The current Congress and the President are usurping our constitutional rights. The new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAP) originally permitted the military to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone including American citizens without a warrant or a trial.

This is a clear violation of our habeas corpus rights and our constitutional freedoms. Public outrage at this bill resulted in a modification to exclude American citizens from this legislation. Many conservatives, including me, were pleased that our letters, e-mails and faxes were not only read but that Congress responded to us. Yippee! Pat ourselves on the back! We won!At least that is what we thought. Now House Bill 3166, the Enemy Expatriation Act is likely to be passed. This bill enables the government to strip Americans of their citizenship for very loosely defined "hostile" acts against the government.The summary says it all "To add engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States to the list of acts for which United States nationals would lose their nationality." Once an American is stripped of their citizenship, the NDAA can be used to incarcerate them for the rest of their lives without being charged and without a trial. The name of this legislation misleads one into believing that it applies to our enemies. Only by reading the bill do you realize that the name is camouflaging of the true intent of the bill: to incarcerate our fellow citizens without due process of law.The loose definition of hostilities enables the President or Homeland Security to detain people for a variety of reasons. If I go to a Tea Party event protesting high taxes, am I hostile to the government? If I march on Washington with 1 million other conservatives to protest the erosion of the Constitution, am I hostile to the government? If I write articles like this one and many of the other articles I've written in the past, am I hostile to the government? If I attend a meeting supporting the Keystone pipeline project, am I hostile to the government?In my opinion, this law has been written to limit our constitutional rights specifically that of free speech in an effort to silence the conservative movement. If we the people protest too much we will be incarcerated indefinitely. Under these laws we can expect to be roused out of bed at 3 a.m. by government goon squads operating without a warrant and with no legal authority other than the President orHomeland Security claims that we are hostile. Since we the people do not stand alone, they will have to arrest hundreds of thousands of people. So where will they put us? In FEMA camps of course! Some reports claim that there are as many as 600 FEMA camps ready to go here in the United States.These camps are organized into 5 regions, with facilities in each and every state. (A list of potential FEMA sites is at

http://www.rense.com/general17/statebystate.htm). Our government has issued solicitations so that contracting firms will be able to secure these camps given 36 hours notice. They must be fully functional within 72 hours after the order is given. This link to the American Thinker provides the shocking news that our government wants to imprison American citizens (http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/new_nationwide_fema_camps_should _raise_eyebrows.html).It is one thing to prepare facilities in case of natural disasters. It is another to incarcerate American citizens because of their beliefs, their statements, or their protest marches. I'm sure that some of you think I've lost my marbles. That the President or Homeland Security would strip Americans of their citizenship and incarcerate them indefinitely is unconscionable. The new laws as they now stand, enable the President to be a dictator and Homeland Security to have the powers of the KGB in the old Soviet Union.This is not the America that the world looks up to as the land of the free and the home of the brave. Rather, it puts the fear of expatriation into the minds of anyone who disagrees with the government. If there ever is a need for this power, then I believe that it should be placed in the hands of the Congress.The American dream is still a reality, both for those who are native born and for legal immigrants. If you work hard, invest carefully and live within your means you can truly succeed. The late Joey Vento, owner of Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia, was a very patriotic man. He created a business from scratch that became the standard in his industry (http://www.genosteaks.com/). To this day Geno's steaks has the best Philly cheese steak sandwich in the area.Vento was a very outspoken man who believed in America. He posted a sign in his shop stating that all ordering had to be in English. Another sign said that he was madder than hell and wanted his country back. Needless to say, he made the headlines and became a celebrity guest on several news programs. I say that he is a patriot. He started a business, he expanded it, and he created more jobs than President Obama ever did as a community organizer.Mr. Vento was a great American success story to many of us. To the government I suspect that he was a thorn in their side. Under the NDAA and the Enemy Expatriation Act, I believe that Joey Vento could have been declared hostile because of his outspoken beliefs. Under these laws, he could have been stripped of his citizenship and sent to a FEMA camp.While I miss Mr. Vento dearly, I am glad that he did not live to see these dreadful laws passed by a Soviet style government.After taking away our freedom of speech, is our energy independence next? Cheap energy is the key to achieving the American dream of your own house, food, and some money in the bank. Low cost fuel provides us with the jobs we need to support our families. Gasoline is almost $9 a gallon in the United Kingdom. Here, it is in the $3.50 range. Is it any wonder that the British economy is suffering while ours is recovering?Our cheap gas is a result of an abundance of petroleum products in North America. President Obama killed the Keystone pipeline this week. This pipeline would bring oil from Canada to our refineries in Texas and create tens of thousands of jobs in both the short and long-term. It would also reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil, which in the past has been used as a weapon against us by Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern potentates.The President's decision to cancel this project is an insult to the American people. To the unemployed, it would have provided jobs. To those who commute to work, it would've ensured a stable supply of cheap fuel. For those on a fixed income, who must heat their homes on a limited budget, it would have provided warmth in the cold of winter.It appears to me that the Obama Administration is hostile to the American citizens. By enabling incarceration without formal charges or a trial limits our freedom of speech. To block a critical pipeline that would give us energy independence limits our economic freedom.The November elections are fast approaching. It is time to elect a new President who is responsive to the people, supportive of the economy but most of all ensures that there will be freedom and justice for every American.© 2012 Gordon Smith - All Rights Reserved