Millionaire breaks waiter's finger because he presented him with the bill?

John Castle the finger breaker

A 76-year-old leveraged buy-out king allegedly responded to bad service in an exclusive restaurant by breaking the server's finger.

John Castle was so outraged that the waiter, Paul Kucik, 57,brought out the bill without him asking for it, that he allegedly grabbed his hand and twisted his finger until it broke.

The successful financier was with his wife Marianne at Club-Colette, a private dining club in Palm Beach, Florida when server Kucik gave him the bill - after he claims Mrs Castle had asked him too, reports the Huffington Post. 

The waiter told the police that Castle became so enraged that he yelled 'You schmuck, why did you bring the bill to the table?" before grabbing his hand, says the report. 

He allegedly began 'squeezing and twisting' his fingers 'and only stopped when Mr Kucik freed himself from the tight grip, according to a police report. Kucik said he later began to experience 'excruciating pain' in his fingers and later went to the doctor who x-rayed his hand. The results apparently showed that his left ring finger had been broken during the incident on Sunday night. Castle, is the chairman and CEO of Castle Harlan, a private equity firm, his riches have allowed him to purchase the the Kennedy family's Palm Beach compound in 1995.
Club Colette members are allowed to charge bills to their accounts without having it delivered to their tables, and a bill should not be brought to the table unless it is requested by the host.
However, Kucik claims that Mrs Castle had requested that he bring her their dinner bill and give it to her husband., reports the Post.
Palm Beach police have said they are investigating the incident but no charges have been made. Castle has declined to comment. Kucik told police that he immediately told his employer about the alleged assault, but no action was taken, says the report.

Weird but very True!

Medical officials in Israel are holding a national conference on gynecology ..... but no women are invited.
Because of Orthodox law, men and women can't mingle in the convention center, so the ladies have been banned.
Women can be in the audience, but only behind a curtain, separate from the men.

Reuben Gittelman Conservative Hebrew Day School in Monsey will close due to poor enrollment! Hellowwwww!

Parents jammed the auditorium of the Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School for a special meeting called by the school’s administration on Tuesday night.  They heard something they did not want to – the Conservative Jewish day school was closing its doors after classes end in June.  Board President Virginia Feldman delivered the depressing news that dropping enrollment left the school in financial straits.

“There are simply not enough students for Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School to remain financially sustainable,” she said.  “These are difficult times for Jewish day schools.”

Enrollment fell from its high of 350 students in 2002 to 250 students two years ago and then to an enrollment of 150 girls and boys for the 2011-2012 school year.  The school experienced a 20 percent attrition rate for each of the past three years.  The dropping enrollment at Gittelman is not unique, as other Hebrew day schools across the country have shut their doors. 

Feldman told the parents the board explored every possible option to keep the school operating – downsizing, merging, fundraising. 

“We looked at merging. We looked at loans. We looked at renting half the building,” she said. “Ending 40 years of Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School was nothing any of us wanted to do.”

She said the board hopes to sell the building and with the proceeds, pay off debt and use any remaining funds to assist students who want to continue their Jewish education at other schools.

Emotions ran high during the meeting and more than a few parents wiped away tears and choked up as they took turns speaking and asking questions. 

One woman said she attended the New City school and had planned to enroll her child.

“It really makes me sad,” she said. “I really love this school.”

Other parents said they felt let down and that the board should have advised them more openly of the dire circumstances and tapped them as resources for new ideas for fundraising, enrollment, donations and endowments.  Feldman said there were meetings up to the very end and the board tried its best with capital and enrollment campaigns.

“There was no stone unturned, “said Feldman of Orange County.  “There really wasn’t.” 

Another parent said of the school, “It bred very special people. It was a very nurturing environment. “

The audience applauded when one speaker said, “Forgive the board everybody. It’s the community.  This education wasn’t a priority anymore.”

Irit Pinkus has one child who graduated from the school and another in second grade.  She felt the education her children received was well worth the trip from her Orange County home.

