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The Terrorist Expatriation Act: Joe Lieberman's Lawless New Law
It took the better part of a week to dig a nice large plot in my yard for a garden. When the last hunk of sod was yanked out, I realized that I needed to go purchase the organic fertilizer necessary for my project. That's when it hit me. A week after a Connecticut man was arrested for trying to blow up Times Square, I was planning on sauntering into Home Depot sporting a Muslim headscarf and buying around 20 bags of fertilizer. Did I mention I live in Connecticut? This was going to be tricky.
Times are scary for Muslims in America. Even the appearance of impropriety could set off a chain-reaction of suspicion. How many things in my life could look suspicious? Let me count the ways: I am a Muslim born in Pakistan - enough said. I own a book called "American Jihad". Its only a collection of stories of converts to Islam, but imagine that sound bite. I once volunteered with CAIR, a Muslim civil rights organization that, although never charged with any wrong-doing, has been blacklisted by the FBI as an "unindited co-conspirator" in the Holy Land Foundation money-laundering case. Speaking of the Holy Land Foundation, thinking they provided humanitarian relief to Palestinians, I may have given them a few bucks years ago. Reports by the neighbors of Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, say he did not like to go out in the daytime and that his yard was unkempt. I admit, I love to sleep in and if you saw the dandelion hell that is my yard right now, you might want to call the authorities too.
Now there is the added stress of Joe Lieberman's latest proposal. Last week Senator Lieberman introduced the Terrorist Expatriation Act. This Act would expand on existing legislation that strips citizenship from individuals for a number of reasons, one of which is serving in the armed forces of a foreign state that is engaged in hostilities towards the U.S. Lieberman proposes including anyone who affiliates with a foreign terrorist organization or "fights against our country".
The problems begin with the title of the Act. Technically, it should be titled "The Suspected Terrorist Expatriation Act" since the proposal would strip citizenship from anyone accused, not convicted, of having terrorist ties. Legally, this proposal is problematic in a number of ways. First, in order for the Department of State to determine that citizenship has been lost, the existing legislation requires that the individual's actions were 1) voluntary and 2) performed with the specific intention of relinquishing citizenship. But if a person such as Shahzad, a naturalized citizen, enters the U.S. with an American passport, clearly he is demonstrating that he has no intention of relinquishing his citizenship. It can be assumed that the "intention" provision will be modified to meet Lieberman's objectives. Then there is the question of what it means to "fight against our country". Would this mean that someone like Joseph Stack, had he survived his fiery attack on the IRS, would lose his citizenship? Would it include members of extremist white militias, like the Hutaree? Would it include the nutjobs who bomb abortion clinics?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seems to be endorsing Lieberman's bill as well, telling the N.Y. Times "People who are serving foreign powers - or in this case, foreign terrorists - are clearly in violation, in my personal opinion, of that oath which they swore when they became citizens." If the test here will be "serving foreign powers", will Lieberman be willing to strip citizenship from U.S. citizens who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces?
Lieberman points out that stripping citizenship would deny suspects the "rights and privileges of American citizenship in the legal proceedings against them". Lieberman may not be aware that rights and privileges such as Miranda apply to non-citizens as well. These rights and privileges apply to anyone on U.S. soil. It seems then that Mr. Lieberman is attempting to create a new classification uniquely designed to apply only to Muslims suspected of terrorism, which is completely contrary to the Constitution and commonly-held notions of justice in the civilized world.
There is also the question of what would happen if a suspect was acquitted of charges after having his citizenship revoked? Would he or she then be re-naturalized? Or if a suspect is a natural-born citizen, having served his sentence,where would he be expected to live out the remainder of his life?
Reality is that this Act does little or nothing to protect us any further than existing laws already do. Lieberman purports that this law would prevent citizens overseas who are training to be terrorists from re-entering the country; however, arrest warrants and no-fly lists should be sufficient in this objective. What this Act would probably end up doing is expatriating innocent citizens overseas who, due to our proven poor intelligence, become suspects for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I was naturalized as a child back in the seventies. I have no intention of ever joining a foreign armed service, or any armed service for that matter. I also have no intention of ever "fighting against" our country. Lately, it seems that being a Muslim in America is becoming increasingly precarious. I have not seen my elderly grandmother in Pakistan in a decade and I was hoping to visit her this year. Sadly, proposals such as Lieberman's make trips to Pakistan, and buying fertilizer, activities that a Muslim in America has to think hard and long about.
38 Comments so far
Show AllWelcome to America Ms. Choudry. You should be thankful that at least they did not put your kind in detention camps as they did the Japanese during WWII.
Not yet.
Joe
She states that she was born here.
"I was naturalized as a child back in the seventies."
Politicians: far more dangerous tha terrorists.
If these were saner times Joe Lieberman would be tarred and feathered and thrown out of decent society for even proposing his un-American legislation.
The true terrorists are the casino bankers, multi-national oil companies, high frequency traders, health insurance cartels and gmo seed producers.
