Tag Archives: Posse Comitatus Act

Expanding The Surveillance State

Posted on by

Yesterday The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about a move by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to create regional offices around the country for the Capitol Police.

The article reports:

In a remarkable display of how committed the Democrat party is to utilizing the narrative of domestic extremism for their own benefit, Nancy Pelosi is placing satellite field offices for the DC Capitol Police in key regions around the country.  When we consider the FBI has field offices all over the country, you might ask: why does the Capitol Hill police need to expand beyond Washington DC?

Essentially, what Nancy Pelosi is doing is expanding the federal law enforcement mechanism of the legislative branch into specific areas where they can investigate political opposition armed with legal authority.

This is a concerning shift in events; however, there is a likelihood such a move is connected to the larger political goal of enhanced federal enforcement to quell any rebellion, while working in concert with the DOJ.

Consider the fact that The Posse Comitatus Act outlaws the willful use of any part of the Army or Air Force to execute the law unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress. Establishing satellite field offices for the DC Capitol Police would allow the legislative branch to act as a law enforcement entity in various areas of the country. Considering how the Democrats have already politicized various branches of government to use against political opponents (the IRS, the Justice Department, etc.), can you imagine what they would do with a national police force they controlled? If these field offices are set up, we can expect to see free speech, freedom of assembly, and other rights supposedly protected by the Constitution to disappear rapidly.

Disturbing News From The Senate

Posted on by

Regardless of how you feel about the filibuster Senator Rand Paul is conducting in the Senate, there are some interesting aspects of this filibuster. First of all, it is a real filibuster. Senator Rand Paul began his filibuster at 11:47 am this morning. Another interesting aspect of this filibuster is a resolution Senator Paul has suggested that I would like to mention.

PJ Media is reporting on the filibuster. They report:

During his ongoing filibuster in the well of the US Senate, Sen. Rand Paul introduced a resolution opposing the targeted drone killing of US citizens on American soil by our government. The resolution stated that “the use of drones to execute or target American citizens on American soil who pose no imminent threat clearly violates Constitutional rights” [of due process].

Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) blocked a floor vote on the resolution.

My question of the day–“Whatever happened to the Posse Comitatus Act? The American government does not have the right to kill American citizens on American soil without a fair trial. We gave the underwear bomber (who was caught red-handed trying to carry out a terrorist attack) a lawyer and read him his Miranda rights, shouldn’t we do at least that much for American citizens?

In December 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported on a drone used to capture three men in North Dakota who were stealing cattle.

The article reports:

In an interview, Michael C. Kostelnik, a retired Air Force general who heads the office that supervises the drones, said Predators are flown “in many areas around the country, not only for federal operators, but also for state and local law enforcement and emergency responders in times of crisis.”

But former Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who sat on the House homeland security intelligence subcommittee at the time and served as its chairwoman from 2007 until early this year, said no one ever discussed using Predators to help local police serve warrants or do other basic work.

Using Predators for routine law enforcement without public debate or clear legal authority is a mistake, Harman said.

“There is no question that this could become something that people will regret,” said Harman, who resigned from the House in February and now heads the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington think tank.

In 2008 and 2010, Harman helped beat back efforts by Homeland Security officials to use imagery from military satellites to help domestic terrorism investigations. Congress blocked the proposal on grounds it would violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the military from taking a police role on U.S. soil.

Why in the world would the Democrats block a vote on Senator Rand Paul’s resolution? Wake up, America, don’t support a political party that will not support your rights.

Enhanced by Zemanta