“(I’m) very sad, I feel like I’m at a funeral,” said Pinkus. “This school focuses not only on education, the education is superb, but on being part of the community. I think it’s a loss not only for us but for the community.  It will be very hard to find a school with the spirit this school had.”

She went along with many of the parents to the school’s multipurpose room to learn about a “new entity.”  Andrea Sherman introduced the Rockland Jewish Academy, proposed for pre-k through fifth grade students under the supervision of the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester and its headmaster, Dr. Elliott Spiegel.

The school would be housed in available unused space at the Jewish Community Campus in West Nyack.

Sherman and Spiegel presented an overview of the school and encouraged parents to attend“informational parlor meetings” next week.  On Tuesday, Jan. 17 a parlor meeting for parents of students grade two through four will be held in Montebello and a similar session on Wednesday, Jan. 18 for parents with students in pre-k (three and four year olds) through first grade will take place in Suffern.

Spiegel said they need to determine how much commitment there is to retaining a Jewish day school in Rockland and asked parents to complete an indication of interest form by February 1.  He said an anticipated enrollment of approximately 100 students would help make the school a reality. 

“It’s very important for the Rockland Jewish community to have a non-Orthodox day school,” he said. “The Rockland Jewish Academy will continue in the tradition of outstanding general studies.” 

He went on to say the school would teach the whole child and include Judaic and general studies, physical play and athletics, which he viewed as a 21^st century skill that teaches kids to work together.

When asked why the academy could succeed where Gittelman had not, Spiegel said he believes it is possible for a new school to grow.

“It’s a dream location (JCC) for another school,” he said.  “I have the experience and knowledge to make it work.”

Older students in sixth through 12^th will have the option of being bused to the middle school campus of the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester.

Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School was founded in 1971 as the Solomon Schechter School of Rockland County.  It began in the JCC of Spring Valley, a Conservative congregation located on Route 45 that has since closed. The school outgrew its location in 1992 and moved into the current building on New Hempstead Road.  It was renamed after Reuben Gittelman, the father of Irving and Milton Gittelman, to honor his ongoing love of learning.  Milton Gittelman still serves on the board of trustees.

From the Nyack Patch

Iran loves Ron Paul broadcasts his Anti-Semitic rants

The Iranian regime’s English language propaganda channel, PressTV, has discovered a new American idol: presidential contender Rep. Ron Paul.

PressTV has stepped up its coverage of Paul’s campaign to win the Republican presidential nomination in recent weeks, featuring hisanti-Israel rants, his claim that sanctions against Iran are “acts of war,” his approval of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and much more.

The Iranian government channel portrays Ron Paul as an American hero, and brings on conspiracy theorists masquerading as political “analysts” to laud him for  “challenging the American establishment” and the “corporate neo-conservative Zionist consensus,” that cabal of Jews, banksters, and Reagan Democrats who in Tehran’s eyes (and in the eyes of these Ron Paul supporters) run the world.

It’s a script taken almost word-for-word from the infamous anti-Semitic forgery,The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Headlining one montage of Ron Paul sound bites denouncing U.S. support for Israel, PressTV reveals that President Obama has issued a “Ron Paul ‘kill order.’”

This dramatic claim was “revealed” in a “secret letter sent to Prime Minister Putin by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda” released to the press by the Russian Federal Security Service, better known during Cold War days for wanton fabrications and disinformation campaigns.

The purported letter “contains a warning that United States President Barack Obama has issued an executive-level ‘kill order’ against U.S. Congressman Ron Paul over fears this charismatic politician, who many believe could capture the Republican Presidential 2012 nomination, is about to expose to all Americans what can only be described as the largest mass theft in human history,” PressTV breathlessly explains.

Of course, “‘kill order’ is a metaphor for silencing down Congressman Ron Paul in the mass media as if he doesn’t exist,” the network hastens to add.

