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Secret Debate Contract Reveals Obama and Romney Campaigns Exclude Third Parties, Control Questions
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Wech Baghtu wedding party attack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wech Baghtu wedding party attack | |||||||
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Wech Baghtu wedding party attack refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians mostly women and children who had gathered to celebrate a wedding when coming under attack by US warplanes dropping bombs on a housing complex in the village of Wech Baghtu, Shah Wali Kot District of Kandahar province, Afghanistan.[1][2][3]
An investigation found that a total of 37 civilians were killed in the incident including 23 children and 10 women, another 27–35 including the bride were wounded. The bombing wasn't the end of the ordeal, the villagers said. When the air strikes were over, international troops arrived, intimidated the villagers and prevented them from leaving to seek medical treatment while the soldiers took pictures. The Afghan government report also accused the Taliban of seeking shelter near the wedding party.[4][5][6]
[edit] Summary of the event
![]() | This section requires expansion. (August 2010) |
After a ten hour firefight including the use of helicopters and fighter planes. At least 37 village residents were dead, including women and children. Many were injured, among them was the bride.[7][8][9][6][10][11]
[edit] Reactions
Our demand is that there will be no civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes... This is my first demand of the new president of the United States — to put an end to civilian casualties.
—Hamid Karzai, 5 November 2008
[edit] See also
- Deh Bala wedding party bombing 47 civilians mostly women and children killed in Nangarhar province, 2008
- Granai airstrike up to 145 civilians, mostly children killed in Farah province in 2009
- Azizabad airstrike 78–92 mostly children killed in Herat province in 2008
- The Narang night raid were 10 Afghan civilians including 8 school boys were killed on 27 December 2009.
- Uruzgan helicopter attack 27–33 civilians killed in Orūzgān province, 2010
- List of massacres in Afghanistan
[edit] References
- ^ "Karzai says air strike kills 40 in Afghanistan". Reuters. 5 November 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4A44EW20081105. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Wafa, Abdul Waheed; McDonald, Mark (5 November 2008). "Deadly U.S. airstrike said to hit Afghan wedding party". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/world/asia/05iht-afghan.3.17553439.html.
- ^ "U.S. Strike Reportedly Kills 40 at Afghanistan Wedding". Fox News. 5 November 2008. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,447205,00.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Canada. "Air strikes kill dozens of wedding guests". Globe and Mail. Canada. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/article719745.ece. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Afghanistan: US Missile Strike Kills 37 Civilians". Huffington Post. 7 November 2008. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/07/afghanistan-us-missile-st_n_142087.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ a b Yunlong, Zhang (5 November 2008). "Villagers say 37 Afghan civilians killed in US-led air strike on wedding party". RAWA News. http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/11/05/villagers-say-37-afghan-civilians-killed-in-us-led-air-strike-on-wedding-party.html?mggal=2=3. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Deaths in Afghanistan: Air Force Report Confirms Rising Civilian Toll". Spiegel. 13 November 2008. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,590234,00.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Associated Press in Wech Baghtu. "Alleged US air raid 'kills 37' at Afghan nuptials". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/06/afghanistan-wedding-air-raid-kandahar. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Font size Print E-mail Share 6 Comments (5 November 2008). "Afghanistan: U.S. Bombing Kills 37". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/05/world/main4574432.shtml. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "40 Afghan civilians killed as U.S.-led air strike hits wedding party_English_Xinhua". Xinhua. 6 November 2008. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/06/content_10313627.htm. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ Farmer, Ben (5 November 2008). "US warplanes bomb wedding party, Afghans claim". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/3386273/US-warplanes-bomb-wedding-party-Afghans-claim.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Karzai Demands Obama End Civilian Deaths". Huffington Post. 20 January 2009. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/06/karzai-demands-obama-end_n_141842.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Karzai to Obama: Stop killing Afghan civilians; U.S. airstrike reportedly kills 37 at wedding party". Cleveland Plain Dealer. 5 November 2008. http://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2008/11/karzai_to_obama_stop_killing_a.html. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Karzai 'demands' Obama end civilian deaths after latest incident". USA Today. 5 November 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-11-05-afghanistan-violence_N.htm. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
[edit] External links
U.S. intelligence hurt when Libya base was abandoned
By Mark Hosenball | Reuters – 6 hrs ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence efforts in Libya have suffered a significant setback due to the abandonment and exposure of a facility in Benghazi, Libya identified by a newspaper as a "CIA base" following a congressional hearing this week, according to U.S. government sources.
The intelligence post, located 1.2 miles from the U.S. mission that was targeted by militants in a September 11 attack, was evacuated of Americans after the assault that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Three other Americans died in the attacks on U.S.-occupied buildings, including two who were hit in a mortar blast at the secret compound.
The publication of satellite photos showing the site's location and layout have made it difficult, if not impossible, for intelligence agencies to reoccupy the site, according to government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The post had been a base for, among other things, collecting information on the proliferation of weaponry looted from Libyan government arsenals, including surface-to-air missiles, the sources said. Its security features, including some fortifications, sensors and cameras, were more advanced than those at rented villa where Stevens died, they said.
The sources said intelligence agencies will find other ways to collect information in Libya in the aftermath of last year's toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.
"Benghazi played a critical role in the emergence of the new Libya and will continue to do so. It makes sense that we would return there to continue to build relationships," one U.S. official said.Public discussion of the top-secret location began with a contentious Wednesday hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which was investigating whether security lapses put Americans at risk.
The State Department displayed a satellite photograph showing two locations - the rented villa that served as a special diplomatic mission and the compound that officials had cryptically described as an "annex" or "safe house" for diplomatic personnel.
Both compounds were attacked by militants believed to be tied to al Qaeda. After the diplomatic complex was overrun, U.S. and Libyan personnel rushed by car to the second site, where they fought off two more waves of assaults, officials said.Charlene Lamb, a top official in the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, told lawmakers that the secret compound took "as many as three direct hits."
Two U.S. security officials, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, were killed there in what U.S. officials described as an unlucky mortar strike. As many as 37 people eventually escaped to Benghazi's airport.
When the satellite photo was displayed, a senior committee Republican, Representative Jason Chaffetz, complained that the discussion was drifting into "classified issues that deal with sources and methods," and the photo was removed from public display. No one at the hearing used the term "CIA base" to describe the facility.
'BONEHEADED QUESTIONING'
The next morning, Dana Milbank, a Washington Post columnist, wrote that the committee's "boneheaded questioning" of State Department witnesses left little doubt that the compound in the pictures was a "CIA base."
The Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with ties to the Obama White House, followed up with a blog post accusing Republicans of revealing the "Location Of Secret CIA Base."
