Strangling Civil Liberties, One Twist at a Time
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford | March 7, 2012
There is a constituency for the right to assemble and protest in this country, but it appears as if that constituency has very little representation in the U.S. Congress. The Senate unanimously passed a law that has significant ramifications for the Occupy movement or anyone else that wants to exercise their First Amendment rights. H.R. 347 is also known as the Trespass Bill. Only three members of the House voted against it, all of them Republicans, including presidential contender Ron Paul. None of the major civil liberties organizations raised a fuss, either, but the silence will surely come back to haunt us.
The bill makes it a federal crime punishable by a year in prison for “trespassing” on places where someone under protection of the Secret Service is also present, and up to ten years if a weapon is involved, or someone is seriously injured. The restrictions cover not just the president, but also presidential candidates and foreign dignitaries and heads of state. The new version of the law makes protesters subject to felony prosecution even if they were unaware that people protected by the Secret Service were in the area. Rather than demonstrators freely congregating to protest the presence of their least favored presidential politicians, or to loudly demand that visiting foreign leaders go back home, would-be protesters would be best-advised by their lawyers to stay as far away as possible or face a long stretch in prison. Surely, that stands the right to peacefully assemble on its head.
Even more ominously, the new law allows the Department of Homeland Security to designate whole areas as part of a so-called National Security Event Zone, off limits to protest. The United National Anti-War Coalition and others that are planning to demonstrate at the meeting of NATO nations, in Chicago, in late May, will almost certainly be confronted with, not only Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s aggressive protest containment policies, but a Homeland Security declaration putting large areas under a federal protective bubble, with even more serious criminal consequences. In the real, often chaotic whirl of mass outdoor protest, with police pushing crowds from place to place, and protesters trying to make themselves heard, large numbers of demonstrators could find themselves in a federal no-go zone. Under the old rules, the harshest penalties could be imposed only on those who “willfully” crossed into a National Security Event Zone. The new Trespass Bill omits the word “willfully,” so that anyone who is caught “trespassing” in the Zone, whether they knew it was restricted or not, is liable for felony prosecution. This brings to mind the mass arrests of Occupy demonstrators on Brooklyn Bridge, last year. Many in the crowd thought they were being escorted across the bridge by police, and were not willfully trespassing. Under the federal bill, lack of willfulness is no excuse.
What is more disturbing than the potential Bill of Rights-eroding aspects of the legislation, is the Congress’s cavalier attitude towards civil liberties. There was no debate. The only No votes came from Tea Party Republicans. Democrats behaved as if nothing important was happening, just as when President Bill Clinton first came up with the idea National Security Event Zones – where the public, by law, has nothing to say.
Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
Related articles
- One year after FBI subpoena, civil liberties protections in US frighteningly eroded even further (alethonews.wordpress.com)
- Goodbye, First Amendment: ‘Trespass Bill’ will make protest illegal (alethonews.wordpress.com)
March 7, 2012 Posted by aletho | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Timeless or most popular | Brooklyn Bridge, Civil liberties, Department of Homeland Security, National Security Event Zone, Ron Paul, United States, United States Department of Homeland Security | 1 Comment
Featured Video
The truth about war reporting
For more videos go to the Aletho News – Video Category
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
‘War for Oil’ — The Notion That Will Not Die
By Dr. Stephen J Sniegoski | My Catbird Seat | March 11, 2014
… once it had become clear that the United States would attack Iraq, and certainly after it actually had invaded, one may assume that the oil companies would want to take advantage of the situation and jockey for a favored position in postwar Iraq. But that does not somehow prove by itself that the oil interests pushed the country into war. And as it happened, the U.S. government did little to guarantee a favorable position for American oil companies after the war. As I pointed out in The Transparent Cabal, the U.S. government never made plans (much less implemented such plans) to dominate Iraq, to the extent of being able to control Iraq’s oil for its own benefit and that of its oil companies at the expense of the Iraq government and people. To exercise any permanent control of Iraq’s oil reserves, Washington would have had to turn the country into a virtual colony (which would have been very difficult, if not impossible). [20] It was inevitable that an Iraqi government with any type of autonomy would sell oil leases to the highest bidder.
Under the oil argument, the violence and political resistance that sprang up in Iraq during the occupation thwarted the U.S. plan to control oil. The likelihood of such internal violence, however, was fully recognized in a number of pre-invasion government studies. [21] About the only ostensibly knowledgeable group that claimed otherwise was the neocons, and if their expressed view here is accepted as a candid account, it seems necessary to accept also their public pronouncements about establishing democracy and ridding Iraq of WMDs as reasons for the war.
When Iraq began to sell oil leases to foreign companies in 2009, only a very few went to American companies while a disproportionate number went to America’s major rivals, China and Russia. That could hardly be a goal of American foreign policy. One reason given for those countries’ success has been that their companies were government-owned or government-supported, and thus could better afford to incur risk and accept low profits than their American counterparts, which were strictly private. … Read full article
Aletho News Original Content
Three Mile Island, Global Warming and the CIA
By Aletho News | January 9, 2012
This article will examine some of the connections between the US and UK National Security apparatus and the appearance of the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) theory beginning after the accident at Three Mile Island. … continue
~
Also by Aletho News:
March 8, 2011
Investment bankers salivate over North Africa
February 25, 2010
Look out for the nuclear bomb coming with your electric bill
February 7, 2010
The saturated fat scam: What’s the real story?
December 26, 2009
Mining the soil: Biomass, the unsustainable energy source
December 4, 2009
There’s more to climate fraud than just tax hikes
About Aletho News’ Name
Blog Roll
Visits Since December 2009
- 3,224,972 hits
Follow Aletho News on Twitter
My TweetsLooking for something?
