Sensible Erection | Welcome to a military dictatorship of United States

Friday, 2 December 2011

Welcome to a military dictatorship of United States

quote [ “for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and that people can be arrested without charge or trial, “American citizen or not.” ]

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Update: It did not pass??? Please someone confirm...
http://paul.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=399

[politics] [by yevishere@4:35amGMT] [+10 WTF]

Comments

zsander said @ 4:40am GMT on 2nd Dec
Senator Udall drafted an amendment to this act which would have made it much less draconian and frankly, a lot less evil. Sadly, the load of conservative fearmongering pricks in the Senate shot down said amendment. Hopefully Obama will actually have the good sense, the conscience, and something that passes for a soul if he stands by his plan to veto the fuck out of this thing. That said, I didn't hesitate to write directly and tell him to actually stick to the whole "Freedom" and "Change" screed and veto, veto, veto, not just this but anything else like it.

incpenners said @ 4:50am GMT on 2nd Dec
Tuesday’s 61-37 vote to buck Mr. Obama and grant the military dibs exposed a deep rift within the Democratic Party. Sixteen Democrats and one independent who caucuses with them defied the veto threat and joined 44 Republicans.

Source

GordonGuano said @ 5:33am GMT on 2nd Dec
Which just illustrates the point that we can gut-shoot every elected Republican in the country* and stake them out over an anthill and still have a vibrant two-party system complete with checks and balances. And yet I still hear how the (mythical) "Left" is some kind of hivemind acting in flawless lockstep.

And sac, I love you man and see your point, but you can't reason with a cancer, it just has to be burned or cut out.**

*we really should do the same for Republican voters too, just to be sure
**and yes, evil starts when you treat people as things. Granny Weatherwax isn't wrong.

incpenners said @ 12:05pm GMT on 2nd Dec
If you can't win on ideas, eliminate the opposition.

You're in good company.

mrcucumber said @ 2:14pm GMT on 2nd Dec
You would know.

structured_spirits said @ 6:00am GMT on 2nd Dec
When it comes to taking away people's rights, democrats and republicans have found some common ground.

papango said @ 6:29am GMT on 2nd Dec
It's like Boy Scouts earning the Team Work badge by gang raping someone.

theolypse said @ 7:23am GMT on 2nd Dec
Uh, no? Politicians have other options.

rezties said @ 7:33am GMT on 2nd Dec
I am interested and would like to know more about other kinds of politician gang-raping options.

papango said @ 7:47am GMT on 2nd Dec
I'll be honest, I was never in the Boy Scouts. I have no idea if gang rape is now (or was always) compulsory for Scouts. I do feel, however, that there are probably better ways to earn the Team Work badge than double teaming an unwilling participant.

zarathustra said @ 8:54am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:2 Funny]
Triple teaming two unwilling participants.

theolypse said @ 9:44am GMT on 2nd Dec
Neither was I. Do you know what they make you do to get your Community Service badge? Yeugh.

chold_numa said @ 2:44pm GMT on 2nd Dec
I don't know - give sponge baths scabies to infested geriatrics with kerosene at the local nursing home? How bad could it be?

jackbnimbler said @ 5:30am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:5 Underrated]
Can we please stop this crazy train, I need to get off. No seriously i'm so politically frustrated right now I can't get an erection.

mrcucumber said @ 2:08pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Sorry to hear that. Will this help?
NSFW

assbastard said @ 6:54pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Insightful]
Yes, that also helps me not get an erection.

sanepride said @ 10:29pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Funny]
Maybe when she turns 18...

danshyu said @ 5:48am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Funny]
Dr. Paul. Please save us with your Libertarian black magic!

zenviper said @ 6:15am GMT on 2nd Dec
I don't get it.. Is this linked to the military budget?? How is this a positive move for incumbents seeking re-election?

Since this apparently gets bi-partisan support, are there some SE folks who can explain why they support this?

papango said @ 6:22am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:5 Insightful]
Habeas corpus is for fags and communists.

structured_spirits said @ 6:28am GMT on 2nd Dec
Because US politicians believe acting like a Nazi is a good way to get reelected. In other news, the head of the SS, Herr Holder, orders America to Remain ‘Vigilant,’ Report Intellectual-Property Crime.

chold_numa said @ 2:45pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Be Pure.
Be Vigilant.
Behave.

structured_spirits said @ 4:57pm GMT on 2nd Dec
And in other news that bodes well for Herr Holder's shining career, Obama Administration Seals Court Records Of Border Patrol’s Murder. Clearly the most transparent administration in history.

sanepride said @ 6:50am GMT on 2nd Dec
Nobody wants to look weak on national security, especially with an election coming up.

