Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State
Angus Scrimm
By Allan Uthman, Buffalo Beast. Posted May 26, 2006.
Is the U.S. becoming a police state? Here are the top 10 signs that it may
well be the case.
1. The Internet Clampdown
One saving grace of alternative media in this age of unfettered corporate
conglomeration has been the internet. While the masses are spoon-fed
predigested news on TV and in mainstream print publications, the
truth-seeking individual still has access to a broad array of investigative
reporting and political opinion via the world-wide web. Of course, it was
only a matter of time before the government moved to patch up this crack in
the sky.
Attempts to regulate and filter internet content are intensifying lately,
coming both from telecommunications corporations (who are gearing up to pass
legislation transferring ownership and regulation of the internet to
themselves), and the Pentagon (which issued an "Information Operations
Roadmap" in 2003, signed by Donald Rumsfeld, which outlines tactics such as
network attacks and acknowledges, without suggesting a remedy, that US
propaganda planted in other countries has easily found its way to Americans
via the internet). One obvious tactic clearing the way for stifling
regulation of internet content is the growing media frenzy over child
pornography and "internet predators," which will surely lead to legislation
that by far exceeds in its purview what is needed to fight such threats.
2. "The Long War"
This little piece of clumsy marketing died off quickly, but it gave away
what many already suspected: the War on Terror will never end, nor is it
meant to end. It is designed to be perpetual. As with the War on Drugs, it
outlines a goal that can never be fully attained -- as long as there are
pissed off people and explosives. The Long War will eternally justify what
are ostensibly temporary measures: suspension of civil liberties, military
expansion, domestic spying, massive deficit spending and the like. This
short-lived moniker told us all, "get used to it. Things aren't going to
change any time soon."
3. The USA PATRIOT Act
Did anyone really think this was going to be temporary? Yes, this disgusting
power grab gives the government the right to sneak into your house, look
through all your stuff and not tell you about it for weeks on a rubber stamp
warrant. Yes, they can look at your medical records and library selections.
Yes, they can pass along any information they find without probable cause
for purposes of prosecution. No, they're not going to take it back, ever.
4. Prison Camps
This last January the Army Corps of Engineers gave Halliburton subsidiary
Kellogg Brown & Root nearly $400 million to build detention centers in the
United States, for the purpose of unspecified "new programs." Of course, the
obvious first guess would be that these new programs might involve rounding
up Muslims or political dissenters -- I mean, obviously detention facilities
are there to hold somebody. I wish I had more to tell you about this, but
it's, you know... secret.
5. Touchscreen Voting Machines
Despite clear, copious evidence that these nefarious contraptions are built
to be tampered with, they continue to spread and dominate the voting
landscape, thanks to Bush's "Help America Vote Act," the exploitation of
corrupt elections officials, and the general public's enduring cluelessness.
In Utah, Emery County Elections Director Bruce Funk witnessed security
testing by an outside firm on Diebold voting machines which showed them to
be a security risk. But his warnings fell on deaf ears. Instead Diebold
attorneys were flown to Emery County on the governor's airplane to squelch
the story. Funk was fired. In Florida, Leon County Supervisor of Elections
Ion Sancho discovered an alarming security flaw in their Diebold system at
the end of last year. Rather than fix the flaw, Diebold refused to fulfill
its contract. Both of the other two touchscreen voting machine vendors,
Sequoia and ES&S, now refuse to do business with Sancho, who is required by
HAVA to implement a touchscreen system and will be sued by his own state if
he doesn't. Diebold is said to be pressuring for Sancho's ouster before it
will resume servicing the county.
Stories like these and much worse abound, and yet TV news outlets have done
less coverage of the new era of elections fraud than even 9/11 conspiracy
theories. This is possibly the most important story of this century, but
nobody seems to give a damn. As long as this issue is ignored, real American
democracy will remain an illusion. The midterm elections will be an
interesting test of the public's continuing gullibility about voting
integrity, especially if the Democrats don't win substantial gains, as they
almost surely will if everything is kosher.
Bush just suggested that his brother Jeb would make a good president. We
really need to fix this problem soon.
6. Signing Statements
Bush has famously never vetoed a bill. This is because he prefers to simply
nullify laws he doesn't like with "signing statements." Bush has issued over
700 such statements, twice as many as all previous presidents combined. A
few examples of recently passed laws and their corresponding dismissals,
courtesy of the Boston Globe:
--Dec. 30, 2005: US interrogators cannot torture prisoners or otherwise
subject them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
Bush's signing statement: The president, as commander in chief, can waive
the torture ban if he decides that harsh interrogation techniques will
assist in preventing terrorist attacks.
