Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, Occupy Oakland, and the dreaded NDAA

1/30/12

Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, Occupy Oakland, and the dreaded NDAA

I wanted to start this post with a line from the now almost cliché, or as some would say prophetic, apropos, and just damn good “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield. However, I couldn’t pick out just one line because each of them is relevant right now. The lyrics to this song could run as headlines globally for the indefinite future. I fell in love with the song when in college and a friend’s band played it one sunny spring day after comps, outside, with daffodils blooming everywhere. Enough of the 80’s flower child resurrection - if you don’t know the song, at least read the words. They are profound. If you have the inclination, find a live version from 1967 “American Bandstand” on YouTube. You have probably never seen Neil Young looking so healthy. Otherwise, skip down for another installment of the “Here ‘tis” chronicle of America’s demise.

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

And here’s why this absolutely smacked me in the face, with 2”x4” devastation.

Yesterday, as I sat doing one of my many media perusals of the day, I caught this line in the Huffington Post: “Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente… said that what was going on amounts to ‘domestic terrorism.’" My first thought – they have shown their hand. Today, I am even more inclined to ask, plead even, that we “Stop, children, what's that sound, Everybody look what's going down”.

So here’s the deal: The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), the “Indefinite Detention” act, was “reluctantly” signed by our dear POTUS on New Year’s Eve, 2011. I tried to stay abreast of the legislation’s revisions and progress through the legislature. From first read though, I had tremendous reservations about the fungible language used to define exactly to whom this detention applied. Simply put, terrorists are the target, domestically or internationally. The rub is defining terrorist – there is no definition included, nor are the parties beyond the POTUS outlined as to who can make this determination.

Now, we have seen what I believe, is the first application of the word to Occupy Oakland, an occupation which has seen the most, and most blatant, police violence of any occupation in the country. I’m not defending the actions of the occupiers and protestors.

An estimated 2,000 people, a formidable force, marched on City Hall Saturday, broke in, and did physical damage to the building and its contents. They invited police attention in my opinion. Had the action taken place during normal business hours, and the occupiers peacefully, steadfastly refused to leave or be removed from the building, that would be an entirely different story as far as tactics, legitimacy, and public perception.

However, I also have to cut Occupy Oakland some slack as they have seen true battlefield conditions during their tenure. And, the city’s populous as a whole has been living on close to a war footing for a long, long time.

Back to the quotation – an occupation defined as domestic terrorism. NDAA is applicable. Over 400 were arrested on questionable grounds as of December 30, 2011, but today the arrests are totally appropriate. No, indefinite detention is not likely, but a complete disregard of previous, standard arrest procedures is now made legitimate. Good luck on those class action lawsuits, guys, this may be the first court challenge of the act.

As the great, anonymous, infomercial barker says, “But wait! There’s more!”

This, all of this, was the news yesterday. Today, the victors have obviously written their own history.

When I sat down to write today, I googled the quotation. The search delivered 2,620 hits, verbatim. I went to the Huff Post article and scanned it, looking for quotation to make sure I read it right, quoted it right. After three concentrated readings, I realized it was nowhere to be found.

Then, on to LA Times, a Kansas City, Kansas paper, and eventually to USA Today before I saw the article I saw yesterday. The original sources, and many more, had the quotation in the search results, but upon reading the articles, it was nowhere to be seen. Many of the details were also missing. Basically, the articles from yesterday, the ones which showed the quote in the search, had been edited (to be polite) or totally rewritten.

Yesterday’s ABC News website quotes the councilman as saying “It’s an escalation that in my opinion, basically amounts to domestic terrorism where people start taking buildings”.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

I am not paranoid, just well armed. (Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, esq., fellow Kentuckian).

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro (HST) and move to Sewanee (BHG).