zenviper said @ 2:36pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Right.. but as a nation, I would think that this would make the majority feel much less secure.

sanepride said @ 3:35pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Insightful]
Sure, so would I. Unfortunately much of the voting public doesn't get the downside of this kind of thing. A majority? Maybe, I'd like to think that we've come to our senses a bit since the paranoid times that followed 9/11/01 - but you wouldn't find this getting through Congress so easily if legislators didn't feel they were on fairly solid political ground.

b said @ 7:23am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:2 Underrated]
"Homeland"... Just has that lovely Nazi feel too it, eh?

pleaides said @ 8:24pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Doesn't have quite the feel of "Reich" though, does it.

If I hear "Fatherland" I'll get really concerned.

Barnabas_Truman said @ 3:40am GMT on 3rd Dec
"Fatherland"? That's horrible! We call it the "Parentland" now.

Barnabas_Truman said @ 3:41am GMT on 3rd Dec
No, sorry, that was too exclusive. I meant to say "Parentorguardianland."

herra turpa said @ 8:02am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Insightful]

Omegaphobic said @ 8:39am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:3 Underrated]
Words cannot express how terrifying it is to watch the world's pre-eminent nation turn to overt fascism.

VictorTyne said @ 11:06am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:3 Funny]
It's even more terrifying watching the U.S. do it.

Mr. Langosta said @ 11:51am GMT on 2nd Dec
English words. Translate your thoughts to German, and those fears become as comforting as a pair of well-worn jackboots.

PontifexPrimus said @ 8:41am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:4 Insightful]
"The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself[...]"

Errr... hello, non-US citizen here. Why is it that those bills only seem to get any attention when they're aimed at Americans, too? I don't especially like that any other government basically assumes that it can arrest and detain citizens of another jurisdiction! How would you like it if China proclaimed that Chinese law was now going to be enforced world-wide - with the limitation that "excessive force" would not be used on Chinese nationals, of course?

theolypse said @ 9:43am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:2]
There is an implicit, and explicit, I suspect, principle in American legal tradition that holds that government exists, in part, to guarantee certain rights to the citizenry it is accountable to. This does not include you, and so any rights extended to you by the American government are a generosity, or perhaps a yielding to political necessity. Your own government, it is presumed, carries the burden of ensuring your rights. This worked much better when personal mobility was generally poor and treaties were generally respected.

edga alunpo said @ 9:00am GMT on 2nd Dec
I know I wanted to be counted as a global citizen with global rights to keep up with global corporations, but I always thought the UN was responsible for global law.

And another thing, if I am going to be treated as an american citizen, where's my green card?

LeslieH said @ 5:59pm GMT on 2nd Dec
With all due respect, it's quite the reverse. Now, the american government and/or military are preparing to treat US citizens as non-american citizens. They're about to be treated like any enemy combatant would be.

Milkman666 said @ 10:31am GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:5 WTF]
Im just gonna leave this here...

The Strange Thing About the Johnsons - don't ask, just watch! from Michael Roy on Vimeo.

b said @ 11:10am GMT on 2nd Dec
Wow. Well done. And totally unexpected.

NuncEstBibendum said @ 1:17pm GMT on 2nd Dec
In the first scene the kiddo sounds exactly like Stimpy (Mr. Stimpson J. Cat).

KingPellinore said @ 6:08pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Did it seem to anyone else that whoever made this film couldn't decide whether they were making a comedy or a drama?

Not that I found it funny, but it seemed to me that there were a couple of times they were going for a laugh.

theRed said @ 9:03pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Outside of the reveal in the first scene I don't think there was anything that could have been going for a laugh. I think that was mostly just because it was so surprising that I didn't know how else to interpret it.

KingPellinore said @ 9:11pm GMT on 2nd Dec
I dunno. Maybe I'm being overly critical. It had its good moments and I can certainly say I haven't seen anything like it and I found myself compelled to keep watching, but in my opinion it seems to have missed its mark. Or, maybe I just can't tell what it was aiming for.

KingPellinore said @ 9:12pm GMT on 2nd Dec
I'm trying to be as vague as possible for those who haven't yet seen it.

mrcucumber said @ 9:34pm GMT on 2nd Dec
The grin on the dad has something to do with it, I think.

puravida said @ 12:01pm GMT on 3rd Dec
I was planning to have a nice fap and go to bed...

Now I'm afraid to fall asleep.

I haven't been this disturbed in a very long time.

BRAVO!