They cause infinitely more fear, pain and suffering than any cave dwelling Muslim on the other side of the planet.
Joe Lieberman is a mental defect and psychopath who doesn't understand there'll eventually be consequences for his grotesque actions.
Nobody outruns karma, baby.
What consequences? He'll retire peacefully and collect mucho dinero in speaking fees. War Criminals like Joe always never seem to be brought to justice. Has Wolfiwitz, Pearl. Last I looked, William Kristol is still at it spewing his justification for continued war........
He is also ugly.
Mr. Choudry, your first paragraph made me break out in laughter, because I got it. The racial/religious hatred running rampant in the u.s. is so very not funny. Now, don't forget to get a hundred gallons of kerosene for the tiki lamps.
Chaudry may want to take up organic gardening so no chemical fertilizer is needed...
The author clearly states that she wants to buy organic fertilizer.
q
To me there are only two kinds of organic fertilizer: manure and compost. I would love to be able to send a cubic yard of either to the office of each of the intolerant members of congress. But I would need a very large fleet of trucks.
Just mail them a cow-pie; it's been done before.
Well then I don't understand her concern. Anybody ever heard of somebody making a bomb out of a bag of powdered cow manure?
Oops, my apologies, I didn't know you are a she.
In most of the world's languages, names or words that end in an "a" are feminine.
"Our blockade is perfectly legal...."
Hell my brother, my family has been here almost 300 years and I'll bet just because I oppose this insane government, the same kind of fear inspired hatred that would trigger their crazy reactions against you, would be duplicated against me too. These last few regimes have been completely nuts, because of these Zionists freaks like Joe lyerman and his kind.
Bottom line is we need to kick them all out and send them back to their preferred homeland.
Case in point. My paternal immigrant ancestor arrived in Virginia 370 years ago. In 1976 the State Department stripped me of my U.S. citizenship. In 1979 a federal judge reversed them, and lectured them in front of my lawyer for taking baseless action as a way to bluff, harass, and punish me. I decided in 1976 not to let them get away with it. "All forms of government are pernicious." --Edward Abbey
Trylon
Joe Biden is also a zionist, self-declared. So is Rahm Emmanuel, Israeli citizen and former member of the IDF, the president's Mossad minder.
What makes anyone think that this law would not apply to all of us and be eventually extended to cover even more offenses against the fascist state of Amerika - like speaking out against such unconstitutional acts.
Exactly! I am not "against the country;" rather, I am against the federal government of the USA because of its support for and acts of terrorism and the many crimes against humanity it's committed. Lieberman is a party to those crimes and deserves a prison cell along with many others, including the NSA officer monitoring this website.
Sioux Rose
KARLOF: I'm with you! More and more conscientious citizens must make the distinction between America, as an entity, and the corrupt band of well-placed criminal minds that have taken over our government. It is an illegitimate government at this point in time. Whether the incursion began with Nixon, the murder of JFK, the bloodless coup that placed Bush-the-inferior into power; whether it's based on the purchasing of congress critters, or the placement of a right wing set of Inquisitors on our Supreme Court... it lost its legitimacy when it boldly violated the Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, Habeas Corpus, and The Bill of Rights. Now its fusion with the corporate behemoths involves a blatant theft to our treasury (bank bail out) and an ecological holocaust in our Gulf.
Patriotism does not mean standing by when an illegitimate band of cronies takes over the machinery of our government, subsuming the powers of all three branches while simultaneously and surreptitiously taking ownership of the press (in order to manufacture consent). What we have is government conducted by and through semblances, about as real as our bio-engineered "food" stuffs. Painful as these cycles are; they ARE cycles, and cannot be sustained.
Let the Israelification of the US begin. Trust a zionist jew to introduce legislations that are not constitutional....When is Lieberman, who serves Israel, going to be stripped of his citizenship?
Joe McCarthy saw a communist under every bed and when he chaired the House of Un American Activities hearings which was nothing more than witch hunt he would ask this question: " Have you ever associated with the communist party "? Okay Joe, when are you going to start hearings and ask the same question of American Muslims: Have you ever associated with terrorists; donated to their charities; supported any organizations that were in any way affiliated with them; BLAH BLAH BLAH ad nauseum. Joe, I think the Patriot Act would give you the right to call for similar hearings and you could call it: THE TERRORIST EXPATRIATION HEARINGS!
Would dear joe want to expatriate an israeli that committed (or thought of) a terrorist act against a Palestinian?
"Last week Senator Lieberman introduced the Terrorist Expatriation Act."
Fine, pass it, then expatriate this sorry sack-of-sh#t senator.
God, and to think this man was almost president*. Republicans are bad enough, but Democrats scare the living hell out of me.
*yeah, you know its true. :)
"If the test here will be 'serving foreign powers', will Lieberman be willing to strip citizenship from U.S. citizens who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces?"
Seems to me that Lieberman would be subject to the law, because he serves Israel, against the better interests of the United States. Israel is NOT our friend.