On Friday, Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, accused Republicans of mishandling secret information.
Spokespeople for the State Department and White House had no comment. The CIA also had no comment.
Oversight committee spokesman Frederick Hill said committee Democrats made matters worse by asking questions about the satellite photos. "Even after Republicans objected, Democrats continued to ask questions that led State officials to put even more sensitive information about who worked there into the public realm," Hill said.
The dispute over who was responsible for identifying the base is the latest case in which intelligence agencies - particularly the CIA - have been dragged into a political fray over the Benghazi attack.
The Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi attacks has become fodder for criticism from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan ahead of the November 6 election.
Intelligence officials are not happy at being drawn into the political battle. Paul Pillar, one of the CIA's former most senior analysts, said the agency is sure to be dismayed at how its sensitive work has been dragged into the debate.
"They're trying to do the best they can with fragmentary and incomplete information. No doubt they are very unhappy that this issue is now being exploited for political purposes," Pillar said.
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Will Dunham)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~************
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Ghandi Ghandi
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Pat Tillman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patrick Daniel Tillman | |
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![]() Specialist Patrick Daniel Tillman | |
Nickname | "Pat" |
Born | Fremont, California | November 6, 1976
Died | April 22, 2004 Sperah, Afghanistan (KIA) | (aged 27)
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/branch | ![]() |
Years of service | 2002 - 2004 |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | ![]() ![]() |
Battles/wars | War on Terror Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
Awards | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Contents[hide] |
Early life
Tillman was born on November 6, 1976, in Fremont, California. The oldest of three sons, Tillman excelled at football in high school. He helped lead Leland High School to the Central Coast Division I Football Championship. Tillman then went to Arizona State University on a football scholarship.[2]Family and friends
Tillman was very close to his family and high school friends. He repeatedly mentioned in his personal journals during wartime service that he drew strength from and deeply valued his closest friendships, parents, wife and family. Tillman was very committed to his high-school sweetheart whom he married just prior to enlistment in the Army Rangers, Marie Ugenti Tillman. He also was very close with his brother, Kevin Tillman, who enlisted with and served alongside him.[3]Football career
He started his college career as a linebacker for Arizona State University in 1994, when he secured the last remaining scholarship for the team. Tillman excelled as a linebacker at Arizona State, despite being relatively small for the position at five-feet eleven-inches (1.80 m) tall. As a junior, he helped his team go undefeated that season as well as helping them make it to the Rose Bowl that year. In 1997, he was voted the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Academically, Tillman majored in marketing and graduated in three and a half years with a 3.85 GPA. He also earned many academic awards including: the Clyde B. Smith Academic Award in 1996 and 1997; the Sporting News Honda Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1997; and the 1998 Sun Angel Student Athlete of Year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
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Personal information
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Date of birth: | November 6, 1976|||||||||||
Place of birth: San Jose, California | |||||||||||
Date of death: April 22, 2004 | (aged 27)|||||||||||
Place of death: Sperah, Afghanistan | |||||||||||
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Career information
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High school: Leland High School | |||||||||||
College: Arizona State University | |||||||||||
NFL Draft: 1998 / Round: 7 / Pick: 226 | |||||||||||
Debuted in 1998 for the Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||
Last played in 2001 for the Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||
Career history
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Career highlights and awards
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Career NFL statistics as of 2001
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College Football Hall of Fame |
At one point in his NFL career, Tillman turned down a five-year, $9 million contract offer from the St. Louis Rams out of loyalty to the Cardinals.[4]
Sports Illustrated football writer Paul Zimmerman (Dr. Z) named Tillman to his 2000 NFL All-Pro team after Tillman finished with 155 tackles (120 solo), 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 9 pass deflections and 1 interception for 30 yards.
Tillman finished his career with totals of 238 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 interceptions for 37 yards, 3 forced fumbles, 2 pass deflections, and 3 fumble recoveries in 60 career games. In addition he also had 1 rush attempt for 4 yards and returned 3 kickoffs for 33 yards.[5]
In May 2002, eight months after the September 11 attacks and after completing the fifteen remaining games of the 2001 season which followed the attacks (at a salary of $512,000 per year),[6] Tillman turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million over three years from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army.[7]
Military career and death
Tillman and his brother Kevin enlisted on 31 May 2002. Kevin gave up the chance of a career in professional baseball as he had already signed to play for the Cleveland Indians. In September 2002, they completed basic training together.[8][9] The two brothers completed the Ranger Indoctrination Program in late 2002 and were assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Fort Lewis, Washington. Tillman resided in University Place with his wife before being deployed to Iraq. After participating in the initial invasion of Operation Iraqi Freedom, in September 2003, he entered Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and graduated on November 28, 2003.[10]Tillman was subsequently redeployed to Afghanistan. On April 22, 2004, he was killed by friendly fire. An Afghan Militia Forces Allied soldier was also killed in the action. Tillman’s Platoon Leader First Lieutenant David Uthlaut and his RadioTelephone Operator, then 19-year old Jade Lane, were wounded in the incident. The specific details of his death and its aftermath were investigated by the US Congress.
The Army initially claimed that Tillman and his unit were attacked in an apparent ambush on a road outside of the village of Sperah about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Khost, near the Pakistan border. An Afghan militia soldier was killed, and two other Rangers were injured as well.
The Army Special Operations Command initially claimed that there was an exchange with hostile forces. After a lengthy investigation conducted by Brigadier General Gary M. Jones, the U.S. Department of Defense concluded that both the Afghan militia soldier's and Pat Tillman's deaths were due to friendly fire aggravated by the intensity of the firefight.
An investigation by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command concluded that Tillman and the Afghan militia soldier were killed by friendly fire when one allied group fired upon another in confusion after nearby gunfire was mistakenly believed to be from enemy combatants. The CID Report summary, dated 19 March 2007, stated that: "during their movement through the canyon road, Serial 2 [Tillman's platoon had to split up because of a broken Humvee; the parts were called Serial 1 and 2] was ambushed and became engaged in a running gun battle with enemy combatants. Serial 1 [Tillman's portion of the platoon] had just passed through the same canyon without incident and were approximately one kilometer ahead of Serial 2. Upon hearing explosions, gunfire, and sporadic radio communication from Serial 2, Serial 1 dismounted their vehicles and moved on foot, to a more advantageous position to provide overwatch and fire support for Serial 2's movement out of the ambush." Upon exiting the gorge, and despite attempts by Serial 1 to signal a "friendly position," occupants of the lead vehicle of Serial 2 opened fire on Tillman's position, where he was fatally shot.[11]
Awards and decorations
Aftermath
Cover-up surrounding Tillman's death

Misleading tribute to CPL. Tillman at the National Infantry Museum. The plaque inaccurately says he was killed in an enemy ambush.
Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal approved the Silver Star citation on April 28, 2004, which gave a detailed account of Tillman's death including the phrase "in the line of devastating enemy fire," but the next day he sent a P4 confidential memo warning senior government members that Tillman might actually have been killed by friendly fire.[14] Top commanders within the US Central Command, including former Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) General John Abizaid, was notified by the P4 memo,[15] which described Tillman's "highly possible" fratricide, four days before Tillman's nationally televised memorial service during which he was lauded as a war hero for dying while engaging the enemy.[16][17]
Jones reported that members of Tillman's unit burned his body armor and uniform in an apparent attempt to hide the fact that he was killed by friendly fire.[18] His notebook, in which – according to author Jon Krakauer – Tillman had recorded some of his thoughts on Afghanistan, was also burned; "a blatant violation of protocol".[19] Several soldiers were subsequently punished for their actions by being removed from the United States Army Rangers. Jones believed that Tillman should retain his medals and promotion, since, according to Jones, he intended to engage the enemy and behaved heroically.[18]
Tillman's family was not informed of the finding that he was killed by friendly fire until weeks after his memorial service, although at least some senior Army officers knew of that fact prior to the service.[18] According to Krakauer in his book Where Men Win Glory, the extensive cover-up that followed his death included the military's order to Tillman's comrades to lie to his family at the funeral.[19] Tillman's parents have sharply criticized the Army's handling of the incident; Tillman's father charges that the Army "purposely interfered in the investigation" because of the effect it could have on their recruiting efforts, while Tillman's mother charges that "this lie was to cover their image."[20]
He also blamed high-ranking Army officers for presenting "outright lies" to the family and to the public.[21]After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this. They purposely interfered with the investigation; they covered it up. I think they thought they could control it, and they realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell in a handbasket if the truth about his death got out. They blew up their poster boy.[20]
On March 4, 2006, the US Defense Department Inspector General directed the Army to open a criminal investigation of Tillman's death. The Army's Criminal Investigative Division will determine if Tillman's death was the result of negligent homicide.[22]
On March 26, 2007, the Pentagon released their report on the events surrounding Tillman's death and coverup. The report reads in part:
On April 24, 2007, Iraq veteran Jessica Lynch, who had been captured by the Iraqis after a fire fight, gave testimony before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that the Pentagon had erroneously portrayed her as a "Rambo from the hills of West Virginia," when in fact, she never fired a shot after her truck was ambushed.[24] Tillman's brother Kevin Tillman testified at the same hearing that: "The deception surrounding this [Tillman] case was an insult to the family: but more importantly, its primary purpose was to deceive a whole nation. We say these things with disappointment and sadness for our country. Once again, we have been used as props in a Pentagon public relations exercise."[25]...we emphasize that all investigators established the basic facts of CPL Tillman's death – that it was caused by friendly fire, that the occupants of one vehicle in CPL Tillman's platoon were responsible, and that circumstances on the ground caused those occupants to misidentify friendly forces as hostile. None of the investigations suggested that CPL Tillman's death was anything other than accidental. Our review, as well as the investigation recently completed by Army CID, obtained no evidence contrary to those key findings.[23]
After Kevin's testimony Pete Geren, acting secretary of the Army stated to reporters, "We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can."[25]
Tillman's diary was never returned to his family, and its whereabouts are not publicly known.[26]
One investigation of the autopsy report and photographs by two forensic pathologists in November 2006, concluded that Tillman was most likely killed as a result of fire from a M249 light machine gun. The M249 uses the same ammunition as the M16 rifle and M4 carbine but is capable of greater accuracy during higher rates of fire. This would allow a competent user to place three bullets within a several-inch target from forty or fifty yards away more easily, even from a moving vehicle.[3]
On July 26, 2007, Chris Matthews reported on Hardball that Tillman's death may have been a case of deliberate murder by Tillman's fellow soldiers – specifically that the bullet holes were tight and neat, suggesting a shot at close range. Matthews based his speculation on a report from the doctors who examined Tillman's body. The following day the Associated Press reported that a doctor who examined Tillman's body after his death wrote, "The medical evidence did not match up with the scenario as described,"[27] also noting that the wound entrances appeared as though he had been shot with an M16 rifle from fewer than 10 yards (9 m) away. A possible motive was not identified. When officers and soldiers were asked during a criminal investigation, they said they were certain the shooting was accidental. According to one of his fellow soldiers, Tillman "was popular among his fellow soldiers and had no enemies."[27][28]
In addition, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Associated Press, the Defense Department released 2,300 pages of documents which were reported to indicate:[27]
- There has never been evidence of enemy fire found on the scene, and no members of Tillman's group had been hit by enemy fire.
- The three-star general, who withheld details of Tillman's death from his parents for a number of months, told investigators approximately 70 times that he had a bad memory and couldn't recall details of his actions.
- Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or non-criminal, punishments.
- Army doctors told the investigators that Tillman's wounds suggested murder because "the medical evidence did not match-up with the scenario as described."[29]
- There were special forces snipers in the group immediately behind Tillman's platoon.[29]
Congressional inquiries
On April 24, 2007, Specialist Bryan O'Neal, the last soldier to see Pat Tillman alive, testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that he was warned by superiors not to divulge information that a fellow soldier killed Tillman, especially to the Tillman family. Later, Pat Tillman's brother Kevin Tillman, who was also in the convoy traveling behind his brother at the time of the 2004 incident in Afghanistan but did not witness it, testified that the military tried to spin his brother's death to deflect attention from emerging failings in the Afghan war.[33]On August 13, 2007, Sports Illustrated reported that twenty U.S. military veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan asked the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, to help secure the release of all documents relating to the death of Pat Tillman.[34]
On July 14, 2008, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a proposed report titled "Misleading Information from the Battlefield: The Tillman and Lynch Episodes".[35][36] The committee stated that its "investigation was frustrated by a near universal lack of recall" among "senior officials at the White House" and the military. It concluded:
The pervasive lack of recollection and absence of specific information makes it impossible for the Committee to assign responsibility for the misinformation in Specialist Tillman’s and Private Lynch’s cases. It is clear, however, that the Defense Department did not meet its most basic obligations in sharing accurate information with the families and with the American public.
Memorials and tributes
After his death, the Pat Tillman Foundation was established to carry forward its view of Tillman's legacy by inspiring and supporting those striving for positive change in themselves and the world.A highway bypass around the Hoover Dam has a bridge bearing Tillman's name. Completed in October 2010, the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge spans the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona.
