I never thought that an American Senate would pass a bill that allows the military to lock up American citizens, indefinitely, without due process of law. I just never saw that one coming. Especially after the excessive abuse of power from the last Presidential Administration.

And its not as if the Executive is clamoring for this new unprecedented power to incarcerate its citizens. As Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick notes:

“The secretary of defense, the director of national intelligence, the director of the FBI, the CIA director, and the head of the Justice Department’s national security division have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the bill are a bad idea. And the White House continues to say that the president will veto the bill if the detainee provisions are not removed.”

Now President Obama has threatened to veto the bill, but given his stance on a number of civil liberties issues versus his actual actions on civil liberties issues, people are concerned. And rightly so. At Truthout, William Rivers Pitt said that the potential veto is the ultimate “gut-check moment” for the President Obama. 

“Whether or not 

[Obama] follows through on his [veto] threat and slaps this dreck down is the question now before us all. One way or another, we will soon learn a very large truth about the man in the Oval Office, and whether he has the integrity to do what is right and follow through on his word.”

Couldn’t say it better myself. I hope and pray for the country’s sake that the President is a man of his word.