No contemporary U.S. political leader has been so in sync with Tehran as Ron Paul. Here are just a few of the recent Ron Paul sound bites on Iran and U.S. policy toward Iran prominently featured by PressTV:

“Just think of how many nuclear weapons surround Iran. The Chinese are there, the Indians are there, the Pakistanis are there, the Israelis are there, the United States is there. All these countries—China has nuclear weapons! Wouldn’t it be natural that they might want a weapon? Internationally, they’d be given more respect… They have no evidence that they are working on a weapon. “Paul blasts US policy on Iran, Aug. 12, 2011.

“I think we’re looking for trouble because we put these horrendous sanctions on Iran… Sanctions against Iran are definite steps toward a US attack.” “Iran sanctions ‘acts of war’: Ron Paul,” Dec. 31, 2011; “Ron Paul raps US hostility toward Iran,” Jan. 7, 2012.

“Iran’s leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had never mentioned any intention of wiping Israel off the map.” Quick Facts: Ron Paul on US Foreign Policy, Dec. 24, 2011.

“Iran is not a physical threat to us. They do not have capabilities. The stories you might hear about them being on the verge of a nuclear weapon is not true by our CIA and by the United Nations. They are not on the verge of it.” Quick Facts: Ron Paul on US Foreign Policy, Dec. 24, 2011.

“Who are they [Iran] going to bomb? If they had one or two bombs, they are going to bomb Israel? Israel has 300 of them! And our submarines all around there passing and everything else.” Quick Facts: Ron Paul on US Foreign Policy, Dec. 24, 2011.

“I think they’re acting in self-defense… That is a gross distortion of this debate that they’re on the verge of a nuclear weapon.” Ron Paul defends his anti-war policies, Dec. 16, 2011

“At least our leaders and Reagan talked to the Soviets. What is so terribly bad about this? Countries you put sanctions on, you are more likely to fight them. I say a policy of peace is free trade, stay out of their internal business. Do not get involved in these wars and bring our troops home.” Ron Paul blasts US policy on Iran, Aug. 12, 2011

Haagen-Daz Ice Cream Not Kosher in Israel!

According to a recent kashrut update from the Chief Rabbinate, Häagen-Dazs is not approved by the State Rabbinical Authority, and stores and outlets with kashrut certification that continue to sell the ice cream could lose their kashrut license.

In an update sent by the rabbinate on Sunday, the kashrut department said that because Häagen-Dazs is made with unsupervised liquid milk, as opposed to milk powder, the marketing and sale of the ice cream in establishments and outlets with kashrut certification is not acceptable and constitutes “a severe infringement of kashrut procedures.”

“We request from those providing kashrut certificates not to permit the sale of this product in places with [kashrut] supervision,” the notice read. “One should not take into account the opinion of kashrut advisers in this matter who request to continue selling this product, and if the management of any chain insists on selling them it is possible that ‘kashrut [license] withdrawal’ may be enacted against them, according to the law.”

Milk produced by non-Jews without Jewish supervision was forbidden by the sages of the Talmud due to a concern that it may be adulterated with milk from a non-kosher animal.

Although arbiters of Jewish law, in particular Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895- 1986), have permitted the consumption of unsupervised milk if supervised milk is significantly more expensive or unavailable, it is seen as a less ideal, and the kashrut authorities in Israel do not permit kosher certificates to be issued for products using unsupervised milk.

Powdered milk from an unsupervised source is, however, permitted according to a ruling of Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank (1873–1960), a former chief rabbi of Jerusalem, who held that there is less of a suspicion that someone will go to the bother of adulterating powdered milk.

Others, however, still forbid unsupervised powdered milk.

The timing of the rabbinate’s notice is unclear. Although Rafi Yochai of the rabbinate’s kashrut division stated the notice about Häagen Dazs has been issued several times, General Mills Israel said the ice cream has always been produced with liquid milk.

“Abroad they have different considerations,” said Yochai. “There, the majority of milk is unsupervised so there’s less choice.

But here, we are living in Eretz Hakodesh [the Holy Land], the majority of the milk produced is supervised, so there’s less reason to permit these products,” he said.

“There’s enough choice here that we don’t need to rely on this leniency,” Yohai added.

Asked what Häagen-Dazs lovers should do instead, he replied, “Love God more than ice-cream.”