*retch*

tickaz said @ 10:53am GMT on 2nd Dec
“We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.”

tickaz said @ 11:02am GMT on 2nd Dec
Seriously, when are you americans gonna finally get sick of this bullshit and move to Australia. Honestly, we have it pretty good here. Our politicians are more like characters in a soap opera than anyone who poses a real threat and we are a generally friendly people who like a good beer and a smoke every now and again. Just try not to think about the fact that 9 of the world's 10 most deadliest animals live here.

OK seriously though - are you just gonna sit around and whinge or are you gonna get the fuck outta dodge because no offence but your nation is going down the shitter. Fast.

theolypse said @ 11:21am GMT on 2nd Dec
Dude. If I could afford to.

dreamingzephyr said @ 12:34pm GMT on 2nd Dec
I plan to leave as soon as we have the means.

What started with the draft-dodgers has spread to anybody with clear enough sight to see the dystopia we're living in. Every day there is less and less hope for real change as the ones who want it most flee this hellhole. There's no reasoning with sociopathic billionaires and their religious zealot pawns, so our choices are:

a) Likely sacrificing our own freedom / lives in an attempt at revolution

or

b) Leaving.

Considering how many of us don't believe in any sort of eternal glory waiting for martyrs, exodus isn't surprising.

zenviper said @ 2:38pm GMT on 2nd Dec
I hear your censorship laws suck. I think I would rather move to some place like Sweden or Germany.

chold_numa said @ 2:57pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Well, you pretty much need to learn Swedish or German to live in those countries. Whilst some of the censorship laws are a little overzealous, in practice they're less likely to be enforced unless there's a genuine threat to the public.

Part of this is due to the wowsers being the keenest people to put their hands up for classification positions, but generally things are quite relaxed. Admittedly, a lot of the worst stuff comes from the conservatives (politicians and here taking notes from yours. There's also a whole "holier than thou" beauty contest ongoing at the Federal level currently, but religion stays out of politics mostly.

azazel said @ 11:20pm GMT on 2nd Dec
>Well, you pretty much need to learn Swedish or German to live in those countries.

German maybe, Swedish... Maybe. It depends a lot on what skills you're bringing.

Also, Sweden's got some shitty laws going on too.

More later if anyone cares.

chold_numa said @ 11:49pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Well, I'm pretty sure we've got Sweden beat in terms of weather. Mostly sunshine, mild rain and wind (excepting for an occasional tropical cyclone), generally low humidity. None of this midnight sun/4 hours of daylight malarkey.

However, you might want to move to Sweden if you like skiing a lot. We don't really have that here. But then you could go to NZ for that. From the east coast, it's actually closer than flying to Perth (the city at the other end of the country).

azazel said @ 10:45am GMT on 3rd Dec
Sure, you might get sunshine and mild rain and wind. But here it's 4C, windy and rainy. No snow in sight (which is quite frankly a bit odd).

The midnight sun is also something that only happens up north, down south where I live we actually get maybe 8 hours of sun right now (well, 8-ish).

But yeah, Sweden's weather blows hard. On the other hand... Swedish girls.

chold_numa said @ 9:12am GMT on 4th Dec
Also the loveli lakes, the wonderful telephone system and mani interesting furri animals. Including the majestic moose.

Yeah, while I think Sweden would be a great place to visit (if it weren't so far), but I couldn't see myself living there due to the cold. 4C is pretty cold IMHO. That's store your milk without a fridge territory.

azazel said @ 10:37am GMT on 4th Dec
4C isn't very cold. -10 and below is cold. 4C is chilly :P (and feels a lot colder than -10 does).

hellboy said @ 1:56am GMT on 3rd Dec
I care.

azazel said @ 11:11am GMT on 3rd Dec
I had an entry written up, but it got lost when I accidentally hit back.

Anyway, english: you can live and work in Sweden without knowing swedish, since most people speak acceptable english. They'd like to claim that they're fluent, but many of those that do aren't really. Still, on a day-to-day basis you'll do alright. Finding jobs without speaking swedish can be a problem, except in certain areas; IT in particular have no issues with english-speaking applicants (mostly).

Laws: recently (last year) we had a case of drawn child pornography, the guy got convicted. While underage sex is completely fine in books (Lolita, Juliette, Trois filles de leur mère), a drawn picture is apparently not; drawings are equal to actual child pornography. It's a very weird law, all in all (because if it's "artistic" enough your work can be exempt... so not only do the court charge you on thought crime, they also decide what's art and what's not). There's also the EU IPRED idea, as well as the Swedish FRA.

Then again, we have socialized health care, social security and paid parental leave for both parents.

