dumbledorf 2012-09-17 15:21
What an absolute disgrace to each and every American.
Just the idea that a sitting president would pursue a policy that on its face is a violation of international law, the Nuremberg trials the Hague and a violation of the president's very Oath of Office should be enough to send shivers down the spines of even the most dedicated fascist.
Our precious Constitution shredded by a absurd, unexplained desire to incarcerate American Citizens, without due-process, indefinitely and hold them against their will is, to possibly be tortured is abominable. There are few words to describe such TREASON!
 
 
+8 # lexy677 2012-09-18 02:12
Yes and Bush and the Republicans started it; using the events of 9/11 as an excuse. Obama promised to reverse these assaults on our rights, but he didn't; instead he doubled down. That is Why I am simply NOT going to vote for him; Under ANY circumstances; "fool me once........

Romney won't get my vote either.
 
 
+7 # seeuingoa 2012-09-17 15:38
Whatever awful the alternative, do we really need four more years with

kill list
drones
arctic drilling
violation of 1st amendment
taxcut for the rich
tar sand pipeline

and Obama didn“t sign anything
being waterboarded
 
 
+4 # Glen 2012-09-18 06:04
Thank you seeuingoa. I was going to post my own list, which has gotten longer. Glad to see more people recognizing the dastardly deeds of both parties.
 
 
+3 # brux 2012-09-17 15:52
I think the reason this issue is so hot-button and unresolvable is that this is not an issue put to people honestly, it is more or less the quibbling in the media back and forth between two media images, world mythologies.

The world mythology mode war is just about the least productive thing the world can do in this age of crises and seems to have been devised or driven to by the total inaction it creates, the total paralysis of what is right, the same kind of behavior as a drug addict's behavior, in other words world progress is held up because some people get way too much pleasure from their abusive lifestyles and simply cannot conceive of it ending.

War is a fact of human life so far until someone figures out a way to change that, so in the meantime can there be rules of war? Probably not, but in an attempt to stop abuses or move them to a different level - in a war context - war prosecutors want immunity for everything they do and they promise victory, therein lies the inimical to our CONSTITION .. it exists to check and balance abuses of power
 
 
+8 # mgwmgw 2012-09-17 15:56
Here is another reason to vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. Even if they do not win, it will send a clear message to Obama and Romney that we are not happy with their actions and positions.
 
 
+6 # angelfish 2012-09-17 17:05
Quoting mgwmgw:
Here is another reason to vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. Even if they do not win, it will send a clear message to Obama and Romney that we are not happy with their actions and positions.

HOW does shooting one's self in the foot serve ANY purpose, except to cause a lot of pain and discomfort? WHY waste your vote on Gary Johnson or Jill Stein? Vote for the lesser of two evils, which, in this case, is re-electing President Obama. Romney will GIVE AWAY the Hen House if he ever gets in it! Never, EVER vote ReThuglican!
 
 
+9 # SMoonz 2012-09-17 20:28
Romney will likely give away the hen house but Obama is auctioning it off pretty well.
 
 
+8 # 8myveggies 2012-09-17 20:48
I'm 59 years old and have voted in every presidential election since the age of 18. I have never cast a republican vote.
I've never felt such pride in this country as I did the night President Obama was elected. As of last New Year's eve, when he signed the NDAA into law, I knew that I would now vote third party at every opportunity because the dems and repubs obviously serve the same masters. I will not vote for the status quo and I will not vote for evil. Jill Stein has my vote.
 
 
+8 # futhark 2012-09-18 06:07
8myveggies, I've got 3 years on you age-wise, but your voting history pretty much parallels mine, with the exception that I voted for Republican Ron Paul in a couple of primaries. I've been accused of racist tendencies in these columns for not supporting Obama in 2008. I voted for Cynthia McKinney! I've been accused of antisemitism for opposing Zionism. To what linguistic and cultural group do the Palestinians belong?

I, too, celebrated Mr. Obama's victory in 2008 and hoped for a change, a 180 degree turn from Cheney/Bush, but saw in his 2008 FISA vote an ominous premonition of what was to come, shockingly confirmed by his May, 2009, "indefinite detention" speech and subsequent actions in the areas of civil liberties and government transparency.