General Mills, which markets Häagen-Dazs in Israel, underlined that the ice cream bears kosher certification from the Orthodox Union in the US and pointed out that it is “consumed by the religious and secular communities in Israel and abroad.”

“Super-premium Häagen-Dazs ice cream is made from liquid milk, which provides for an outstanding level of quality in the texture and taste of the product,” the company added as an aside.

The OU said in response to the rabbinate notice that it continues to give a kashrut certification to Häagen-Dazs “in line with the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein for people who are not particular about consuming only supervised milk.”
From Jerusalem Post

Ami Magazine lies to its readers again, this time about the Eidah Hachreidis!

In last week's edition of Ami Magazine, the editor, the "lying" Yitzchok Frankfurter wrote that the Eidah Hachareidis of Yerusalayim are "under siege by radicals." He was trying to paint a picture like he did with Satmar that the Eidah are really moderate people, and not a bunch of radical fanatics! 

Frankfurter, Editor of Ami 

Frankfurter "quotes" a close aide to Rav Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss (who signed a Kol Korah that the sexual deviant Weingarten convicted of raping his own child, was innocent) "We are under siege by a fringe group of radicals."
 Frankfurter continues "This extremist group is funded primarily by money coming from America and is holding the Eidah Hachareidis hostage to its extremist views and obominable actions. Their shameful actions have outraged the entire Jewish community, including the esteemed Beis Din of the Eida."
This is a lie fabricated by Frankfurter, see the Kol Koreh from the Eida Hachareidis supporting the Sikrikim in all their actions!

It is signed  by R’ Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss and R’ Moshe Shternbuch, and clearly states that the "Eida Chareidis came out in support of the Sikrikim, with sharp words for those who oppose segregated buses, the Israeli police and government and those who attempt to oppose the Sikrik extremists."


The Kol Koreh continues and says:
“In the past few weeks, several of the finest from both Yerushalayim and Beit Shemesh have been arrested for no valid reason,” continues the statement.  “It is incumbent upon us to guard ourselves in all matters of tznius and holiness, to be extra vigilant in matters of tznius on our busses and to check the foundations of our houses to ensure that no strange influences, even those that claim to be from the chareidi community, penetrate our homes.”
The lying Frankfurter quotes from Rav Shlomo Pappenheim and Rav Avram Shapiro of the Eida saying that the "leaders of the Eida Hachareidis are calling on all Jews to oppose the extremists and to stop funding their activities"
Here see a letter from the Eida Hachareis stating unequivocally that Pappenheim and Shapiro are not part of the Eida and are not their spokesman....

We have been writing about this liar Frankfurter for the last couple of weeks. He runs an ongoing hoax called "The Principle" written by an equally lying Herz Frankel, trying to paint Satmar as a piece loving community!But the above takes the prize!

MBD the "Jewish Rock Star" says that all not chassidish Jews are thieves!

MBD the one who copied "goyeshe" music all his life, a prime example, the song "Yiddin" (Song STOLEN from the German group, "Genghis Kahn") berates All Jews that are not chassidish saying that they copy and steal music instead of buying his CD! He added that Chassidim know the Shulchan Aruch and would never copy CDs ... 

 MBD

Then the fool continues his tirade,

“The Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoelish was correct.  He was completely right. He said there would come a time when Chareidi Jews would not be able to live in Eretz Yisroel.  

Hashem Yiracheim.”

What a sick comment! Mr. MBD.... there are more Jews learning in Eretz Yisroel then any time in Jewish History, probably going back to Matan Torah!

What would the  Rebbe say about  Frum Jews dressed in Streimlich and "Vasseh Zoken" spitting on 8 year old girls? How about destroying Jewish Book Stores in Yerushalayim? Was the Rebbi advocating violence on other Jews? 
What do you think, MBD, that Chilonim would stand with their hands folded while Charaidim destroy the very country that the Chilonim built with their own hands?
You know something MBD? I don't believe the Rebbi ever made such a stupid remark.... do you mean to tell me that the streets of Eretz Yisroel are so dangerous ....more dangerous to frum Jews than Sigat, Krula and Saint Mary (Satmar)? MBD you are a son of Polish Jews, why dont you ask some Hungarian Survivors how the streets were? Where do they feel safer? In Bnei Brak or Satmar, Romania?


