Occupy Houston, in solidarity with other Occupations around the country, is holding two marches today to the local offices of Texas’s two senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, in protest of the provisions of NDAA that codify some practices truly inimical to civil liberties, and to urge President Obama to carry out his threat to veto the act.
For what it’s worth, this is not necessarily an issue on which liberals and conservatives face off: as Occupy Houston points out, even Forbes Magazine op-ed contributor E. D. Kain editorializes strongly against the provisions in this bill:
If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law recently passed by the Senate which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.
So much for innocent until proven guilty. So much for limited government. …
…
(The man is clearly a true conservative. I can admire a true conservative, especially in these insane times in which so many raving radicals call themselves “conservative.”)
If Obama doesn’t veto the bill, or if Congress succeeds in overriding the veto, either we will hear the knock at the door, or our children will. Such a law, unconstitutional though it may be, will be used, if not tomorrow then next year, if not next year then next decade, to imprison without trial anyone the current government finds annoying. The history of America is rich in people who changed the nation for the better by being annoying; we owe it to them in memoriam to stuff this bill where it belongs… call it a “no-sunshine” law.
The first march is taking place right now, or else just finished. I’d be there, but cripples can’t easily march…
Steve Bates - Yellow Doggerel Democratic Views 
Comments
Steve,
next time you want to participate in an Occupy action, let us know. We’ll figure something out. We welcome wheels just as much as feet.
Peace,
Amy
Thanks, Amy, and welcome to my blog. I was in a wheelchair (borrowed) for about a year. Last year, I “graduated” to a walker. For very short distances (a couple hundred feet from a parking lot to a store, for example), I can use a cane. With neither of those, but wearing a gigantic orthotic boot, I can walk about 5 steps. I no longer have, or have access to, a wheelchair. That’s not your problem, but it may be the only way I could do an Occupy event. BTW, as you can well understand, arrest is not an option for someone in my physical condition.
All that said, I appreciate your offer, and depending on the event, I may take you up on it at some point. Feel free to add me to your email list (doggerelist@stephenbates.com) if I’m not already on it.