by Erik Kain on January 11, 2012
The NDAA passed both houses of Congress with flying colors and in spite of a veto threat from the president was signed into law just in time for 2012. Enshrined in this annual authorization of military funding are new rules which allow the indefinite detention of anyone suspected of terrorists – and yes, even US citizens if the government ever chooses.
When I write about this stuff I tend to get really angry and verbose. Fortunately, I have Stephen Colbert to make it all funny:
Well played, Colbert. Well played.
Come to think of it, I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry.
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by Erik Kain on January 11, 2012
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, right, and Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. are the men behind the latest attempt to stamp down on piracy – and free speech – online. The Stop Online Piracy Act and its counterpart in the Senate, the Protect IP Act, represent the greatest threat to [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 2, 2012
Can technology overcome and change institutions otherwise overcome by inertia and stagnation? Will technology help overcome tyrants and change the relationship between state and citizen in positive and hopeful ways, or will it enable dictators and make governments even more oppressive? These were some of the questions posed at Techonomy this past November. These aren’t merely [...]
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by Erik Kain on January 2, 2012
The National Defense Authorization Act greatly expands the power and scope of the federal government to fight the War on Terror, including codifying into law the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial. Under the new law the US military has the power to carry out domestic anti-terrorism operations on US soil. “The fact that [...]
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by Erik Kain on December 10, 2011
Nearly every elected official in Congress voted for the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill placing domestic terrorism investigations into the hands of the US Military. We need to elect more politicians willing to vote ‘Nay.’ Over on Google Plus, in a response to this very excellent post by Alex Tabbarok, Jim Henley writes: The [...]
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by Erik Kain on December 5, 2011
If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law recently passed by the Senate which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of [...]
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