By Julia Davis
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| Capt Dan Hanley Photo, Fleur De Lis Film Studios |
Until his recent disappearance, Captain Dan Hanley maintained constant contact with fellow whistleblowers and concerned citizens through his frequent Internet postings, blog talk radio, Linked-In, Twitter, via e-mail and through the Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association website. The grassroots good government and legal reform advocacy group known as POPULAR awarded its bi-annual "Restore Integrity Award" to Captain Hanley for his "relentless advocacy to ultimately keep the skies safe for millions of air travelers.”
The skies suddenly went dark for Captain Hanley, when his persistent whistleblower campaigning and supportive communications with members of the Association were abruptly halted. Fellow whistleblowers are deeply concerned, stating, “This is not sitting well with us.”
Prior to his disappearance, Captain Dan Hanley was featured in an episode of “Whistleblowers – The Untold Stories” – an upcoming TV show, filmed by Fleur De Lis Film Studios:
TV Series "WHISTLEBLOWERS - THE UNTOLD STORIES" (Official Trailer)
During his extensive interview, Dan Hanley, a former Naval aviator, described how his career was destroyed in retaliation for blowing the whistle to protect the safety of millions of air travelers.
In addition to the TV Series, Fleur De Lis Film Studios completed and released the most controversial feature documentary of 2011, entitled “The Terror Within”.
THE TERROR WITHIN - OFFICIAL TRAILER
THE TERROR WITHIN PREVIEW CLIP
Managers of the Fleur De Lis Film Studios are no strangers to whistleblower retaliation. Subsequently with the recent release of their highly controversial projects, company’s producers have had their websites “suspended” by the U.S. Marshals at the directive of Federal Judge Alvin Howard Matz, subjected to continuous surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE and CBP, as well as the DEA and the IRS. Interestinly enough, Robert Bonner (whose corruption has been exposed within the documentary) served as the head of the DEA and as the Commissioner for Customs and Border Protection. Matz and Bonner are friends and colleagues for many years.
“The Terror Within” Documentary (Official website)
In these dark ages for American whistleblowers, the government resorts to any means at their disposals to crush careers, ruin reputations and destroy lives, in order to hide government corruption from public scrutiny. With the advent of the Patriot Act and the introduction of the Enemy Belligerent Bill, all outspoken advocates for constitutional rights and freedoms are at risk of being silenced – perhaps, permanently.
WikiLeaks scandal grows, U.S. Congressman wants WikiLeaks whistleblower dead
You won’t see any furore in the mainstream media over the pending Senate bill, entitled "Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010". If the proposed piece of draconian legislation is passed by the Senate, it will place every American in danger of becoming “Enemy Of The State”, under the guise of protecting national security. This outrageously un-American bill was cooked up by Arizona Senator John McCain, Senator Joe Lieberman, Senator Jeff Sessions, Senators Roger Wicker, Saxby Chambliss, Scott Brown, David Vitter and George LeMieux.
Erosion of 1st Amendment rights exemplified by South Park censorship and Senate Bill S. 3081
Deliberately vague legal definitions serve as a carte blanche for arresting, interrogating and detaining any American citizen without trial, formal charges or even Miranda warnings. Section 5 of the bill makes it clear that U.S. citizens are included, stating in relevant part: "An individual, including a citizen of the United States, determined to be an unprivileged enemy… may be detained without criminal charges and without trial for the duration of hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners in which the individual has engaged, or which the individual has purposely and materially supported, consistent with the law of war and any authorization for the use of military force provided by Congress pertaining to such hostilities."
Text of S. 3081: Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010
S.3081 would eliminate several Constitutional protections, allowing Government to arbitrarily pick up Americans on mere suspicion—with no probable cause. Any political opinions and statements that criticize U.S. Government could be used by Authorities to deem you a “hostile Enemy Belligerent”, thereby justifying your arrest and indefinite detention. S.3081 is so broadly written that any protesters or Tea partiers might be arrested and detained just for attending demonstrations. The government can justify that by charging that attending demonstrations could be considered to have materially supported anti-government hostilities.
Full language of the bill appears to do away with the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh Amendments of the constitution, in addition to Statute 42 (1983) violations that correspond with infringements on the rights of whistleblowers and US citizens. Investigative journalists with the Los Angeles based company, Fleur De Lis Film Studios, served media requests, requesting on-camera interviews with all of the senators responsible for the creation of the Bill S. 3081. All of these senators refused to answer questions pertaining to the unconstitutional bill they’re proposing to pass into law.
Under this bill’s predecessor, the unpatriotically deceptive Patriot Act, law enforcement generally needed probable cause to detain a person indefinitely. Passage of S.3081 will permit government to use “mere suspicion” to crush an individual’s Constitutional Protections against unlawful arrest, detention and interrogation without benefit of legal counsel and trial. According to S.3081 Big Brother is not required to provide detained individuals U.S. Miranda Warnings or even an attorney.
S.3081 is written so broadly that it could target any individual who writes on the Internet or verbally express an unflattering commentary about the government. Such an individual might be detained on the basis he or she is an “unprivileged enemy belligerent”, “supporting hostilities against U.S. Government.” Such allegations of “suspicious activities” need not be proven – the military can use hearsay or informants.
Notably, McCain’s S.3081 mandates merging Federal, State and Local Police and subsequently the U.S. Military to detain and hold Individuals in the U.S. without probable cause. Interestingly, a recently released Rand Report prepared for the Army, appears to suggest that the U.S. Government develop a Local, State and Federal “National Police Stabilization Force”, merging State law enforcement with the Feds. What could happen to State Rights and what Laws and Jurisdiction would be used to prosecute state Citizens arrested by a National Police Stabilization Force? A National Police Force could potentially be sent by the President into any State with the approval of its governor, against the wishes of its Citizens.
Historically it is foreseeable under S.3081 that “erroneous informant information” could be used to detain innocent Individuals. Other countries have used lying informants and corrupt law enforcement officials to imprison or annihilate political opposition.
Could any of such tactics have been used to detain and silence Captain Dan Hanley, while attacking whistleblowers and their supporters in a multitude of unconstitutional ways? The fate of Captain Dan remains uncertain, while constitutional rights and liberties of all Americans are precariously at risk.
Pastor Martin Niemöller wrote:
“THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
As Americans, we owe it to ourselves to speak up – without waiting until they come for each and every one of us. We should stop the erosion of our constitutional rights under the guise of such actions being done “for our own good”. We have to stand up for what is right, for what is just, for our American dream. Our freedom depends on it.
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