Remember the Liberty!!
I swear to that fucking sky wizard they call god - the sooner I die, the better. Enough is enough.
In Kennedy v Mendoza-Martinez (1963) the Supreme Court ruled that administrative expatriation violates the fifth and sixth amendments to the Constitution. But I would bet that our current radical-right SCOTUS would uphold both presidential assassinations and administrative expatriation. After all, if presidential murder is legal, what isn’t?
In Nazi Germany, stripping German Jews of their citizenship was often preliminary to murdering them. Joe thinks it can never happen again, so it’s safe for him to facilitate the persecution of minorities. There’s no fool like an old fool.
Well, actually, the kind of fertilizer you get at Home Depot is not the kind that can be made into a bomb and who needs 20 bags of it for a little garden plot anyway?
So if I was a clerk at Home Depot when scarf-clad Ms. Choudry came in and asked for 20 bags of conventional fertilizer, I might actually suspect something:
1. That the customer was an affluent but woefully uninformed gardener:
2. That the customer was a laughable jihadi dimwit who thought she was going to blow up City Hall with 20 2 cu. ft. bags of Miracle Gro, some diesel fuel and a Bic lighter.
3. That I was being filmed for a "reality show".
4. That I needed a new job.
5. All of the above.
Good one!
Lieberman needs to have HIS citizenship stripped for supporting foreign Zionist terrorists.
Jeeze cuz,
It shore is fun sittin' up here Canuckistan watchin' y'all cuss out yer politicians' increddy-bull assholery!!
The bes' part o' it is thet y'all is jes' 'bout as bad at it as we is!! Or mebbe I meant "as good at it"?
Th' problem is that both of us has got our head so far in the sand (or up our own arseholes) that, even though we KNOW FER SURE that our system just don't work, all any one of us is offerin' as a replacement, is friggin' socialism. And that's like offering kerosene as a solution for a house-fire. AND involves throwin' the baby out with the bathwater.
Let's see if a "northern neighbour" can make a point here. There is nothing wrong with capitalism. Let me repeat that: "THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CAPITALISM!!........ Got it?!
What IS wrong is this perversion of a feudalistically inspired form of pseudo-capitalism that we are trying to make work.
To make things just extra hunky-dory we've got these total dorks running around in both our countries, bleating about capitalism needing to be "freed from regulation". sheee-it boy..... if that ain't the dumbest thing I ever heard!!
Now what we got to do, listen close - this is easy stuff - is design a form of capitalism to suit our needs.
We've got to stop patchin' up that poor sad mess we like to call "our system". It ain't nuthin' BUT patches by now. It is plumb busted. It is done fer. Dead in the water. Broke (in more ways than one); and ready for retirement - past ready.
So how the heck do we design a different capitalist system that'll work better? Well, we start off with some rules!!
1- It must take proper care of ALL members of our society.
2- It must do so from day one without making everyone into a wage slave.
3- It must offer the incentives of a 'competitive' system to encourage people to 'go for the gold' WITHOUT starving people into playing the old "money is everything" game.
Tryin' to "make a buck" should be a pleasant, interesting thing to do - NOT a vital necessity if we don't want to see our kids starve.
4- It must allow any person to get as rich as he/she can - but they've got to do it from scratch. No inheritance of zillions of bucks from daddy or mommy or uncle Joe.
5- It has to realize that all wealth comes FROM the society and everyone in it, and ultimately must GO BACK to society, not be handed down to a rich man's kids. No hurry - wait until the person passes away naturally.
6- It should not require that taxes on income or earnings of any kind be levied.
Now you can likely add to this list. Go to it. But start thinking about this. In the very near future your idea might be the one that gets adopted by our survivors.
So if I lost my citizenship here would I be able to get my Social Security benefits in one lump sum? Clearly we are now 'crabs in a barrel'.
But even though they are training some of us to 'infiltrate' our own City Halls and Librarys,School Boards, etc. I take solace. It is said that no one can legislate world view.
So we are stuck w/ dieing. What do you think of this? You would say that it isn't true but unfortunately there is evidence that this is the case. HMM, I think that all of this is 'groundless', literally. And there is evidence for this too.
Plunder.
what about rahm emanuel, who used to jet yearly to tel aviv to train with the israeli defense forces(i.d.f.), though he was born and raised in chicago? i agree. the next time rahm leaves the country, let's refuse him reeentry. by general patraeus' own statement, rahm is a terrorist because his incessant support of israel has led to the arabs' desire to attack american targets worldwide in retaliation. only ike and j.f.k. appreciated the full measure of israeli deviancy, as the latter was about to corral the israeli nuclear weapons porgram at the time he was assassinated. rahm says that progressives are f---ing retarded. i dare him to say that to my face, whatever terrorist tactics he learned during his time in israel.
"If the test here will be "serving foreign powers", will Lieberman be willing to strip citizenship from U.S. citizens who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces?"
I sincerly doubt it. Lieberman is shortsighted in his view...