Read his crazy demented comments and later see the video of the group "Genghis Khan" singing the original song that he stole from them... 
From VIN news:

In an interview with Israeli radio host Menachem Toker last Motzei Shabbos, Mordechai Ben David offered his thoughts on the current situation in Israel.

Quoting the Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel, zt’l, MBD called the continuous clashes between the Chiloni and Chareidi community very frightening.

“The Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoelish was correct.  He was completely right. He said there would come a time when Chareidi Jews would not be able to live in Eretz Yisroel.  Hashem Yiracheim.”

Speaking about the general anti-Chareidi bias emanating from the secular community and not the recent events in Beit Shemesh, MBD attributed the conflict to the Chiloni community becoming concerned by the rising birth rate among the Chareidi community and likened it to biblical times when the Mitzrim were afraid that they would be outnumbered by Bnei Yisroel.

“There are so many Chareidi babies being born and iy’H we will grow in our simcha and in our Avodas Hashem and as we grow stronger our light will overcome the darkness,”  said MBD.

MBD also discussed his most recent album, Kissufim, and suggested that despite earlier statements that this was his final album, it is possible that there could be additional Chasidic albums in his future.

Citing excellent sales of the album, which featured exclusively Chasidic music MBD said, “this proves to me that true Chasidim don’t copy music and those who are not so Chasidic are the ones who are doing the copying.  I have my finger on the pulse of American buyers.  In the Chasidic areas, like Monsey, Monroe, Borough Park and Williamsburg, it is flying off the shelves.  Apparently true Chasidim learn Shulchan Aruch and they don’t steal.”

When asked to comment regarding the interview and his possible return to the studio MBD told VIN News, “I’m not back in music. All I said to Toker is the fact that the Kissufim album, which is Chassidish, sold better than expected, proving that the chasidishe velt doesn’t copy or steal like the others. ‘Maybe’ I would consider doing another. But honestly I don’t think that’ll happen so fast. It’s just too much work.”

To listen to the full interview here 

Now sit back and watch the video.... popcorn not necessary!

Neturei Karta wear Yellow "Jude" Star in protest in front of UN! Video

We Frum Jews laugh them off as crazy meshugaim and not doing a thing about it. In Monsey the Neturei Karta bastard "Rabbi" Beck has a shul with plenty of supporters, nobody protests in front of their Tumah Shul and we let them get away with destroying Judaism. Well the world doesn't think they are a fringe group, the world thinks that this is the frum world.
See video (notice these bastards marching with the Palestinian Flag)

Here read their disgusting propaganda!

In a press release to the secular media, Neturei Karta the ultra-orthodox extremist group, say they plan to hold a protest today in front the of Israeli consulates, in U.S.A., Canada and England, in a show of solidarity around the world to illustrate their support for the controversial demonstration that took place this past Motzei Shabbos in Kikar Shabbos where both adults and children dressed in Holocaust garb to express their frustration at what they consider to be unfair treatment of the Chareidi community. 

Neturei Karta says, the protesters will don concentration camp clothing with the reviled “yellow star” pinned on their garments

"We stand with them in solidarity."

"May we merit to see, soon in our days, the revelation of the glory of the Almighty, when all the nations will serve the Almighty in peace and harmony. Amen."

Jewish Rabbis and laymen will demonstrate in front of the Israeli consulates, TODAY: Thursday, January 5, 2012

NEW YORK CITY: 800 second Avenue [between 42 and 43] at 3:00 pm, followed by a march to the United Nations [First and 43]

LONDON: 2 Palace Green, London W8 4QB, at 2:30 pm

MONTREAL: 1 Westmount Square, Westmount, Quebec, at 2:45 pm.

Hamodia Publisher calls on the community to stop the religious fanatics! Kol Hakovod!!

