H.R. 1955: Homegrown Terrorists

H.R. 1955 and S. 1959 distinctly mirror the HUAC/Orwellian labeling, fear, and panic incitements of the Bush Administration – where ALL of us understood an overt message: You Are Under Suspicion/We Are Watching You.  “ALL of us” included the millions who spoke out or stood up (dissented) peacefully and patriotically against (to cite a few examples) the highest levels of Executive abuses, redefining torture as legal (for the U.S. – only), FISA being overridden (covertly), full-scale holocausts of propaganda – including fake news, politically manipulated and fabricated intelligence reports, and outright lies as selling points to a worldwide audience.  In direct relation, exclamations of “Yes We Can!” from more than half of this country’s citizens were joined in by a shared chorus throughout the globe – as a reflection of belief and Hope that positive Change was on our collective horizons.  Continuing oppressive and regressive measures which made average activists feel as if they could be arrested at any time, solely because the President viewed their protests (clarified in the Constitution/Bill of Rights) as “unpatriotic” expressions possibly worthy of an “Enemy Combatant” designation, would, without a doubt, serve to enhance certain senses: Our guaranteed Freedoms and Rights are only illusionary and/or temporary (depending on who is in power/what agenda currently prevails).  H.R. 1955 and S. 1959 fit the latter mold, precisely.  Vague definitions within open doors to the same McCarthyesque arena, where interpretations are not independent of political, religious, or personal whims/biases, or many other clouded motivations.  For those with rational and moral minds, promoters of violence are, of course, shunned – while being pushed further to the margins.  Yet, beyond the violence aspect, will future determinations of “extremist belief system[s]” be truly objective?  If so, one could assume 9/11 Truthers, including prominent architects and engineers, would no longer be on the House’s target list?  What about previously infiltrated pacifist groups?  Moreover, will yesterday’s protesters who worried about being classified as “Enemy Combatants” find themselves newly outraged over possibly being labeled “Homegrown Terrorists” because their actions might be construed as intimidation or coercion?  If these concerns become another reality, clearly, that was not the “Change We [Could] Believe In.”

Habeas Corpus, 9/11, & Patriot Act[s]

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