After the US Senate voted for the National Defense Authorization Act on December 15th with 13 senators voting against it, one of those, independent Senator Bernie Sanders made the following statement:
“The bill continues to authorize heavy spending on defense despite the end of the 9-year-old war in Iraq. Ironically, the Senate vote came on the same day when Defense Secretary Panetta was in Baghdad officially declaring that our military mission there has ended and that virtually all of the combat troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year. At a time when we have tripled defense spending since 1997 and spend more today on defense than the rest of the world combined, I get concerned that my deficit-hawk friends say we’ve got to cut Social Security, Medicare, education, health care and other programs that help working families, but when it comes to defense spending the sky is the limit.
“This bill also contains misguided provisions that in the name of fighting terrorism essentially authorize the indefinite imprisonment of American citizens without charges. While we must aggressively pursue international terrorists and all of those who would do us harm, we must do it in a way that protects the Constitution and the civil liberties which make us proud to be Americans.”
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For the first time perhaps ever, I am proud to be from VT. That is one of the sanest, most reasonable statements on the unconstitutional bill I have yet read. I’d say he doesn’t go far enough, but at least SOMEONE is standing up to this fucked up shit.
I totally agree with Berny! What irks me is you never get anything from congress without baggage. Shouldn’t things have to stand on their own merit? If congress can debate then take the time to vote whether or not the post office in Pleasantville be named for the third cousin of the governor, shouldn’t they take the time on some of the more important stuff.