Lincoln Law School of San Jose has established the Pat Tillman Scholarship in honor of Tillman. Tillman's father, Patrick Kevin Tillman, earned his Juris Doctor from Lincoln in 1983.
On Sunday, September 19, 2004, all teams of the NFL wore a memorial decal on their helmets in honor of Pat Tillman. The Arizona Cardinals continued to wear this decal throughout the 2004 season. Former Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer requested to also wear the decal for the entire season but the NFL turned him down saying his helmet would not be uniform with the rest of the Denver Broncos. Plummer later grew a full beard and his hair long in honor of Tillman, who had such a style in the NFL before cutting his hair and shaving his beard off to fit military uniform guidelines. Plummer, now retired from the NFL, has since gone back to cutting his hair short but maintains the beard.
Pat Tillman's high school, Leland High School in San Jose, renamed its football field after him.
In 2004, the NFL donated $250,000 to the United Service Organizations to build a USO center in memory of Tillman. The Pat Tillman USO Center, the first USO center in Afghanistan, opened on Bagram Air Base on April 1, 2005.[37]
Forward Operating Base Tillman is close to the Pakistan border, near the village of Lwara in Paktia Province, Afghanistan.[38][dead link]
On Saturday, April 15, 2006, more than 10,000 participants turned out for 1st Annual Pat's Run (the annual, central fundraising event for the Pat Tillman Foundation) in Tempe, Arizona. The racers traveled along the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) course around Tempe Town Lake to the finish line, on the 42-yard line of Sun Devil Stadium in order to commemorate the number which he wore as a Sun Devil and which was later retired in his honor. A second "shadow" race took place in San Jose, CA, around the country at the same time as Pat's Run. Sponsored by the Pat Tillman Foundation, a total of 14,000 runners took part. In 2005, about 6,000 took part in a single race in Tempe. Since then, Pat's Run has continued to grow every year, with more than 28,000 attendees in April 2010. Various "shadow races", in locations such as Austin, TX, take place around the country at the same time as Pat's Run.
Just south of San Jose, CA, in the small community of New Almaden where Pat Tillman grew up, a memorial was constructed near the Almaden Quicksilver County Park. This memorial was dedicated in September 2007 during the annual New Almaden Day celebration.[39][40]
The skateboarding bulldog featured on YouTube and in an Apple iPhone commercial was named after Tillman.[41]
Two books about Tillman were published in 2009. Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, chronicles Tillman's story in Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, published by Doubleday on September 15. Meanwhile, Tillman's mother, Mary Tillman, also wrote a book about her son, Boots on the Ground by Dusk, which was released in April 2008.
Following Tillman's death, the Ohio State Linebackers Corp consisting of A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel, as well as center Nick Mangold grew their hair in tribute to Tillman, imitating Tillman's trademark locks.[42]
In September 2008, Rory Fanning, a fellow Army Ranger who was stationed with Tillman in Fort Lewis, Washington, began his "Walk for Pat" — a walk across the United States in an effort to raise money and awareness for the Pat Tillman Foundation. The stated fundraising goal is $3.6 million — the value of the contract Tillman turned down when he decided to enlist in the military.
The Pacific-10 Conference renamed its annual defensive player of the year award in football to the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year.[43]
Controversial criticisms
After reports of Tillman's anti-war views became public, Ted Rall who had previously written a comic calling Tillman a "fool" and "idiot," said that he was wrong to have assumed Tillman to be a "right wing poster child" when Tillman regarded the invasion of Iraq as illegal.[44][45]Then-Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Kauzlarich, Regimental Executive Officer at Forward Operating Base Salerno on Khost, Afghanistan, under which Tillman was serving at the time of his death, and who led the second investigation into Tillman's death, made statements about the Tillman family’s search for the truth based on Tillman's atheism. In comments to ESPN, Kauzlarich said: "These people have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs" and "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don’t believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing and now he is no more... I do not know how an atheist thinks, I can only imagine that would be pretty tough."[46]
Kauzlarich conducted the second investigation into Tillman's death which lasted a week, from May 8 to May 15, 2004.[47] Brigadier General Rodney Johnson, the Commanding General of the United States Army Criminal Investigations Command, testified before Congress that he found these statements "totally unacceptable." Acting Department of Defense Inspector General Thomas Gimble also testified that he was "shocked" that Lieutenant Colonel Kauzlarich would make these statements.[48] According to AP analysis, there are three lower level officers expected to be punished, and Kauzlarich may be one of the three. Tillman's mother continues to reject the Pentagon's characterization of the officers' offenses as "errors" in reporting Tillman's death, because several officers have said they made conscious decisions not to tell the Tillman family that friendly fire was suspected.[49]
Media analyses
A review by New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins of Jon Krakauer's book Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman noted that the book did well to compile the facts and "nauseating" details regarding the cover-up of Tillman's death. "After Tillman’s death, Army commanders violated many of their own rules, not to mention elementary standards of decency, to turn the killing into a propaganda coup for the American side," Filkins wrote.[50]A documentary film The Tillman Story was shown at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2010, and was released in August 2010.[51]
On October 19, 2006, Tillman's brother Kevin broke his silence about his brother's death, lashing out at the Iraq War in a 660-word essay published on Truthdig, a progressive online journal of news and opinion.[52] The essay was widely distributed and was cited in The New York Times and Associated Press.[53]
Religious and political beliefs
Krakauer described Tillman as "agnostic, perhaps an atheist",[54] while later news reports state he was an atheist.[55][56][57][58] According to speakers at his funeral, he was very well-read, having read a number of religious texts including the Bible, Qur’an and Book of Mormon as well as transcendentalist authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. However, responding to religious overtones at the funeral by Maria Shriver and John McCain, his youngest brother, Richard, asserted that "He's not with God, he's fucking dead. He's not religious." Richard added, "Thanks for your thoughts, but he's fucking dead."[59] Another article quotes Tillman as having told then-general manager of the Seattle Seahawks Bob Ferguson in December 2003, "You know I'm not religious."[60]The September 25, 2005, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper reported that Tillman held views which were critical of the Iraq war. According to Tillman's mother, a friend of Tillman had arranged a meeting with author Noam Chomsky, a prominent critic of American foreign and military policy, to take place after his return from Afghanistan. Chomsky has confirmed this.[61]
See also
- Don Holleder – College football player, and soldier killed in action during the Vietnam War
- Tim James – Former NBA player who left his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army on September 12, 2008
- Bob Kalsu – Former AFL player killed in action during the Vietnam War
- Don Steinbrunner – Retired NFL player killed in action during the Vietnam War
- Al Blozis – NFL player killed in action during World War II
- Jack Lummus – NFL player killed in action during World War II
- News propaganda
- Propaganda in the United States
- List of sportspeople who died during their careers
References
- ^ Rickey, Carrie (September 3, 2010). Pat Tillman Documentary Follows Family's Quest for Answers. Philadelphia Inquirer. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-567289?ref=feeds%2Fcategory%2Fshows.