Here read the editorial in today's Hamodia against those "frum" jews that are destroying our religion.

It’s Time to Act

Last Shabbos morning was exceptionally beautiful in Yerushalayim. As always, the streets were full of Yidden going to and from shul, passing walls plastered with a variety of posters and advertisements.

Suddenly I noticed a placard announcing a demonstration in Kikar HaShabbos, to take place on Motzoei Shabbos.

Participants would be required to wear a yellow star and don prisoners’ uniforms, similar to what was worn in the Nazi death camps, and demonstrate against the harassment of the authorities with regard to the mehadrin lines and other similar grievances. I was horrified.

In a subsequent conversation in which I described the placard, its content and style, to a resident of Yerushalayim with a lot of life experience, I was surprised at his calm response. He just brushed it off with a wave of his hand. “Nonsense! Meshuga’im!” he exclaimed.

But this time, these “meshuga’im” overstepped the line. They went too far. What has been imprinted in everyone’s memory, with the eager collaboration of the secular media, is the horrific image of a small child wearing a yellow star, with his arms raised, and, not coincidentally, remarkably resembling the famous photo of a child with his arms raised in the Warsaw Ghetto.

How did the hands of the parents not tremble when they dressed their small child in this horrific uniform?

What does this father know about the Holocaust, about children in the Holocaust, about the significance of such a photo? Obviously, less than nothing. With pre-meditated cynicism, the fringe group to which he belongs has desecrated an iconic symbol for their own ends.

What will this father tell his son when he grows older and tries to understand how his father opted to turn him into a symbol that will haunt him all his life?

It’s not pleasant to be a chareidi in Yerushalayim — or anywhere else in Eretz Yisrael for that matter — these days. During the remainder of my brief stay in Eretz Yisrael, wherever one went the reaction was the same: “You chareidim! Shame on you!”

The more polite, well-mannered people said, “We know they are a radical minority, we know they are casting a stain on the entire chareidi community with their behavior, but why do you remain silent?”

The time has come to shatter the silence. Ignoring these fanatics is no longer an option, since they go out of their way to attract the secular media in order to broadcast their warped messages to the entire world.

I make no demands on this group, since they are not rational. The father of that child and his cohorts not only did not apologize or explain themselves, they even pledged to continue in their ways, according to secular media reports.

My demand is from us: How did we, in our naiveté, think that the actions of this fringe group could just be ignored? How did we give them a platform, allowing them to act as the representatives of chareidi Jewry?

What we desperately need is a serious media campaign to present the true position of Torah Jewry to the world. As my father, Rabbi Leibel Levin, z”l, and Rabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l, understood when they founded Mercaz L’hasbarah Datit and Am Echad, respectively, for this purpose, we dare not relinquish the spokesmanship of Klal Yisrael to irrational, irresponsible and self-serving fringe elements.

If we want to survive, if we want to merit understanding in Israel and abroad as Orthodox Jews who want to live our lives in accordance with the Torah, we must act — immediately!

Ruth Lichtenstein

Bus transporting inmates turns over in Monsey!

(Scroll down for video) A New York City Dept. of Correction bus overturned on the New York State Thruway in Ramapo, New York on Wednesday morning.

State Police say 16 inmates and three prison staffers were aboard the bus when it turned onto its side at about 10:40 a.m. on its way to the Ulster Correctional facility.
The driver was reportedly pinned. Several of the inmates and the staffers suffered minor injuries, according to Dept. of Correction officials.
Injured prisoners were placed on stretchers.  Staff and inmates were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern.
Video from SkyFoxHD showed several inmates wearing brown jumpsuits standing alongside the bus.
"It was a traffic accident and nothing more than that," Sharman Stein, spokeswoman for the city's Correction Dept. told the Associated Press.
The bus apparently had been cut off by another vehicle, added State police.
All northbound lanes at mile marker 25.5 between Exits 14 A and 14B reopened just before 2 p.m.  There were heavy traffic delays through the area as police tried to control the accident scene and the prisoners. Crews began uprighting the bus at about 12:30 p.m.