Archives
Calendar
Categories
Aletho News Civil Liberties Corruption Deception Economics Environmentalism Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism Fake News False Flag Terrorism Full Spectrum Dominance Illegal Occupation Mainstream Media, Warmongering Militarism Nuclear Power Progressive Hypocrite Russophobia Science and Pseudo-Science Solidarity and Activism Subjugation - Torture Supremacism, Social Darwinism Timeless or most popular Video War Crimes Wars for IsraelTags
9/11 Afghanistan Africa AIPAC al-Qaeda Argentina BBC Benjamin Netanyahu Brazil Canada Central Intelligence Agency China CIA CNN Colombia Da’esh Donald Trump Egypt European Union Facebook FBI France Gaza Germany Google Hamas Hebron Hezbollah Hillary Clinton Honduras Human rights India International Solidarity Movement Iran Iraq Iraq War ISIL ISIS Israel Israeli settlement Japan Jeremy Corbyn Jerusalem John Kerry Latin America Lebanon Libya Middle East Military National Security Agency NATO New York Times North Korea NSA Obama Pakistan Palestine Press TV Qatar Russia Sanctions against Iran Saudi Arabia Syria The Guardian Turkey UK Ukraine United Nations United States USA Venezuela Washington Post West Bank Yemen ZionismLatest Comments
michael major\\ on Useful Idiots? New Yorker Maga… Freeman on Hasbara memo: “When Israelis m… Kolo on Outrage as NPR attacks black a… coinherence on Russian diplomat says Britain… jesser1971 on Is Putin profoundly corrupt or… Brian Harry, Austral… on CNN reporter inhales deadly ‘c… rediscover911com on Outrage as NPR attacks black a… 4justice on Hasbara memo: “When Israelis m… John L on War, Abuse and Other Peoples:… John L on Trump: Prisoner of the War… Zara Ali on Hasbara memo: “When Israelis m… Brian Harry, Austral… on Abolish the FBI, America’s… Brian Harry, Austral… on Abolish the FBI, America’s… tsisageya on Hasbara memo: “When Israelis m… Michael on Hasbara memo: “When Israelis m…
Aletho News
- British govt must explain its behavior in Skripal case, Syria strikes – UKIP MEP April 21, 2018
- Palestinian lecturer shot dead in Malaysia April 21, 2018
- Ontario anti-racism committee members tied to racist JNF April 21, 2018
- Just When You Thought “Russiagate” Couldn’t Get Any Sillier … April 21, 2018
- Japan not satisfied with N. Korea’s nuke test halt, wants ‘complete & irreversible’ denuclearization April 21, 2018
- Useful Idiots? New Yorker Magazine Fails Litmus Test for Media Impartiality on Syrian War April 21, 2018
- What Are “Assad Apologists”? Are They Like Those “Saddam Apologists” Of 2002? April 21, 2018
- US State Dept. Says Ukraine Forces Allegedly Involved in Torture April 21, 2018
- Trump Scores Major North Korea Points; Dems Sue WikiLeaks For Telling The Truth April 21, 2018
- Kim Jong-un: No need for further nuclear & missile tests April 21, 2018
- Outrage as NPR attacks black activist over ‘Russian’ radio appearance April 21, 2018
- Modi’s homage to Herzl comes to haunt him April 20, 2018
- On the Criminal Referral of Comey, Clinton et al: Will the Constitution Hold and the Media Continue to Suppress the Story? April 20, 2018
- Last chance for Russiagate? Democrats file lawsuit against Trump campaign, Russia and WikiLeaks April 20, 2018
- Each “Click” Brings Us One Step Closer to the “Bang!” April 20, 2018
- US still paying White Helmets despite $200mn-aid freeze for Syria recovery, State Dept confirms April 20, 2018
- Russian diplomat says Britain deserves title of world’s worst genocide perpetrator April 20, 2018
- The Guardian, “Russian bots” and the dehumanisation of dissent April 20, 2018
If Americans Knew
OffGuardian
- Barcelona, Roger Waters, White Helmets April 21, 2018
- Another look at “that” Guardian article April 21, 2018
- The Guardian as George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth April 20, 2018
- The Guardian, “Russian bots” and the dehumanisation of dissent April 20, 2018
Gilad Atzmon
- On the False Dichotomy Between 'Jews' and 'Zionism' April 21, 2018
- Syrian Boy in White Helmets FAKE Chemical Attack Video Reveals the Truth April 20, 2018
- Israel - Seven Decades of Plunder April 20, 2018
More Links
Contact:
atheonews (at) gmail.comdisclaimer
This site is provided as a research and reference tool. Although we make every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and data provided at this site are useful, accurate, and current, we cannot guarantee that the information and data provided here will be error-free. By using this site, you assume all responsibility for and risk arising from your use of and reliance upon the contents of this site.
This site and the information available through it do not, and are not intended to constitute legal advice. Should you require legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
Nothing within this site or linked to by this site constitutes investment advice or medical advice.
Materials accessible from or added to this site by third parties, such as comments posted, are strictly the responsibility of the third party who added such materials or made them accessible and we neither endorse nor undertake to control, monitor, edit or assume responsibility for any such third-party material.
The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
The word "alleged" is deemed to occur before the word "fraud." Since the rule of law still applies. To peasants, at least.
Fair Use
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more info go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
DMCA Contact
This is information for anyone that wishes to challenge our “fair use” of copyrighted material.
If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe that content residing on or accessible through our website infringes a copyright and falls outside the boundaries of “Fair Use”, please send a notice of infringement by contacting atheonews@gmail.com.
We will respond and take necessary action immediately.
If notice is given of an alleged copyright violation we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material(s) in question.
All 3rd party material posted on this website is copyright the respective owners / authors. Aletho News makes no claim of copyright on such material.