Naruki said @ 4:03am GMT on 3rd Dec
Easier to learn those than Australian. :-p

papango said @ 4:10am GMT on 3rd Dec
Lets Peak Strine!

sanepride said @ 3:30pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Oz? Seriously? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to visit sometime, but you've got ultra-religious crazies influencing government policies actually more than in the US.
Now I would give some serious thought to NZ...

tickaz said @ 8:09pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Informative]
Well yeah it doesn't have to be Aus, NZ will do.

MY real point is "Get the fuck outta the USA".

And seriously, those religious crazies can't actually affect anything. The notion of an internet filter got chucked out once the Labor party won the federal election by an arsehair.

NZ is a nice place though, as long as you focus on Rugby and try not to worry about all the other sports because Australia will kick your arse in them.

theolypse said @ 11:07pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Good]
I hope you're not calling cricket a sport.

Eru said @ 11:11pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Are you kidding? We suck balls at cricket now.

tickaz said @ 6:19am GMT on 3rd Dec
YEah but we are still beating NZ

Nonetheless, cricket is more of a hobby than a sport.

papango said @ 2:11am GMT on 3rd Dec [Score:2 Funny]
And we (NZers) have one of the highest child murder rates in the developed world. So if you come here and don't murder a child that would really help us out with that statistic.

kichijoii said @ 12:11am GMT on 3rd Dec
I read that once global warming starts to really take off, you Aussies are the first to go. Is it true there's been record droughts and heat waves recently? That totally sucks because I've been there and I loved it and I'm totally going to miss it. : (

hellboy said @ 1:58am GMT on 3rd Dec
Australia has serious problems with soil salinity.

tickaz said @ 6:22am GMT on 3rd Dec
Yeah climate wise we are fucked. WE just went through a decade long drought dotted with bushfires...

and now we are dealing with floods, hailstorms and cyclones.

I still hope there's an eastern coastline left in 30 years when I am old enough to retire to my beach shack in Currumbin.

chold_numa said @ 9:18am GMT on 4th Dec
Yeah, we do have some serious water problems which have screwed over our once world class agricultural industry. Food here is crazy expensive compared to other parts of the world, but that's due to a number of factors.

clumsy_juggler said @ 12:35pm GMT on 2nd Dec
I guess something had to be done since Syria and other countries are no longer viable locations for detention and torture.

On a positive note maybe after this bill passes certain politicians can finally be locked up and the key thrown away.

bbqkink said @ 2:39pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Underrated]
The questions are still the same..will this get vetoed and are there enough votes to override.

bbqkink said @ 8:28am on 30th Nov [Score:5 WTF] - moderate/reply
Off subject but important.

Senate Votes To Let Military Detain Americans Indefinitely, White House Threatens Veto

"The enemy is all over the world. Here at home. And when people take up arms against the United States and [are] captured within the United States, why should we not be able to use our military and intelligence community to question that person as to what they know about enemy activity?" Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.

"They should not be read their Miranda Rights. They should not be given a lawyer," Graham said. "They should be held humanely in military custody and interrogated about why they joined al Qaeda and what they were going to do to all of us."

It should be noted that there were 60 votes in the senate enough to over ride a veto, and you know the house will support this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/senate-votes-to-let-military-detain-americans-indefinitely_n_1119473.html?ref=divorce&ir=Divorce&utm_source=pulse&utm_medium=direct

Rapscallion said @ 7:48pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:2]
If I was the pres and they over rode my veto my first act with my new powers would be to declare every senator and representative who voted for this as terrorist suspects and make them disappear forever.

bbqkink said @ 12:56am GMT on 3rd Dec
I think that should idea should be forwarded to the Whitehouse.

Vernes said @ 3:03pm GMT on 2nd Dec
Still fascinating to watch a nation eat itself.

scojam said @ 4:58pm GMT on 2nd Dec [Score:1 Underrated]
The American public are pumped up with pomp and ceremony. They have a false belief in a constitution and tradition of freedom and rights that really don't exist except in their minds. They live in a Matrix and ignore what is going on around them or make excuses for the attrocities, gong on.

But gradually some are leaving that Matrix and realizing the fraud imposed on the population. The question is do they have the intestional fortitude to rise out of the depts and reclaim their country?

Pity their inspiration has to come from the Arabs.

bruceski said @ 12:59am GMT on 3rd Dec
What's wrong with the Arabs? Afraid our revolution will have Mooslim cooties?

Eru said @ 11:07pm GMT on 2nd Dec
So did it pass or was it defeated? The post seems rather ambiguous at the moment.

sanepride said @ 1:56am GMT on 3rd Dec
The amendment to ban indefinite detention was defeated but a separate amendment basically affirming current law passed.
Obama has threatened to veto.