The plutocrats, military-indust rial complex, and surveillance state apparatus, along with the compliant mainstream media, all have an iron grip on the political life of the American nation. As you can see by many comments posted on RSN, even many Obama supporters are supporting him more out of fear than out of hope. The only possible way to break this stranglehold short of civil war is to start supporting third party candidates with new ideas and stop accepting the ethically compromised politicians and parties the plutocrats keep pushing on us.
 
 
+9 # RLF 2012-09-18 03:16
I'm sick of voting for the lesser of two evils and the lesser getting more evil all the time...unless he wants to get reelected and then he makes like a kitten. Screw the hypocrites. Screw the American people. If it has to get worse before it gets better then let the misery begin.
 
 
+4 # engelbach 2012-09-18 09:03
Voting for write-in candidates sends a clear message that people refuse to be led by the nose by the ruling class, through either one of their two parties.

It opens the door to the possibility of a Labor Party in 2016 to united all working people.
 
 
+3 # 666 2012-09-18 12:35
you just dont get it, voting for the lesser of 2 evils is WASTING your vote. Obama has already given away the hen house -- why is he so hell bent on this law?
 
 
+22 # Vardoz 2012-09-17 16:20
We are stuck between horrific R & R and Obama. After such a grand convention, this report is an ominous view of who Obama really is but then just as horrible and oppressive are Romney and Ryan. We emailed obama at whitehouse.gov expressing our outrage and deep dissapointment in his wanting to deny us of one of our most cherished rights.I think everyone should email him letting him know how outraged we are about this. There are strength in numbers. This nation has survived many decades without our right to due process being taken away. And Obama as a constitutional lawyer and community organizer should be the last person to support this.
 
 
+12 # seniorcitizen 2012-09-17 16:23
The idea that the president is fighting to keep this unconstitutiona l amendant in effect is shocking to me. I have been a defender of his in many instances, but this time, I cannot stand with him on such a violation of our freedoms. When President Obama signed the indefinate detention into law, I saw it as something that he was not relly serious about because he made a provision that he would never use it. I really expected him to have it overturned. Now, he is fighting for it? He is an expert on constitutional law and he should know better than to uphold such un-American and illegal travesty. If President Obama fights for the freedom to allow gay marriage , why will he not fight for the basic freedom of Americans to a fair trial? If I was not so scared of Mitt Romney and his Tparty, Obama would lose my vote over this. I hope that this issue comes up in the presidential debates. Maybe he can explain it to us.
 
 
+10 # SMoonz 2012-09-17 20:26
I can guarantee you right now the corporate owned "Debates" will not touch the Indefinite Detention issue in the debates.
 
 
+1 # RLF 2012-09-18 03:18
Gee! It's like he is too busy playing basketball to actually read these laws before signing them!
 
 
+17 # The Saint 2012-09-17 16:39
This is just another reason why many progressives are sitting this election out. Obama is all smooth and liberal sounding except when you check the actual record and what this administration is doing in terms of basic rights. Trust him? Why? That's something you earn and prove yourself worthy of. He's caved in to the dark side.
 
 
+7 # SMoonz 2012-09-17 20:26
He never caved. He was always in it.
 
 
+7 # RLF 2012-09-18 03:17
Caved? He has always been there...from day one.
 
 
+7 # futhark 2012-09-17 18:50
What did you expect? Senator Obama voted for the FISA bill in 2008 and gave his "indefinite detention" speech televised live from the National Archives only 4 months after his presidential inauguration. He has pushed for extensions of the PATRIOT Act every time it has come up. The man IS consistent. If you disagree with these policies that serve the military-indust rial complex and the surveillance state apparatus, of course it is your duty to vote for a candidate who opposes them. To vote for the "lesser" of the evils is to condone it. President Obama gives "deep cover" to these tyrannical policies by effectively neutralizing criticism from the left. Openly fascistic politicians may be easier to oppose than crypto-fascists . I know these are harsh word and will get me mega thumbs down, but I think it is the truth. So, my vote is probably going to Jill Stein, as I suspect Gary Johnson may have MIC tendencies. One thing is for sure, I'm not voting for any candidate or party that has declared unconditional support for Zionist Israel.
 