- ^ "Pat Tillman Biography". 2006 A&E Television Networks. http://www.biography.com/articles/Pat-Tillman-197041.
- ^ a b Krakauer, Jon (2009). Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Doubleday (September 16, 2009); Page 317. ISBN 978-0-385-52226-7
- ^ "In football and in life, Tillman was determined, independent". Matthew B. Stannard (SFGate.com). March 27, 2007. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/27/MNGP4OSGB71.DTL&type=printable. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ^ "Pat Tillman". http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TillPa20.htm.
- ^ "Pat Tillman". Salaries Database (USA Today). http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/playerdetail.aspx?player=2307. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ "Ex-NFL star Tillman makes ‘ultimate sacrifice’,Safety, who gave up big salary to join Army, killed in Afghanistan". MSNBC. Jan 26, 2003. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4815441. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ Tillman brothers enlist together
- ^ Krakauer, Jon (2009). Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. p. 154. ISBN 0-385-52226-6.
- ^ Krakauer, Jon (2009). Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. p. 220. ISBN 0-385-52226-6.
- ^ Military Times .PDF Document copies Copy of US Army CID report; Pages 1–3
- ^ "U.S. military probes soldier's death". CNN. July 1, 2006. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/01/afghan.probe/. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- ^ "Army Cpl. Patrick D. Tillman — Honor The Fallen — Honoring those who fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan". Military Times. http://militarytimes.com/valor/army-cpl-patrick-d-tillman/263007/. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
- ^ Scott Lindlaw and Martha Mendoza (August 4, 2007). "General's memo voiced doubts in Tillman's death". Associated Press. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0804Tillman-Split0804.html.
- ^ "Full text of Tillman memo to top generals". http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20113601/.
- ^ Robert Collier (April 11, 2007). "New questions raised over timing of Army's disclosure of killing by friendly fire". San Francisco Chronicle. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/11/MNGAVP6GKF1.DTL&type=printable.
- ^ Krakauer, Jon (October 14, 2009). "Gen. McChrystal's Credibility Problem". The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-14/gen-mcchrystals-credibility-problem/?cid=hp:mainpromo3.
- ^ a b c Josh White (May 4, 2005). "Army Withheld Details About Tillman's Death:Investigator Quickly Learned 'Friendly Fire' Killed Athlete". Washington Post: p. A-3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301502.html. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ a b Sarah Seltzer (September 17, 2009). "Inside Pat Tillman's Life, and the Bush Administration's Cover-Up of His Death". Alternet. http://www.alternet.org/world/142692/inside_pat_tillman's_life,_and_the_bush_administration's_cover-up_of_his_death/?page=entire. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ a b Josh White (May 23, 2005). "Tillman's Parents Are Critical Of Army". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/22/AR2005052200865.html. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- ^ Annie Gottlieb (May 5, 2005). "Pat Tillman: It's Even Worse UPDATED". http://ambivablog.typepad.com/ambivablog/2005/05/pat_tillman_its.html. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- ^ "Army to open criminal probe of Tillman death". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/04/tillman/index.html. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ (PDF) Review of matters related to the death of Specialist Patrick Tillman. Office of the Inspector General. March 28, 2006. http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/Tillman_Redacted_Web_0307.pdf
- ^ Soldier: Army ordered me not to tell the truth about Tillman (Politics ed.). CNN. April 24, 2007. http://articles.cnn.com/2007-04-24/politics/tillman.hearing_1_tillman-and-lynch-tillman-family-bryan-o-neal?_s=PM:POLITICS.
- ^ a b "Family blasts latest investigation of Pat Tillman's friendly fire death as "shamefully unacceptable"". Mercury News. http://origin.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_5527484.
- ^ Monica Davey; Eric Schmitt (March 21, 2006). "2 Years After Soldier's Death, Family's Battle Is With Army". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/politics/21tillman.html?ei=5090&en=fccabd7478e61e52&ex=1300597200&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1185554875-gZxiz4QfsOk2xD0BdXVNIg.
- ^ a b c Martha Mendoza (July 27, 2007). "AP: New Details on Tillman's Death". USA Today. Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-26-tillman-friendly-fire_N.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ^ Robert Collier (September 25, 2005). "Family Demands The Truth". San Francisco Chronicle:. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/25/MNGD7ETMNM1.DTL. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- ^ a b Laurence, Charles (August 3, 2007). Was the pin-up boy of Bush's War on Terror assassinated?. London: The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=473037&in_page_id=1770
- ^ Countdown with Keith Olbermann. NBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19997327/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann.
- ^ Krakauer, Jon (September 11, 2009). Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/11/entertainment/et-book11.
- ^ "Second Soldier Alleges Former Tillman Commander Ordered "360 Rotational Fire" in Iraq". Truth out. http://www.truth-out.org/second-soldier-alleges-former-tillman-commander-ordered-360-rotational-fire-iraq63153. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
- ^ "Soldier: Army ordered me not to tell truth about Tillman". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/24/tillman.hearing/index.html. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ Associated Press (August 13, 2007). "Military vets ask Goodell to help release Tillman report". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/specials/preview/2007/08/13/tillman.veterans.ap/.
- ^ House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (July 14, 2008). "Misleading Information from the Battlefield: The Tillman and Lynch Episodes" (PDF). United States Congress. Archived from the original on 2007-05-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070530191210/http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070517170253.pdf.
- ^ Seibel, Mark (July 14, 2008). "Bush officials' 'lack of recall' thwarted Tillman, Lynch probes". McClatchy Newspapers. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/44191.html
- ^ Landers, Jim, "Tillman's Legacy Lives On At Center", Dallas Morning News, January 18, 2009, p. 22.
- ^ "The Last Outpost". Archived from the original on 2008-04-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080405221321/http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs2908.
- ^ "Memorial to honor Pat Tillman, a kid New Almaden knew well, San Jose Mercury News, August 4, 2007". http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_6543559.
- ^ Horii, Ronald (September 8, 2007). "Pat Tillman Memorial Dedication". New Almaden Day 8/8/07. Newalmaden.org. http://www.newalmaden.org/AQSPark/NewAlmadenDay07/NAD07-3.html. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ^ "Tillman the Skateboarding Bulldog". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wygt6L_3L5Y.
