National Defense Authorization Act removes these rights granted by the U.S. Constitution
Sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA as they purport to authorize, 1) detainment of persons captured within the United States of America without charge or trial, 2) military tribunals for persons captured within the United States of America, and 3) the transfer of persons captured within the United States of America to foreign jurisdictions, are violative of the following rights enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America;
Article I Section 9, Clause 2’s right to seek Writ of Habeas Corpus;
The First Amendment’s right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances;
The Fourth Amendment’s right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures;
The Fifth Amendment’s right to be free from charge for an infamous or capitol crime until presentment or indictment by a Grand Jury;
The Fifth Amendment’s right to be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or property, without Due Process of law;
The Sixth Amendment’s right in criminal prosecutions to enjoy a speedy trial by an impartial jury in the State and District where the crime shall have been committed;
The Sixth Amendment’s right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;
The Sixth Amendment’s right confront witnesses;
The Sixth Amendment’s right to Counsel;
The Eighth Amendment’s right to be free from excessive bail and fines, and cruel and unusual punishment;
The Fourteenth Amendment’s right to be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or property, without Due Process of law;
Washington
– The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed its holding on corporate
finance of election campaigns, striking down a state law that limited
contributions to very small amounts.
The
holding affirms the landmark case Citizens United v. FEC, in which
the Court placed no limits on corporate contributions to political
action committees in support of election campaigns. The central tenet
of the holding is that a corporation has all the same rights under
the First Amendment as a person, that electioneering is a form of
speech and should not be limited in any way.
In
another case, the Court declared most of SB1070 unconstitutional, but
let stand in the Arizona law a provision whereby police officers may
question defendants whom they have charged with other crimes as to
their immigration status.
A
decision on the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 – Obamacare –
is expected on Thursday.
Washington
– With 1 out of every 4 registered voters polled declaring
themselves independent, House GOP leaders readied for a full floor
vote on whether to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of
Congress.
The
plan hit a snag when a Border Patrol Agent was killed in a firefight
inside the U.S. Border near Tucson with rogue coyotes who rob illegal
immigrants as they pass through rugged arroyos and canyons on their
way to their destinations.
Two
of the weapons recovered from the gangsters were among those allowed
to be sold to drug cartel smugglers under orders from BATFE agents.
Mr.
Holder has made appearances before both House and Senate
investigating committees, claiming no knowledge of the affair, only
to be contradicted by testimony that indicates that he and other
officials at the White House knew about the operation and were kept
in the loop.
The
House Oversight Committee voted the matter out for a full vote by the
House, splitting along party lines. Kowledgeable observers say there
is no reason to believe the vote of the full chamber will not go
pretty much the same way.
Reading
Chapter 59 of Title 1 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure as creative writing...
It's
a generation that grew up as felons. - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,
Professor of Gonzo Journalism, once a candidate for Sheriff of Aspen,
Colorado
(Click
on the arrow below, and listen to Big Brother and the Holding Company
– loud – while you read this)
Waco
- The Society for Creative Anachronism had it going on.
Here
was this big, beefy porker dressed up in leotards and a funny
looking, floppy little velvet cap, his tunic bloused at the
shoulders, ruffles at his wrists and a sword and dagger dangling from
a belt girding his loins.
He
had by the hand a redheaded chick, her face powdered white as snow,
with pearls in her hair and two little girls holding the hem of her
skirt up out of the dust, and there were flautists, drummers and
trumpeters tagging along, flanked by armored footmen wearing padded
armor, bearing halberds and pikes.
“Prithee
– all draw nigh and speak well of the Queen!” he cried out loud.
With a sidelong and sinister look at the crowd, he glanced about with
a menacing brow raised under his beret, “And darest anyone speak
ill of the Queen?”
They
all responded immediately, speaking as one, “Nay, m'lord. Nay!”
That's
when they drew up in a semicircle, the backup singers blew the bugles
in fearsome alarum, the drummers banged on the bongos, and the
heavies with the sticks beat on their shields, their arms at port.
There,
in that pasture among the scrub oak and manzanita, one was
transported back to the hick cowtown old London must have been –
her grubby citizens and overdressed gentry pandering about the place
over just whose crotch they pulled some dame out of, and in what
order as to her brothers and sisters, while this bully sauntered
around threatening to take their property and cash, tools and homes.
“Silence!”
shouted the head badass. “The Sheriff of Nottingham is here to
inveigh in the name of the Queen. God Save the Queen!”
As
Mr. Gershwin had written so eloquently, “It ain't necessarily so.”