 
+4 # Robert Cohen 2012-09-17 19:04
The victories in the Hedges v. Obama lawsuit, along with the defection of Chief Justice Roberts on Obamneycare, encourage me to hope that lawsuits to get the money-givers out of politics can convince one of the five conservative Supreme Court Justices to vote in favor of reversing the Court's absurd "corporations are persons" and "money is speech" decisions.

That Justice would go down in history as a true American patriot, just as will Chief Justice Roberts for having courageously stepped forward to avoid thrusting the nation into a chaotic health-care situation.

As those lawsuits move forward, we will have the support of at least 80% of the citizenry who are disgusted with the legalized corruption of our politicians by obscene amounts ofmoney-in-politics.

Although the initiative's chances of success may be low, a victory would be a tremendous first step toward peacefully rebelling against corporate rule. Hence I conclude that the nation cannot afford NOT to try it. Even if we lose this attempt, pursuing this initiative is quite likely to have great educational value to inform the public.

We will need to identify some social activists -- especially some expert attorneys to refine the legal strategy -- who want to help advance this initiative, including convincing the Occupy Movement people to help implement it.

You can contact me by clicking on my photo, then linking to my Web site, where you can send me an e-mail.
 
 
+2 # cordleycoit 2012-09-17 19:47
Again the Iron law of Oligarchy prevails. Obama cannot stop being a tyrant he must continue to punish his enemies and execute them at home and abroad. Narcissists cannot separate truth from lies about themselves. Latin America is litter with such figures left and right. Southern Africa is currently ruled by Narcissistic men. Look at Putin Obama's brother supreme ruler.
 
 
+5 # DurangoKid 2012-09-17 19:57
Part of the problem starts when we confuse candidate Obama with President Obama. The presidency is an institution that transcends individual presidents. In order to serve as president one must also serve the institution. We're in an unstable era. The climate is changing and key resources are now or soon will be in short supply. The elites know that civil unrest is accelerating from a simmer to a boil. One of the functions of government is to protect the elites from turmoil. This is perhaps Obama's highest priority. Small wonder the president is trying to concentrate ever more power to serve those ends. I wonder if there is a correlation between the diminishment of our liberties and the anticipated disruptions to elite privilege. One might be able to get some idea to what lengths they are willing to oppress we the 99%.
 
 
+7 # 8myveggies 2012-09-17 21:00
I apologize for the glaring omission in my previous comment. I had intended to include that I am so deeply grateful to Mr. Hedges and all the plaintiffs in this case. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
 
 
+6 # seniorcitizen 2012-09-17 22:29
After reading the other comments, I again am writing to encourage readers to email the white house with your concerns and outrage.Thanks Vardoz, for the info. I have never written to a president before, but this issue is very important and needs to be addressed directly to the president.
 
 
0 # grouchy 2012-09-17 23:08
I'm voting for your group for sainthood!
 
 
0 # RobertMStahl 2012-09-18 05:19
Part II
Consider structure, a feature of learning, in a text called The Grand Unified Theory of Classical Physics the necessary item of its 'discovery' is w/r the electron. It is a definition of stability in the universe, an offshoot of conservation of mass, energy, and time, and nothing more. What is this 'separation' for? Consider the meaning of very basic AI in parallel configurations that the late, or missing Indira Singh had discovered its use for 'following the money' and cornered the worst cabals of our day, now permanently removed from her very authorized position of knowing.
 
 
+3 # denevan2001 2012-09-18 05:19
I have believed since this started that this was about the proyests in the US...people could just disappear and it is horrifying that the police state is almost completely in place. Who knows how many have already been affected? I believe there is no government, only corporation employees who are pretending to be government...ex cept for a few valiant people who try to represent the people...we must resist...non violently and it gives me courage and comfort to see the protests...not on US news of course...
 
