Monday March 26, 2012, 1:51 pm
Photo: Chris Hedges at Occupy DC (taken by Shrieking tree)

I spent four hours in a third-floor conference room at 86 Chambers St. in Manhattan on Friday as I underwent a government deposition. Benjamin H. Torrance, an assistant U.S. attorney, carried out the questioning as part of the government's effort to decide whether it will challenge my standing as a plaintiff in the lawsuit I have brought with others against President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta over the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), also known as the Homeland Battlefield Bill.

The NDAA implodes our most cherished constitutional protections. It permits the military to function on U.S. soil as a civilian law enforcement agency. It authorizes the executive branch to order the military to selectively suspend due process and habeas corpus for citizens. The law can be used to detain people deemed threats to national security, including dissidents whose rights were once protected under the First Amendment, and hold them until what is termed "the end of the hostilities." Even the name itself—the Homeland Battlefield Bill—suggests the totalitarian concept that endless war has to be waged within "the homeland" against internal enemies as well as foreign enemies.
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By Chris Hedges, Truthdig | Op-Ed | Truthout

If you are an American Citizens - every word in this article applies to you. Please read.

Monday March 26, 2012, 2:44 pm
Wonderful Kit. Already today I have sent you a green star. Chris Hedges is the authority on this subject.

Monday March 26, 2012, 3:33 pm
Like I always say.......are we liking our Fascism yet? WAKE UP AMERICA.

Thanks Kit.

Monday March 26, 2012, 3:41 pm

What I wonder Terrie is how many are even aware?

Monday March 26, 2012, 3:41 pm
America, the home of the brave and the land of the free?

We're still brave and we're fighting!

Monday March 26, 2012, 4:07 pm
We don't even have a COnstitution anymore - we are considered under military law - though relaxed -= how many know - NOT ENOUGH!!

Monday March 26, 2012, 4:14 pm
A most important read! And if the GOP or the Tea Party were against this, you think they'd be out in force, or signing on as plaintiffs, yet not a peep out of them. Why are they not making this a campaign issue? Could it be they agree?

Monday March 26, 2012, 4:19 pm
Yep! We are going to hell in a hand basket!!!!

Monday March 26, 2012, 4:20 pm
I guess it's more important to the GOP to keep people distracted from real issues like this, by waging a war on women.

Monday March 26, 2012, 4:45 pm
All the rage this campaign season is on Health Freedom. What about personal freedom in general. It's the BIG issue. And definitely a question to ask for the Presidential Debate.

Tuesday March 27, 2012, 5:10 am
There was almost no outcry when Obama used a drone to execute a U.S. citizen. I don't understand this country anymore. Americans are either unaware of their basic rights or they don't care if those rights slip away.

Tuesday March 27, 2012, 8:34 am
This is so depressing - but even more depressing is the apathy most Americans seem to have. Too busy watching March Madness and Dancing with the Stars to realize our Bill of Rights is being eroded. And the war on women marches on....

Tuesday March 27, 2012, 8:43 am
Yes, martial law, and elements thereof, can often be the first steps towards totalitarianism. Our forefathers warned us that we must be eternally vigilant against such erosion of constitutional rights if our nation is to preserve any of the intended freedoms.

Tuesday March 27, 2012, 12:57 pm
Thank you Kit. I'm pegged out for the day on outrage. I didn't think it could happen but it did. Back to writing the White House about this crap.

Tuesday March 27, 2012, 1:04 pm
Some are more equal than others.

Sunday April 1, 2012, 9:54 am
Hey All, I just received this in an email.
First the good news: A group of journalists, activists and legislators has challenged the NDAA in court. No ruling yet, but the judge's remarks indicated that a temporary injunction on the NDAA's unconstitutional provisions is at least possible. She indicated great concern over the ambiguous and vague language used in the act, and faulted Congress for passing the legislation. Article covering the hearing is here: "How does a common citizen know if they can be a target of the NDAA? " http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=148044. The attorney for the government reaffirmed its claim that the entire world, including all territory within the United States, is now considered a "battlefield" where any person can be arrested and indefinitely imprisoned without evidence, trial or legal counsel.

Sunday April 1, 2012, 9:56 am
Many of you commented, "I cannot believe that I need to petition Congress for the rights we are guaranteed in the constitution!!" Unfortunately, we do need to, since our "inalienable rights" are now alienable. The NDAA, and other laws that have been passed in recent months, will directly affect the day-to-day lives of every American in the very near future. While this is scary, it is critical to our future as a democracy that we stand up for our "inalienable rights". They have already been impeded, and will continue to be unless we stop it now. Even hard-right Republicans who disagree with government policies are not immune from prosecution under the NDAA provisions. This is not a left/right issue. It affects all of us.

Sunday April 1, 2012, 9:57 am
We, the creators of the petition, would greatly appreciate your support by reaching out to friends, family and colleagues in as many ways as possible. We ask that you reach out via social media, conversation, social gatherings, neighborhood walks, extra-curricular activities... you name it. We've been blessed with the amazing gift of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, but we now need to stand up to keep them "guaranteed" .

http://signon.org/sign/pass-the-due-process.fb1?source=s.em.cr&r_by=1349716&mailing_id=3121

Thank you for your time and assistance in getting us to our goal of one million signatures.