- ^ Corbett, Jim (March 7, 2006). "Lot of bang from the Buckeyes, USA Today, March 8, 2006". http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/draft/2006-03-08-osu-lb-feature_x.htm. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ "Pac-10 Names Award for Pat Tillman" (Press release). Pac-10. June 8, 2004. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bUBbMSzNwaMJ:pac-10.org/News/tabid/863/Article/52096/pac-10-names-award-for-pat-tillman.aspx+%22pat+tillman+defensive+player+of+the+year%22+rename&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.com. "The Pac-10 has renamed its annual defensive player of the year award in football the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year Award, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today."
- ^ Ted Rall (October 8, 2005). "Pat Tillman Redux". http://www.tedrall.com/2005_10_01_archive.html#112880323465427889. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- ^ Robert Collier (2005-09-25). "Family demands the truth: new inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman's death". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/09/25/MNGD7ETMNM1.DTL. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ Stan Goff (July 28, 2006). "Playing the Atheism Card Against Pat Tillman’s Family". http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060728_worm_dirt/. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
- ^ Mike Fish (Spring 2006). "Pat Tillman Timeline". http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=tillmantimeline. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ^ Henry Waxman and Tom Davis (May 16, 2007). "Letter to General Ham" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2007-05-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070530191210/http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070517170253.pdf.
- ^ "Report: General faces demotion in Tillman case". USA Today. Associated Press. July 26, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-07-26-tillman_N.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ^ Dexter Filkins (2009-09-08). "The Good Soldier". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/books/review/Filkins-t.html. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ IMDB entry for The Tillman Story
- ^ 'After Pat's Birthday,' Truthdig.com, Oct. 19, 2006
- ^ 'Brother of N.F.L. Star Posts Antiwar Essay' nytimes.com, Oct. 24, 2006
- ^ "Jon Krakauer: "Where Men Win Glory" (Doubleday)". The Diane Rehm Show. 16 September 2009. 37 minutes in. National Public Radio. WAMU. http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2009-09-16/jon-krakauer-where-men-win-glory-doubleday. Listen Windows Media RealAudio
- ^ Holden, Stephen. "When Heroism Means Finding Truth", The New York Times, August 19, 2010.
- ^ Ordoňa, Michael. "Shadowy Truth", The Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2010, p.D-6]
- ^ Smith, Kyle Smith. "The complex, tragic life and death of Pat Tillman", The New York Post, August 15, 2010.
- ^ Mondello, Bob. "'The Tillman Story': One Family's Quest For The Truth", NPR, August 20, 2010.
- ^ "Bill Maher interviews brother of Afghanistan 'hero' Pat Tillman". The Guardian (London). 2010-09-27. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2010/sep/27/bill-maher-richard-tillman. Retrieved 2011.
- ^ Bickley, Dan (April 16, 2005). "Fallen Ranger Tillman turned down NFL overtures for 2004 season". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2005-04-16-tillman-opportunity_x.htm. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ "Pat Tillman, Our Hero". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/article/pat-tillman-our-hero.
[edit] Books
- Krakauer, Jon (2009). Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Doubleday (September 15, 2009). ISBN 978-0-385-52226-7.
- Tillman, Mary; Narda Zacchino (2008). Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman. Modern Times. ISBN 1-59486-880-8.
- Tillman, Mary; Narda Zacchino (2010). Boots On The Ground By Dusk: Searching for Answers in the Death of Pat Tillman. Blurb, Inc..
External links
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pat Tillman |
- We Salute the NFL's war dead, Sports Illustrated's list of 26 other NFL players who died in war.
- Pat Tillman Foundation
- Tillman's sports page
- A Cover-Up At The Highest Levels
- "New Documents Shed Light on Pat Tillman's Death"
- "Kiss the Sun (A Song for Pat Tillman)", a song written by Ellis Paul.
- Gwen Knapp (May 4, 2004). "True hero athlete — Day's theme: Challenge yourself". San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com). http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/04/SPG5K6FD091.DTL. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
- Mike Mount (May 4, 2005). "Report: Evidence destroyed after Tillman's death". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/04/tillman.death/index.html. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- Mike Fish (Spring 2006). "Pat Tillman Timeline". http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=tillmantimeline. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- Mike Fish. "An Un-American Tragedy". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=tillmanpart1. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- Joe Strupp. "ESPN.com Tillman Coverage Wins Top Military Reporters Prize". Editor and Publisher. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003627404. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- Gary Smith (September 5, 2006). "Remember His Name". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/09/05/tillman0911/. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- Scott Lindlaw and Martha Mendoza (Associated Press) (November 9, 2006). "Startling findings in Tillman probe". Yahoo News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061109/ap_on_re_us/inquest_for_a_warrior. Retrieved 2006-11-09.[dead link]
- SI.com (April 20, 2007). "Lawmakers question Army's information lockdown". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/04/20/tillman/index.html. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- Justin Raimondo (July 30, 2007). "Who Killed Pat Tillman? And why?". AntiWar.com. http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=11367. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- "Information regarding the death of Pat Tillman". Office of the US Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs). July 31, 2007. http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4018. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- "Text of letter censuring general in Tillman case". Pete Geren, Under Secretary of the US Army. July 31, 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/31/tillman.friendly.fire.letter.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText. Retrieved 2007-08-02.[dead link]
- Jon Krakauer (October 14, 2009). "Gen. McChrystal's Credibility Problem". http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-14/gen-mcchrystals-credibility-problem/?cid=hp:mainpromo3.
- Robert Collier (San Francisco Chronicle) (August 1, 2007). "New questions raised over timing of Army's disclosure of killing by friendly fire". SFGate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/11/MNGAVP6GKF1.DTL. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
- "Key events in the weeks following Pat Tillman's friendly fire death". Associated Press. Mercury News. August 1, 2007. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6523534?source=rss. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- "The Tillman Fratricide: Investigation Chronology". US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. August 2, 2007. Archived from the original on July 25, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070725184448/http://oversight.house.gov/investigations.asp?ID=256. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- "Mild reprimands in Tillman case won’t be in officers’ records". Associated Press. Kansas City Star. August 10, 2007. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071015232400/http://kansascity.com/news/nation/story/227548.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- Monica Rhor (Associated Press) (2007-09-12). "2 Soldiers Who Wrote Op-Ed Died in Iraq". Federal News Radio. http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=80&sid=1246450. Deaths of Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance T. Gray
- Inside Pat Tillman's Life, and the Bush Administration's Cover-Up of His Death
- Tillman Story movie web site
- The short film "Army Ranger Tillman Death Investigation (August 1, 2007)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- The short film "Accuracy of Battlefield Information (April 24, 2007)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
i took an oath to "Defend the Constition againgst emimies, foriegn and DOMESTIC"
KICK THE FUCKING BUMS OUT ~~~~~!!!