 
0 # RobertMStahl 2012-09-18 05:22
Over the course of time, the history is the conflagration of relatively simple code pursuint to the statutes effecting the enforcing body that becomes more and more misaligned with the fairly basic outline of law, in the first place. Consider Larkin Rose treatise on the voluntary tax code and what has occurred over time to separate statutes from regulations, or how this relates to better judgement. Formally, the problem stems from the relationship between the mathematician Frege's Truth Theorem which proves truth can be found out with a modicum of effort, every time, and its relationship to much more broad aspects of a worldly or universal unity, that of which would be, necessarily, somewhat more complex, with basins to consider even more formally. Consider the text, Laws of Form by G. Spencer Brown and Francisco J. Varela's application of it describing autopoiesis and much more on a biological basis. Consider structure, a feature of learning, in a text called The Grand Unified Theory of Classical Physics the necessary item of its 'discovery' is w/r the electron. It is a definition of stability in the universe, an offshoot of conservation of mass, energy, and time, and nothing more. What is this 'separation' for? Consider the meaning of very basic AI in parallel configurations that the late, or missing Indira Singh had discovered its use for 'following the money' and cornered the worst cabals of our day, now permanently removed from her very authorized position of knowing.
 
 
+7 # neohip 2012-09-18 06:41
I want to thank again all the plaintiffs in this case for their courageous battle to protect our rights. I now want to include Judge Forrest for her taking her job and this issue so seriously. This is a light of the glimmer of hope especially needed in these dark appearing days. Thank you. Leland E. Wheeler, citizen
 
 
+2 # kalpal 2012-09-18 08:13
Once voted an outrageous right to behave corruptly no government will give it back. You may recall that having sworn to uphold the constitution GW Bush said that it was just a piece of paper and consequently proved that his oath was not worth the breath he wasted making it.
 
 
+4 # TomThumb 2012-09-19 12:22
The purpose of the NDAA is simple, to codify powers taken by the executive that would only be given to the executive by the Constitution in time of invasion, specifically the suspension of hapeas corpus, which is the right to detain indefinitely without due process. Also, some powers the Constitution does not give any branch under any circumstances, like the assassination of US citizens, even on US soil. Why is this necessary? Because the establishment has contrived this phony war on terror, which should be a law enforcement matter, in order to justify using the military in expanding and maintaining the empire. It is axiomatic, the US must have an ememy, and preferably a war, in order to maintain the national security state. Under a normal conditions of hostilities, the President would ask Congress to pass a sedition act which would control speech. However, this would require the listing of things that could be said or written and an explanation. To avoid this Congress and the administration have said essentially that whatever the President says is supportive of some hostile group, or is a belligerant act, is that and we can act on it. Also, from what I have read about the law, it allows ex-post facto criminalization . This means one can be detained or assassinated on something one has said or done even before the law was passed . These are powers reserved for tyrants. Tommy Rimes
 
 
+2 # TomThumb 2012-09-19 12:29
Eric Holder has made the excuse that due process can occur within the Justice Department prior to dentention or assassination. In other words the Executive can act as judge and jury. Even a judge and jury usually give a length of sentence in the case of detention. Oh yes, the NDAA does give a length of sentence. Until hostilities have ceased or the detainee becomes no longer a threat. And who determines this? Why the justice department or the military, of course. Now, who wouldn't trust these fine organizations. So, what the military wants to do is set up Abu Graib, Bagram, or Guantanamo like facilities in the US. Maybe they will just use Guantanamo, who knows. The War on Terror is open ended and involves not one but any force, even one not currently existing, deemed to be dangerous. So, they can hold a person forever without judicial review. Just like the detainees currently at Guantanamo, many of whom have been ackowledged to be innicent. Now, I am not a lawyer, but my take on due process, which is I think is a English Common Law term, is that it is solely judicial. If we take Attorney General Holder's, an eminent lawyer along with Barack Obama, statement as plausible, then any sherrif's department along with the DA could detain anyone in their county indefinitely, simply on the belief they were an iminent danger.
Tommy Rimes
 
 
+1 # TomThumb 2012-09-19 12:30
President Obama said recently that as Americans we shared common values. What are those values, football, hamburgers, no, those values are enumerated in the Constitution. As Paul Craig Roberts wrote recently, without the Constitution there is no United States. Tommy Rimes
 

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