FBI: Uniformed

I just wrote a post about how the FBI employees are so uniformed that their biases are resulting in these raids on peace and social justice activist that tear at the fabric of our democracy... but poof! Blogger nixed it.

Bottom Line: We need to insist that one response to the Department of Justice General Inspector reports is that a major awareness training is conducted for FBI employees about the history of labor struggles, Palestinian struggles, US intervention in Central and South America, etc.

Nuf said for now.

For Your Convenience:

• Contact the Broadcast Media
• Contact the Newspapers
• Contact the US Senate
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

Changes to the Insurrection Act

The Insurrection Act is made up of five sections of Title 10 of the United States Code (Entitled Armed Forces). The Sections are 331 through 335.

The changes to the Act, made via the Warner 2007 Defense Authorization Bill, drafted in 2006, are not that significant. What is significant is the the original Act. The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a notable exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, which reads simply:

Sec. 1385. - Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

The Warner 2007 Defense Authorization Bill made the following changes (Sections not mentioned were not changed).

Old Title: "Insurrection"
New Title: "Enforcement of the Laws to Restore Public Order."

Old Section 333: Limited the military to "suppressing" "insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy". Basically, once the violence is over, the feds leave.
New Section 333: Expands the military rights to a more open-ended role to "restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States" for the things cited above, plus "a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition", where "other conditions" remain consistent with old law except that the words "or possession" are inserted to complement the law's application to states. Note how this expansion relates to new language in Section 334.

New Section 333 adds a requirement for the President to notify Congress of his use of this authority and report every 14 days.

Section 334, cited in full below, with new language in bold.

Whenever the President considers it necessary to use the militia or the armed forces under this chapter, he shall, by proclamation, immediately order the insurgents or those obstructing the enforcement of the laws to disperse and retire peaceably to their abodes within a limited time.

CLICK HERE for a side-by-side comparison of the old and new versions of the Insurrection Act.

Internal Tags:

Insurrection Act of 1807
How it was changed
differences
old version new
how old and new versions vary
changes made
law before and after changes
Title 10 U.S.C. USC US United States Code Section 331 132 133 134 335
Subtitle A
Part 1
Chapter 15

Sources:

Cornell Law School US Code Collection Sections 131 - 135.

Wikipedia, Insurrection Act, Posse Comitatus Act.

The Military's Domestic use of "Future Force"

The war at home. In a report on the role of the Army's "Future Force" enabled by C4SI (command, control, and computers, communications, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), we find a section on domestic deployment of this force.

Finding 1-1. Homeland security is an important extension of the Army’s historical role of providing military support to civilian authorities. The Army will be called on to assist the lead federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security, in meeting a wide range of demands for consequence management and recovery of public order and critical services.

Finding 1-2. The Army National Guard, given its historical mission and flexibility, geographic dispersion, dual-mission capabilities, and frequent association with local agencies, is the key Army asset to meet homeland security demands and can be augmented as necessary with special capabilities from the Army Reserve and the active Army.

Finding 1-3. There are many similarities between military operations involving allied or coalition forces and operations involving civilian emergency responders.

SOURCE: National Research Council of The National Acadamies (2003), pp. 24, 29, and 31.

It's worth noting that the panel that convened to write the report (below) in which this 2003 report is cited, met in 2003. Consequently, a lot has probably transpired since then.

Sources:

Army Science and Technology for Homeland Security: Report 2 -- C4ISR (2004)
Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST)

Domestic Terrorism: Sounds Like Routine Corporate Behavior

Has anyone noticed that the USA PATRIOT Act definition of "domestic terrorism" sounds like the routine behavior of many corporations?

Section 802 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 defines the term `domestic terrorism' to mean activities that--

involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;

(B) appear to be intended--
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.

Sounds like what corporations do all the time.

USA PATRIOT ACT

Domestic Spying: A Common Cause for Liberals and Conservatives

Here's an issue that can help bring conservatives and liberals together; the FISA Court giving the green light for domestic spying. I'll confess that I've not looked deeply into the reports and blog-responses. My point is that conservatives and liberals can, and should, coalesse on issues like this and go on the offensive. A good example of this is progressive groups working with the Christian Coalition and gun rights organizations on media reform issues, like striving to protect equal access to the Internet (network neutrality).

My greater concern is that we are entering a phase of fascist tendancies in this country. This has been expounded on by people like former Nixon Counsel John Dean in his book "Conservatives Without Conscience." I like to preserve the word "conservatives" for people who are honestly conservative. The more appropriate word for where Bush is taking the Country is to the right. "Right wing" means power in the hands of the few, whereas "Left Wing" means power distributed among the many (i.e., little "d" democratic).

Language aside, the concern is that the FISA Court seems to be giving more power to what is already an "Imperial Presidency." That's John Dean's phrase. A phrase used by Paul Krugman, Princeton Economist, is Revolutionary Power. That's not Krugman's term. He cites it from Henry Kissenger's PhD thesis. I urge everyone to click on that link and read what Krugman wrote... that is, if you want to experience chills, and understand why it is imperative for honest conservatives and liberals and radical lefties to coalesse and go on the offensive.

John Dean is a conservative. In addition to that perspective, he has many years behind him and has worked at the center of power. He knows that the public needs to stand up and challenge the frightening trends of this president and the people who surround him.

A former director of the Brazilian Mint, who lived through the US-backed coup and dictatorship gave me some sage advice when Bush entered office. He said, "It's a lot easier to prevent a dictatorship than to remove one." That's a call to action around which honest conservatives and liberals must rally.