And,
so, this exercise in total fla-hooey, a conceptual combination flea
market, bazaar, and exercise in alternative taxation - hand to hand -
began to take shape while the tourists gnawed at turkey legs, drank
beer from cups shaped like steer horns, and jugglers, gymnasts and
tumblers did their tricks among tables laden with handmade silver and
gold trinkets and baubles, native jade, blood coral, turquoise,
obsidian, opals, garments tailored in raw cotton and silk, leather
goods of all types, books, comics, posters, toys and oddly shaped
furniture hewn from burls of cedar and cypress.
But,
above all, lurking like an undercurrent, one was reminded of the
near-total tyranny masquerading as law and order while these heavies
gleefully relieved the folks of all the chump change in their coin
purses in the name of God, Country, Destiny – and all that jazz –
and the hip crowd of craftsmen and artisans dealt both above and
under the table, on and off the books, just trying to get by.
Good
schtick, even better street theater.
Showmanship
goes for something, for sure, for sure, and it goes a long way.
Meanwhile,
the folks doing the real deal were helping themselves to fleets of
Mercedes Benzes, entire encomiendas of prime acreage, millions
stashed in bank accounts far and wide, objects d'art, paintings,
furniture, houses – anything of value – and turning that golden
country, the land of the free and the home of the brave, into one big
old pawn shop on a chessboard where they played for blood, money, and
broken dreams. Just like old times.
It's
all as legal as the hawks on the quarters, and you don't have to be
guilty of anything particularly wrong – or even charged with a
crime – if you read the law carefully - very carefully.
What's
more, it can happen as quickly as you can say decree nà si, as in
damned if you don't, or invoke the kind of now for then doublethink
of the judgment nunc pro tunc.
They'll
get to all that later, but for now, the funds are frozen, the deed is
encumbered, the title is revoked and the assets have been seized - in
the name of the law.
The
cash is placed in escrow, the cars, tools, and other goods in
storage, the deeds of the real property encumbered, and we're off the
races, in which the – ah, well, you know – the subject of the
investigation may enter a suit of replevin to recover his property -
if he can show it was taken unlawfully - but, in any case, the matter
is carried out by the criminal prosecutor under the rules of civil
procedure.
That
means the criminal prosecutor need only show unto the Court by a
preponderance of the evidence that the assets seized and then
forfeited were contraband and should be retained by the People of the
State of – whatever.
Bit
of a sticky wicket, doing all that from a jail cell where all phone
calls are made collect at rates anywhere from 5 to 20 times the going
rate charged a free man or woman, and all the mail is opened and
read.
Should
have thought about all that before – ah, well, whatever.
“It
is the intention of the legislature that asset forfeiture is remedial
in nature and not a form of punishment...On final judgment of
forfeiture, the attorney representing the state shall dispose of the
property in the manner required...”
It's
the law. So saith Art. 59.05(e) of the Texas Code of Criminal
Procedure.
At
any rate, the funds thus obtained are divided between the
prosecutors, the cops, the courts and other governmental entities,
and recorded as available funds for certain purposes come budget
time.
And
that, dear hearts, is what all the fuss is about at the McLennan
County Courthouse.
This
is when you suddenly become an expert on every subject in the known
Universe. You know you know everything, and generously want to share
this limitless knowledge with anyone who will listen. At this stage,
you are always right, and the person you are talking to is always
wrong. This makes for an interesting argument when both parties have
attained the SMART stage of intoxication.
Stage
2 - GOOD LOOKING
This
is when you realize you are the undisputed BEST LOOKING person in the
entire bar, if not the whole world, and everybody wants you. You can
approach a total stranger, knowing that they want you and really want
to talk to you. Bear in mind that you are still SMART, so you can
easily engage this person in scintillating conversation on any
subject under the sun.
Stage
3 - RICH
This
is when you suddenly become the richest person in the world. You can
buy drinks for everybody in the entire bar, because you apparently
have an armoured truck full of money in the parking lot. You can also
make bets at this stage, because of course, you are still SMART, so
naturally you will win all your wagers. It doesn’t matter how much
you risk, because you are RICH.
Stage
4 - BULLET PROOF
You
are now ready to pick fights with anyone, and everyone, especially
those with whom you have been arguing or betting. This is because
nothing can harm you. At this point, you can also confront the
partners of those members of the opposite sex who you’ve taken a
fancy to. You can challenge them to a battle of wits, or offer to
compare bank balances. You have no fear of losing these contests,
because you are SMART, you are RICH, and what the Hell...you’re
BETTER LOOKING than they are anyway.
Stage
5 - INVISIBLE
This
is the final stage of your tequila experience. If you have made it to
this point, you can do anything you please, because NO ONE CAN SEE
YOU. You dance, buck-naked, on a table to impress the object of your
affection, but nobody else in the room can see you. You’re also
invisible to the person who would like to take a round out of you.
You can walk through the streets, singing at the top of your lungs,
because no one can see or hear you, and because you’re still SMART,
you know all the words.