~~~~~~~ I M P E A C H ~~~~~~~ THE LYING MANIPULATING TERRORISTS OUT!
FUCK "CITIZENS United Supreme Court Decision"; Domestic Enimies of the American Constitution!!!
The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription
Note: The following text is a transcription of the Constitution in
its original form. Items that are hyperlinked have since been amended or superseded. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Section. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. Section. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Section. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. 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The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Section. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. Section. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay. Section. 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. Section. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States. Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Section. 1. The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Section. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;-- between a State and Citizens of another State,--between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. Section. 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. Section. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. Section. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. Section. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence. The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page. Attest William Jackson Secretary done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names, G°. Washington !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Impeach Obama/Osama !!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was the "Actor" of the Fictional "Osama bin Laden" Osama bin Laden, A.K.A. CIA Asset "Tim Osman" (AKA Barack Hussain Obama)
Propagada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1998 (Obama is Osama!)
Propaganda (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Insider - CIA created al-Qaeda and gave $3 BILLION to Osama ...How Jimmy Carter and I Started the Mujahideen
Q: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs ["From the Shadows"], that American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan 6 months before the Soviet intervention. In this period you were the national security adviser to President Carter. You therefore played a role in this affair. Is that correct?
Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention. Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into war and looked to provoke it? Brzezinski: It isn’t quite that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would. Q: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn’t believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don’t regret anything today? Brzezinski: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire. Q: And neither do you regret having supported the Islamic [integrisme], having given arms and advice to future terrorists? Brzezinski: What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war? Q: Some stirred-up Moslems? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today. Brzezinski: Nonsense! It is said that the West had a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid. There isn’t a global Islam. Look at Islam in a rational manner and without demagoguery or emotion. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is there in common among Saudi Arabian fundamentalism, moderate Morocco, Pakistan militarism, Egyptian pro-Western or Central Asian secularism? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries. * There are at least two editions of this magazine; with the perhaps sole exception of the Library of Congress, the version sent to the United States is shorter than the French version, and the Brzezinski interview was not included in the shorter version. The above has been translated from the French by Bill Blum author of the indispensible, “Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II” and “Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower” Portions of the books can be read at: <http://members.aol.com/superogue/homepage.htm> CIA – Osama bin Laden controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaObama with a beard and head scarf !!! (and "Actor"=Fictional!) (Lori is a Friend of lynn and i from Tampa/St Petersburg)
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FUCK THE "ADA" !!!!!!!!!
The National Defense Authorization Act is the Greatest Threat to Civil Liberties Americans Face



[Updated below.]
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 anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.
So much for innocent until proven guilty. So much for limited government. What Americans are now facing is quite literally the end of the line. We will either uphold the freedoms baked into our Constitutional Republic, or we will scrap the entire project in the name of security as we wage, endlessly, this futile, costly, and ultimately self-defeating War on Terror.
Over at Wired, Spencer Ackerman gives us the long and short of things:
What’s truly at stake when we start talking about Big Government and such is far more dangerous and preposterous than high marginal tax rates.
We’re talking about the stripping away of our most basic freedoms. We’re talking about a potential state that can call me a terrorist for writing this blog post and then lock me up and throw away the key.
What’s the line from Batman? The night is always darkest just before the dawn. I like to think that’s true, because times seem awfully dark these days.
* Update: Actually, Franken voted for the NDAA so never mind. He’s also sponsoring the PROTECT IP Act which would clamp down on free speech online.
Second Update (Dec. 17th): The National Defense Authorization Act passed. Senator Al Franken withdrew his support from the bill, stating:
“I voted against this bill because it contains provisions on detention that I find unacceptable. While I voted for an earlier version of the legislation, I did so with the hope that the final version would be significantly improved. And that didn’t happen.
“The bill that came before the Senate today still includes several troubling provisions, the worst of which could allow the military to detain Americans indefinitely, without charge or trial, even if they’re captured in the U.S. What’s more, provisions like these could ultimately undermine the safety of our troops stationed abroad. And just yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified in a Senate hearing that I attended about his deep concerns with the detention provisions and their potentially harmful effects on our counterterrorism efforts.
“Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, and this wasn’t the way to mark its birthday.”
I will have a follow-up post to address this and other arguments surrounding the controversial legislation up soon. Please don’t hesitate to send me thoughts, tips, and feedback.
You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
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 anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.
So much for innocent until proven guilty. So much for limited government. What Americans are now facing is quite literally the end of the line. We will either uphold the freedoms baked into our Constitutional Republic, or we will scrap the entire project in the name of security as we wage, endlessly, this futile, costly, and ultimately self-defeating War on Terror.
Over at Wired, Spencer Ackerman gives us the long and short of things:
I seriously don’t care if you’re a liberal or a conservative or a libertarian or a Zen anarchist. So long as you aren’t Carl Levin or John McCain, the bill’s architects, you can join the Civil Liberties Caucus. Spencer writes:There are still changes swirling around the Senate, but this looks like the basic shape of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Someone the government says is “a member of, or part of, al-Qaida or an associated force” can be held in military custody “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” Those hostilities are currently scheduled toend the Wednesday after never. The move would shut down criminal trials for terror suspects.But far more dramatically, the detention mandate to use indefinite military detention in terrorism cases isn’t limited to foreigners. It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority.”An amendment that would limit military detentions to people captured overseas failed on Thursday afternoon. The Senate soundly defeated a measure to strip out all the detention provisions on Tuesday.So despite the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to trial, the Senate bill would let the government lock up any citizen it swears is a terrorist, without the burden of proving its case to an independent judge, and for the lifespan of an amorphous war that conceivably will never end. And because the Senate is using the bill that authorizes funding for the military as its vehicle for this dramatic constitutional claim, it’s pretty likely to pass.
Weirder still, the bill’s chief architect, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), tried to persuade skeptics that the bill wasn’t so bad. His pitch? “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States,” he said on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill would just letthe government detain a citizen in military custody, not force it to do that. Reassured yet?This is what I mean: Give me Rand Paul and Al Franken any day of the week over the Levins and McCains of the Senate. We need more elected officials with the sensibility of Ron Wyden or Al Franken* on the left, or Rand Paul on the right. Right and left are such shoddy, ad hoc descriptors these days anyways.
