I haven’t been here in a while, but I was recently involved in a conversation that reminded me of a conversation I had here with Julie about the constitutionality of the PATRIOT Act. I’m sure in my absence, this has been discussed, but liberal logic completely escapes me, and I’m looking for answers. At the passage of the PATRIOT act, liberals were absolutely up in arms at the supposed (but imagined) loss of rights. Yet, oddly enough, I haven’t really heard a peep from either side about this:

On September 30, 2011, two Predator drones fired Hellfire missiles into Yemen, killing Anwar al-Awlaki. Great, another dangerous terrorist dead, right? Well, yes, he was a dangerous terrorist. But, he was also a US citizen, born in the US in 1971. So, without benefit of a defense, much less a trial, our president gave the order to kill a US citizen, because he was a “bad guy.” He wasn’t doing anything at the moment of his death to threaten anyone, though he may have been plotting. At the moment of his death, he was not an imminent threat to anyone, though certainly it was probable that he would threaten others in the future. Irrelevant. Otherwise, cops could walk down the street and kill anyone they thought might be a future threat.

But this is somehow different. Obama consulted with his Attorney General, Eric Holder (you know, the guy who thought giving assault weapons to Mexican drug cartels was a good idea, and can anyone explain that logic to me?), and decided Awlaki had to go. Along the way, this decision violated at least two, and probably four amendments to the Constitution, to the Bill of Rights no less. Where is the outrage? Can ANYONE tell me why this man (Obama) has not been impeached, why is he not in jail?

Even more disturbing is the recent news that the FAA, again under the leadership of Barack Obama, is going to ease the restrictions on pilotless aircraft in US airspace. The idea is that drones will give law enforcement a better tool to conduct surveillance and assist in the apprehension of criminals. Guess what? That also means they have a better tool to watch you. And given what happened to Awlaki, how long before Chairman Obama decides to use that power in the US? Great, now Barney Fife has control of armed drones.

Where are you all now? It’s OK for Obama to clearly violate a man’s constitutional rights, because he’s a liberal you happen to agree with? Again, where is the outrage now?