Senate to vote on whether military can lock you up in a “battlefield” that’s right outside your door

This is from the ACLU blog, not known for its inaccuracy in such matters.

I can't figure out which party to vote for and not get the army on my doorstep and cops lurking inside the secret backdoor of my computer.

The latest outrage, and a very short window for action, is this (h/t an alert emailer; my emphasis):

the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world.

The authorization is buried in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a very hard bill to defeat or veto, given that "defense" has been grafted onto our illusions of manliness since Truman:

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

Ah, Carl Levin. Yet another very mixed Dem. Like (ahem) someone else whom I could mention, today.

There is something you can do, but it has to be soon. ACLU again:

there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.

The "everywhere battlefield" is an evil that Bush II created. Does Obama embrace it? Who the hell knows? He didn't like that FISA telecom immunity bill either — till he voted for it.

ACTION OPPORTUNITY — Call your senators and ask them to support the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, S. 1867.

If you choose to do it, the time is now. Putting Indefinite Detention on the Everywhere Battlefield into law is a road to ruin. (Not that we're not more than halfway there ... but still.)

Thanks,

GP