Civil libertarians aren’t. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said it “denigrates the very foundations of this country.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) added, “it puts every single American citizen at risk.”
What’s truly at stake when we start talking about Big Government and such is far more dangerous and preposterous than high marginal tax rates.
We’re talking about the stripping away of our most basic freedoms. We’re talking about a potential state that can call me a terrorist for writing this blog post and then lock me up and throw away the key.
What’s the line from Batman? The night is always darkest just before the dawn. I like to think that’s true, because times seem awfully dark these days.
* Update: Actually, Franken voted for the NDAA so never mind. He’s also sponsoring the PROTECT IP Act which would clamp down on free speech online.
Second Update (Dec. 17th): The National Defense Authorization Act passed. Senator Al Franken withdrew his support from the bill, stating:
“I voted against this bill because it contains provisions on detention that I find unacceptable. While I voted for an earlier version of the legislation, I did so with the hope that the final version would be significantly improved. And that didn’t happen.
“The bill that came before the Senate today still includes several troubling provisions, the worst of which could allow the military to detain Americans indefinitely, without charge or trial, even if they’re captured in the U.S. What’s more, provisions like these could ultimately undermine the safety of our troops stationed abroad. And just yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified in a Senate hearing that I attended about his deep concerns with the detention provisions and their potentially harmful effects on our counterterrorism efforts.
“Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, and this wasn’t the way to mark its birthday.”
I will have a follow-up post to address this and other arguments surrounding the controversial legislation up soon. Please don’t hesitate to send me thoughts, tips, and feedback.
You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
Erik KainContributorSo much for innocent until proven guilty. So much for limited government. What Americans are now facing is quite literally the end of the line. We will either uphold the freedoms baked into our Constitutional Republic, or we will scrap the entire project in the name of security as we wage, endlessly, this futile, costly, and ultimately self-defeating War on Terror.
Over at Wired, Spencer Ackerman gives us the long and short of things:
There are still changes swirling around the Senate, but this looks like the basic shape of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Someone the government says is “a member of, or part of, al-Qaida or an associated force” can be held in military custody “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” Those hostilities are currently scheduled toend the Wednesday after never. The move would shut down criminal trials for terror suspects.
But far more dramatically, the detention mandate to use indefinite military detention in terrorism cases isn’t limited to foreigners. It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority.”
An amendment that would limit military detentions to people captured overseas failed on Thursday afternoon. The Senate soundly defeated a measure to strip out all the detention provisions on Tuesday.
So despite the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to trial, the Senate bill would let the government lock up any citizen it swears is a terrorist, without the burden of proving its case to an independent judge, and for the lifespan of an amorphous war that conceivably will never end. And because the Senate is using the bill that authorizes funding for the military as its vehicle for this dramatic constitutional claim, it’s pretty likely to pass.
There are still changes swirling around the Senate, but this looks like the basic shape of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Someone the government says is “a member of, or part of, al-Qaida or an associated force” can be held in military custody “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” Those hostilities are currently scheduled toend the Wednesday after never. The move would shut down criminal trials for terror suspects.
But far more dramatically, the detention mandate to use indefinite military detention in terrorism cases isn’t limited to foreigners. It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority.”
An amendment that would limit military detentions to people captured overseas failed on Thursday afternoon. The Senate soundly defeated a measure to strip out all the detention provisions on Tuesday.
So despite the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to trial, the Senate bill would let the government lock up any citizen it swears is a terrorist, without the burden of proving its case to an independent judge, and for the lifespan of an amorphous war that conceivably will never end. And because the Senate is using the bill that authorizes funding for the military as its vehicle for this dramatic constitutional claim, it’s pretty likely to pass.
I seriously don’t care if you’re a liberal or a conservative or a libertarian or a Zen anarchist. So long as you aren’t Carl Levin or John McCain, the bill’s architects, you can join the Civil Liberties Caucus. Spencer writes:
Weirder still, the bill’s chief architect, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), tried to persuade skeptics that the bill wasn’t so bad. His pitch? “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States,” he said on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill would just letthe government detain a citizen in military custody, not force it to do that. Reassured yet?
Civil libertarians aren’t. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said it “denigrates the very foundations of this country.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) added, “it puts every single American citizen at risk.”
Civil libertarians aren’t. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said it “denigrates the very foundations of this country.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) added, “it puts every single American citizen at risk.”
This is what I mean: Give me Rand Paul and Al Franken any day of the week over the Levins and McCains of the Senate. We need more elected officials with the sensibility of Ron Wyden or Al Franken* on the left, or Rand Paul on the right. Right and left are such shoddy, ad hoc descriptors these days anyways.
What’s truly at stake when we start talking about Big Government and such is far more dangerous and preposterous than high marginal tax rates.
We’re talking about the stripping away of our most basic freedoms. We’re talking about a potential state that can call me a terrorist for writing this blog post and then lock me up and throw away the key.
What’s the line from Batman? The night is always darkest just before the dawn. I like to think that’s true, because times seem awfully dark these days.
* Update: Actually, Franken voted for the NDAA so never mind. He’s also sponsoring the PROTECT IP Act which would clamp down on free speech online.
Second Update (Dec. 17th): The National Defense Authorization Act passed. Senator Al Franken withdrew his support from the bill, stating:
“I voted against this bill because it contains provisions on detention that I find unacceptable. While I voted for an earlier version of the legislation, I did so with the hope that the final version would be significantly improved. And that didn’t happen.
“The bill that came before the Senate today still includes several troubling provisions, the worst of which could allow the military to detain Americans indefinitely, without charge or trial, even if they’re captured in the U.S. What’s more, provisions like these could ultimately undermine the safety of our troops stationed abroad. And just yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified in a Senate hearing that I attended about his deep concerns with the detention provisions and their potentially harmful effects on our counterterrorism efforts.
“Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, and this wasn’t the way to mark its birthday.”
I will have a follow-up post to address this and other arguments surrounding the controversial legislation up soon. Please don’t hesitate to send me thoughts, tips, and feedback.
You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Peace
Department of Peace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
cabinet-level department of the executive branch of the U.S. government.
The Department of Peace is a proposed Contents[hide]
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"That'sIt!!!!!!!!!!! I'm voting for Jill Stein !!!!!!!!!!
'US political system hostile to Americans' TRUTH!
AMERICAN RIGGED SYSTEM:
BRING DEMOCRACY
TO AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!
"MAIN STREET vs WALL STREET"
~~~~~~ OCCUPY AMERICA ~~~~~~~~~~
AMERICA IS BEING STOLEN!!!!!
WE THE PEOPLE HAVE TO HAVE REVOLUTION
TO RETAKE AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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