Genuflecting Towards Tyranny
The
US Congress took another step towards tyranny and away from legal and
Constitutionally guaranteed protections this past week, when the House
of Representatives approved HR 237.
This
bill allows the Secretary of State, at his own discretion, to make a
determination that an American citizen has terrorist affiliations and
therefore to deny or revoke said citizen’s passport.
bill allows the Secretary of State, at his own discretion, to make a
determination that an American citizen has terrorist affiliations and
therefore to deny or revoke said citizen’s passport.
According
to HR 237, which is entitled the “FTO Passport Revocation Act of 2015,”
the Secretary of State may so revoke a citizen’s travel rights without
any invocation of due process. There will be no court hearing involved,
and the individual will have no opportunity to object or to present
evidence to the contrary.
to HR 237, which is entitled the “FTO Passport Revocation Act of 2015,”
the Secretary of State may so revoke a citizen’s travel rights without
any invocation of due process. There will be no court hearing involved,
and the individual will have no opportunity to object or to present
evidence to the contrary.
The Act does not define what constitutes
such a terrorist affiliation. Rather, the Act employs “aiding and
abetting” verbiage without delineating what this means. HR 237 states:
such a terrorist affiliation. Rather, the Act employs “aiding and
abetting” verbiage without delineating what this means. HR 237 states:
“…the Secretary of State may refuse
to issue a passport to any individual whom the Secretary has determined
has aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise helped an organization the
Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to
section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).”
to issue a passport to any individual whom the Secretary has determined
has aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise helped an organization the
Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to
section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).”
The front man for this
anti-Constitutional piece of legislation is Texas Congressman Ted Poe.
Poe, a former criminal court judge, ascended to the US House of
Representatives in 2004, running on a “border security” platform.
Controversies have been sparked by some of his remarks, including when
he quoted an infamous Ku Klux Klan’er, Confederate General Nathan
Bedford Forrest, on the floor of the House (The quote cited by Poe
related to military strategy, not race relations). More recently, his
Dominionist lace panties seem to be peeking out from his Congressional
attire, as when he was revealed by Alternet to be attempting to remove
options from deceased soldier’s families concerning the type of prayers
spoken at the fallen soldiers’ funerals. According to Alternet, Poe was
attempting to ban anything but Christian prayers.
anti-Constitutional piece of legislation is Texas Congressman Ted Poe.
Poe, a former criminal court judge, ascended to the US House of
Representatives in 2004, running on a “border security” platform.
Controversies have been sparked by some of his remarks, including when
he quoted an infamous Ku Klux Klan’er, Confederate General Nathan
Bedford Forrest, on the floor of the House (The quote cited by Poe
related to military strategy, not race relations). More recently, his
Dominionist lace panties seem to be peeking out from his Congressional
attire, as when he was revealed by Alternet to be attempting to remove
options from deceased soldier’s families concerning the type of prayers
spoken at the fallen soldiers’ funerals. According to Alternet, Poe was
attempting to ban anything but Christian prayers.
Poe is a self-declared member of the Tea
Party, a faction within the Republican Party which is heavily spiked
with Dominionist politicians. Briefly, Dominionism is an offshoot of
Christianity which seeks to return to Old Testament Biblical law and a
theocratic government. Dominionism has been called “The American
Taliban,” due to its adherents’ insistence that the US dismantle secular
democracy and return to fundamentalist practices, including stoning to
death the unfaithful, the unchaste and the incorrigibly rebellious.
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/08/04/genuflecting-towards-tyranny/
Party, a faction within the Republican Party which is heavily spiked
with Dominionist politicians. Briefly, Dominionism is an offshoot of
Christianity which seeks to return to Old Testament Biblical law and a
theocratic government. Dominionism has been called “The American
Taliban,” due to its adherents’ insistence that the US dismantle secular
democracy and return to fundamentalist practices, including stoning to
death the unfaithful, the unchaste and the incorrigibly rebellious.
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/08/04/genuflecting-towards-tyranny/
