I don't plan to emigrate to the US any time soon, and if I do I am not certain I'll return to the DC/VA area, but still I sent in my absentee ballot earlier this month for the upcoming mid-term elections (which includes votes for one of Virginia's Senators, my Representative, and several important State referendums).
No, it's not an opportunity to vote Playdoh-for-Brains out of office, but it's still important to me. My congressional representatives, through the powers attributed to them in the Constitution, will, among other things:
approve high-level judicial and executive appointments
ratify treaties, and
maintain the armed forces.
One of the foremost non-legislative functions of the Congress is the power to investigate and to oversee the executive branch, and the Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials (both executive and judicial) for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
The United States Military Commissions Act of 2006 ... is an Act of Congress signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. Drafted in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Act provides for controversial practices relating to the US government's detention and treatment of alien unlawful combatants.
A number of legal scholars and Congressional members - including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) - have said that the habeas provision of the Act violates a clause of the Constitution that says the right to challenge detention "shall not be suspended" except in cases of "rebellion or invasion."
The Act has also been denounced by critics who assert that its wording makes possible the permanent detention and torture (as defined by the Geneva Conventions) of anyone - including American citizens - based solely on the decision of the President (emphasis mine). Indeed, the wording of ... the act appears to explicitly contradict the Third Geneva Convention of which the United States is currently a signatory.
American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said, "The president can now, with the approval of Congress, indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence, authorize trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions."
The law has also been criticized for allegedly giving a retroactive, nine-year immunity to U.S. officials who authorized, ordered, or committed potential acts of abuse on detainees.
In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is "martial law."
Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail" in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."
For the current President, "enforcement of the laws to restore public order" means to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against "disorderly" citizenry - protesters, possibly, or those who object to forced vaccinations and quarantines in the event of a bio-terror event.
The law also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under construction by Halliburton. That's right. Under the cover of a trumped-up "immigration emergency" and the frenzied militarization of the southern border, detention camps are being constructed right under our noses, camps designed for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the Bush administration.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
I’d like to see you after class
A good week at uni - I've been able to keep up with the content of the lectures and even the maths seem fun and interesting because the Prof knows how to get the information across in an entertaining way. Plus, I've made some good contacts with fellow students.
I "volunteered" to become a student union rep for my particular degree this week, as I thought it might put me in good stead and because we were told one of the 8 of us would be forced to otherwise.
I also turned in an application for one of two very generous bursaries that the Big Oxford Computing Company is offering --again, only to students in my particular degree. I could use a bit of extra dosh, and £2500 is nothing to sneeze at.
Monday, October 16, 2006
10 Half Days = 5 Full Days
I'm having difficulties with the class schedule.
Specifically, I had thought (until earlier this year) that a part time program like the one I am in would offer classes outside of work hours, but that is not the case. Nevertheless, my employer has been flexible and is allowing me to work the time that I miss by staying late or coming in early on the days I don't have class.
Then I thought I'd just be out of the office one morning a week, but during enrolment I found out that there are actually three classes a student in my particular programme should be taking this semester. Later during enrolment we were told a change in schedule required one of the 3 to be on a different day of the week than the other two. I had to drop that one; perhaps I'll be able to take it next year.
The two remaining classes are on Tuesdays; the first is from 9 to 1 and the second is from 5 to 6. My line manager has asked me to return to the office in between them in case there is something that needs my attention. I tried this the first week and because of the over-crowded buses and road construction, I spent a total of four and half hours on the bus that day and missed the evening class. I can't keep doing that.
Perhaps I should just break down and get a car. Today I looked up the web site of a company that advertises auto insurance on the TV, and plugged in details for a fictional 8 y.o. VW Golf. They only wanted £127/month (~$240) for 3rd party (not comprehensive) insurance.
I decided, since I have annual leave to use or lose, to ask for the next two weeks' mornings off, to catch up on reading and coursework and domestic issues. It was lovely sleeping in until 9 this morning.
What do you know, 23 days had gone by and it was time to visit the Gran again.
She asked me to come up early on Saturday as she had a Mass to go to in the evening & would have to kick me out early. Luckily the trains ran to time and so I was able to spend five quality hours with her drinking barrels of tea and discussing my mom's (past) and my father's (cancelled) visits.
CM had asked me to ask Gran if she'd enjoy a day out on her birthday, to visit St Martin Church, Bladon, where Churchill is buried (they'd discussed it when CM and I visited Gran last month). I don't know whether she'll eventually say yes, as she feels it's too much of an imposition, but if the answer is no I'll take CM up on it. I love a day out, me.
8:19:00 PM
Friday, October 13, 2006
How many pairs of boots?
My lucky week: I saw AA for the second time this week as she came up from Reading to join some current and former nurses and pharmacists and me for a drink and a meal at our "local", the Britannia.
It wasn't until halfway through the evening, when everyone started talking about colouring their hair and lipstick and bling that I realised that I was the only guy at the table. Nevermind...it's interesting to hear another perspective on everyday topics.
I don't know why I was yawning by 9pm then, as I'd had a lazy morning in bed before going in to work after lunch; I've asked my manager for mornings off for the rest of the month so I can get some reading and coursework done for classes & to catch up on domestic activities.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
It's Ma'am like ham, not harm
Strange, one movie all year and then two in one week: AA and I spent the afternoon together, first taking in a showing of Helen Mirren's new film, The Queen, at the George St. Odeon. Only £5.80 with my student discount. It wasn't riveting drama, and was obviously a fictionalised account of the events during the week of Diana's death, but it was enjoyable enough.
After, we had a meal at Prima Uno's, after we found the Noodlbe Bar on Gloucester Green (my first choice) closed after 5pm. We had lousy service, even though the place wasn't *that* busy. I enjoyed catching up with AA, though, whom I hadn't seen since our day out in Bournemouth.
CG and I had talked about seeing Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, since mid-summer, when I'd seen adverts for it in Entertainment Weekly. We were finally able to coordinate our schedules and illnesses to get together Wednesday after work for a showing at the Phoenix. We lucked out as that particular evening there was a Q&A panel after the film, with a few local academics, the BBC's environment reporter, and an American professor.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the movie was preaching to the choir. The general consensus was that the damage has been done and a slight but significant impact has already been done; any action we take now is to prevent any further accelerating of the damage over the next 50 or 60 years. Also, the US is the largest contributor and the furthest behind in any remedial action.
I was distracted throughout the movie; I kept thinking how different things would have been had Bush not stolen the election.
