The average joe-blow citizen can now be held in custody without charge - indefinitely.

In his last official act of business in 2011, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act from his vacation rental in Kailua, Hawaii. In a statement, the president said he did so with reservations about key provisions in the law — including a controversial component that would allow the military to indefinitely detain terror suspects, including American citizens arrested in the United States, without charge.

The legislation has drawn severe criticism from civil liberties groups, many Democrats, along with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who called it “a slip into tyranny.” Recently two retired four-star Marine generals called on the president to veto the bill in a New York Times op-ed, deeming it “misguided and unnecessary.”

“Due process would be a thing of the past,” wrote Generals Charles C. Krulak and Joseph P. Hoar. “Current law empowers the military to detain people caught on the battlefield, but this provision would expand the battlefield to include the United States – and hand Osama bin Laden an unearned victory long after his well-earned demise.”

Understand that the president,  any president,  has access to a Constitutionally mandated power,  “the presidential signing statement” under the War Power's Act.   Reagan, Clinton and Bush used this legislative tool some 247 times in the place of a line item veto.  Obama has used this procedure, himself, some 18 times , signing into law all of Congressionally  approved bills except for objectionable clauses or sentences or individual words.  He could have stricken this from the law,  but chose not to.  His “reservation” is nothing but a lie,  designed to absolve himself  from equal responsibility as he prepares to campaign “against Congress.” He will "lament" this part of the bill,  pretending that he was helpless as to its elimination.  

ABC Evening  News/ Midknight Review/12/31/2011

Update: we are looking to answer the question:  "Which Republicans signed onto this Constitutional idiocy."  Anyone want to bet that McCain was one of the culprits?