The inmates were returning to the Ulster Correctional facility-- a medium-security prison-- following a stay in a New York City jail for court appearances.

NYC Correction Bus Overturns On Thruway: MyFoxNY.com

Did you know that President just signed a law that gives the military power to detain any US citizen without trial?

While clueless Americans were getting drunk celebrating the New Year, Hussein Obama quietly signed  into law a provision that will ultimately take away your civil liberties. You didn't read it in the mainstream media because they will back their stooge Obama even if he would make himself a dictator...

Senator Shumer the idiotic senator of New York voted for this law, and what's amazing is that John McCain who fought for this country, also voted for this law!

Read the following and smell the coffee!

President Barack Obama rang in the New Year by signing the NDAA law with its provision allowing him to indefinitely detain citizens. It was a symbolic moment, to say the least. With Americans distracted with drinking and celebrating, Obama signed one of the greatest rollbacks of civil liberties in the history of our country … and citizens partied in unwitting bliss into the New Year.

Ironically, in addition to breaking his promise not to sign the law, Obama broke his promise on signing statements and attached a statement that he really does not want to detain citizens indefinitely (see the text of the statement here).

Obama insisted that he signed the bill simply to keep funding for the troops. It was a continuation of the dishonest treatment of the issue by the White House since the law first came to light. As discussed earlier, the White House told citizens that the president would not sign the NDAA because of the provision. That spin ended after sponsor Senator Carl Levin (Democrat, Michigan) went to the floor and disclosed that it was the White House and insisted that there be no exception for citizens in the indefinite detention provision.

The latest claim is even more insulting. You do not "support our troops" by denying the principles for which they are fighting. They are not fighting to consolidate authoritarian powers in the president. The "American way of life" is defined by our constitution and specifically the bill of rights. Moreover, the insistence that you do not intend to use authoritarian powers does not alter the fact that you just signed an authoritarian measure. It is not the use but the right to use such powers that defines authoritarian systems.

The almost complete failure of the mainstream media to cover this issue is shocking. Many reporters have bought into the spin of the Obama administration as they did the spin over torture by the Bush administration. Even today, reporters refuse to call waterboarding torture despite the long line of cases and experts defining waterboarding as torture for decades.

On the NDAA, reporters continue to mouth the claim that this law only codifies what is already the law. That is not true. The administration has fought any challenges to indefinite detention to prevent a true court review. Moreover, most experts agree that such indefinite detention of citizens violates the constitution.

There are also those who continue the longstanding effort to excuse Obama's horrific record on civil liberties by blaming either others or the times. One successful myth is that there is an exception for citizens. The White House is saying that changes to the law made it unnecessary to veto the legislation. That spin is ridiculous. The changes were the inclusion of some meaningless rhetoric after key amendments protecting citizens were defeated. The provision merely states that nothing in the provisions could be construed to alter Americans' legal rights. Since the Senate clearly views citizens as not just subject to indefinite detention but even to execution without a trial, the change offers nothing but rhetoric to hide the harsh reality.

The Obama administration and Democratic members are in full spin mode – using language designed to obscure the authority given to the military. The exemption for American citizens from the mandatorydetention requirement (section 1032) is the screening language for the next section, 1031, which offers no exemption for American citizens from the authorisation to use the military to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial.

Obama could have refused to sign the bill and the Congress would have rushed to fund the troops. Instead, as confirmed by Senator Levin, the White House conducted a misinformation campaign to secure this power while portraying the president as some type of reluctant absolute ruler, or, as Obama maintains, a reluctant president with dictatorial powers.

Most Democratic members joined their Republican colleagues in voting for this un-American measure. Some Montana citizens are moving to force the removal of these members who, they insist, betrayed their oaths of office and their constituents. Most citizens, however, are continuing to treat the matter as a distraction from the holiday cheer.

For civil libertarians, the NDAA is our Mayan moment: 2012 is when the nation embraced authoritarian powers with little more than a pause between rounds of drinks.

• This article was originally published on Jonathan Turley's blog and is crossposted by kind permission of the author