Guest View

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why some people have a

BY ROCKE GARCIA

The biggest losers in the state budget deficit battles that have

There's bad news in the offing for America's political immigrant

President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Dec. 31, 2011, allowing any president to imprison a suspected terrorist without trial until the threat of terrorism subsides - that is, indefinitely. With the signing of this bill, the president's power has expanded in the monitoring of suspected terrorist threats while sacrificing civil liberties. Previously, by the executive order of George W. Bush, the president could only imprison people without trial if they were possibly involved with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But now, the new law states that anyone can be taken into custody if he or she is a suspected supporter of terrorists groups or those groups' affiliates. These vague parameters make the NDAA bill threatening to civil rights. An individual's suspected affiliation with a certain group is based on the U.S. government's fear and desire to control.

Editor's Note: Amy M. Stein, the Anti Defamation League for the Peninsula and Silicon Valley's assistant director, wrote this guest column in response to Morgan Hill Times editorial board member John Quick's column July 11 column entitled, "Understanding Terror's True Human Cost Could Bring Peace."