NDAA 1021 – Another One Bites The Dust

Let me just start by saying that I am loosely of the opinion that the Upstart Rebel Government in the United States – as well its puppet clone here in Canada – are Terrfic Abominations of good social order (let alone good governance), and they fully deserve to implode under the weight of their civil services, and their marxist legislating.  To put it simply: I have no love of Democracy.

That said, I find it sad to see one more nail put into the coffin of the American Experiment.  When Obama signs-off on Section 1021 (was 1031) of the NDAA, indefinite military detention of citizens will be enshrined in law.  The experiment has failed; but I have no schadenfreude for it.  No, in fact I’m angry – not simply because the sight of a once beautiful slut hitting the wall is a pointless and tragic waste – I’m angry because this Shredding of the Fifth Ammendmant is Stupidly Reckless and Evil.

Which may sound strange coming from someone who has openly stated his disbelief in the sacredness of Human Rights… and that’s exactly why I’m going to talk about it.  Because my stance is a bit more subtle than “Benjamin Franklin is spinning in his grave.”

When it comes to Human Rights (the Classical Liberal ones, not our modern UN claptrap), I just don’t buy into the belief that there’s anything special about them.  They are not written down on stone tablets; they are not a fundamental particle of nature; and for that matter, they’re not black and white.  It’s possible to have some freedom of speech, without having perfect freedom of speech.

Hell, human rights were never absolute, despite the poetic paens – as soon as that 200-year-old Bill was drafted, every single article was immediately whittled down to a reasonable level.  Fire in the Movie Theatre and all that.

But just because I don’t think they’re sancrosanct, doesn’t mean I’m against them – I love living in a Free Country.  When you’re part of the Alt-Tight, you’re not allowed to hate freedom of speech – it’s the only thing keeping us out of prison.  Freedom against sodomy laws?  Sign me up!  No, I loves-me some freedom of conscience, speech, association, and property.  In fact, in most of these cases I don’t think we have enough.

However, as a Civilized Man I must look beyond my own benefits; my pleasure is not an argument for legislation – Welfare Bums vote Liberal, because the left keeps them on the pogey, and they don’t care about anybody else.  We are better than that.  My support of the Fifth Ammendment – as well as the others – comes from a place of Reason.

Namely: you cannot have a stable society if you cannot predict the rules.

Any system of justice which is Consistent and Explicit is a good one – Don’t Do What Johnny Don’t Does – it’s easy to figure out, ergo I can live my life while avoiding The Fuzz.  If the system also has an accurate understanding of human nature, then that’s just a Bonus.

I mentioned freedom of speech and the Alt-Right earlier; I was half joking.  From what I can gather, this blog is arguably illegal in My Homeland – the key word being arguably.  As things stand in our Western Democracies, any spoken word beyond weather-related inanities is arguably illegal.  The right person just has to be offended.  And then it’s legality remains in question until an argument occurs.

Sex – there’s another one.  Where is the line between Consent and Rape?  Once upon a time we knew.  Now it’s a question of feeeelings.  Divorce?  Property?  Environmental – Trades & Tariffs?  Each one has been getting progressively more obscure.  It’s hard to tell if one is Obeying the Law anymore.

But this Fifth Ammendment shredding?  Now we’re truly in cuckoo land.

It is now possible to wind up in prison – indefinitely – merely because of an accusation (only available in the United States, coming to a Democracy near you soon!).  There is no way to prevent a false accusation – keeping your nose clean won’t do a damned thing.  We’re all of us, driving down the highway with a B.A.C of 0.11, one set of blinking cherries away from jail.

How can we possibly have a prosperous society under these conditions?  Already, entrepreneurs are afraid to invest in their businesses because of the jerking-about which the politicians are doing to the economy.  Now it’s not even safe to walk to work.

“We’ll only use it against terrorists.”

Ich bin ein Criminal – and don’t you forget it.

***

There’s one other aspect to this whole thing which is quite interesting; I heard it from commenter on another blog, (forget where) but I don’t think he realized the potential salvation in it.

Namely: the US government may have just given their stamp of approval to a military coup.  Some people are already petitioning for the Generals to do exactly this – pointing out that their Oath is to the Constitution (just as mine was to the Queen), and not the dog fuckers who are shredding it.

Whether this is a good thing or not really depends on what you think of the American military.

I can tell you that the Canadian Forces are full of good people; the only problem with Our Army is the elected representatives running it.  As I recall, Gen Rick Hillier (a Great Canadian if there ever was one) quit shortly after I did, silently, without explanation or fanfare.  I suspect his reasons mirrored my own – he got fed up with the political bullshit.

But when it comes to the Americans, I wonder… there’s too many damned generals in that country, and they seem downright eager to develop Terminator Technology for use against farmers (and not just in Iraq).  There’s a lot of money at the top, and some very close ties to the Military-Industrial Complex.  I wonder…

But then again, it would be hard to screw up worse than Obama; and Starship Troopers is recommended reading on Marine bases…

I’m sure it will turn out for the best.

EDIT: Just ran into this video courtesy of Captain Capitalism linking to Complementarian Loners.  Tell me that this guy won’t be down with the military taking over.