--Dec. 30, 2005: When requested, scientific information ''prepared by
government researchers and scientists shall be transmitted [to Congress]
uncensored and without delay."
Bush's signing statement: The president can tell researchers to withhold
any information from Congress if he decides its disclosure could impair
foreign relations, national security, or the workings of the executive
branch.
--Dec. 23, 2004: Forbids US troops in Colombia from participating in any
combat against rebels, except in cases of self-defense. Caps the number of
US troops allowed in Colombia at 800.
Bush's signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can
place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch
will construe the law ''as advisory in nature."
Essentially, this administration is bypassing the judiciary and deciding for
itself whether laws are constitutional or not. Somehow, I don't see the new
Supreme Court lineup having much of a problem with that, though. So no
matter what laws congress passes, Bush will simply choose to ignore the ones
he doesn't care for. It's much quieter than a veto, and can't be overridden
by a two-thirds majority. It's also totally absurd.
7. Warrantless Wiretapping
Amazingly, the GOP sees this issue as a plus for them. How can this be? What
are you, stupid? You find out the government is listening to the phone calls
of US citizens, without even the weakest of judicial oversight and you think
that's okay? Come on -- if you know anything about history, you know that no
government can be trusted to handle something like this responsibly. One day
they're listening for Osama, and the next they're listening in on Howard
Dean.
Think about it: this administration hates unauthorized leaks. With no
judicial oversight, why on earth wouldn't they eavesdrop on, say, Seymour
Hersh, to figure out who's spilling the beans? It's a no-brainer. Speaking
of which, it bears repeating: terrorists already knew we would try to spy on
them. They don't care if we have a warrant or not. But you should.
8. Free Speech Zones
I know it's old news, but... come on, are they fucking serious?
9. High-ranking Whistleblowers
Army Generals. Top-level CIA officials. NSA operatives. White House cabinet
members. These are the kind of people that Republicans fantasize about
being, and whose judgment they usually respect. But for some reason, when
these people resign in protest and criticize the Bush administration en
masse, they are cast as traitorous, anti-American publicity hounds.
Ridiculous. The fact is, when people who kill, spy and deceive for a living
tell you that the White House has gone too far, you had damn well better pay
attention. We all know most of these people are staunch Republicans. If the
entire military except for the two guys the Pentagon put in front of the
press wants Rumsfeld out, why on earth wouldn't you listen?
10. The CIA Shakeup
Was Porter Goss fired because he was resisting the efforts of Rumsfeld or
Negroponte? No. These appointments all come from the same guys, and they
wouldn't be nominated if they weren't on board all the way. Goss was
probably canned so abruptly due to a scandal involving a crooked defense
contractor, his hand-picked third-in-command, the Watergate hotel and some
hookers.
If Bush's nominee for CIA chief, Air Force General Michael Hayden, is
confirmed, that will put every spy program in Washington under military
control. Hayden, who oversaw the NSA warrantless wiretapping program and is
clearly down with the program. That program? To weaken and dismantle or at
least neuter the CIA. Despite its best efforts to blame the CIA for
"intelligence errors" leading to the Iraq war, the picture has clearly
emerged -- through extensive CIA leaks -- that the White House's analysis of
Saddam's destructive capacity was not shared by the Agency. This has proved
to be a real pain in the ass for Bush and the gang.
Who'd have thought that career spooks would have moral qualms about
deceiving the American people? And what is a president to do about it?
Simple: make the critical agents leave, and fill their slots with
Bush/Cheney loyalists. Then again, why not simply replace the entire
organization? That is essentially what both Rumsfeld at the DoD and newly
minted Director of National Intelligence John are doing -- they want to move
intelligence analysis into the hands of people that they can control, so the
next time they lie about an "imminent threat" nobody's going to tell. And
the press is applauding the move as a "necessary reform."
Remember the good old days, when the CIA were the bad guys?
--
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows
I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many
strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have
stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they
dare not speak."
They seek him here, they seek him there. Those Frenchies seek him
everywhere. Is he is Heaven or in Hell? That demmed, elusive pimpernel.
'Don't yet rejoice in his defeat, you men!
Although the world stood up and stopped the bastard,
The bitch that bore him is in heat again.'
- from Bertolt Brecht
mcs
"Angus Scrimm" <tarta...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:UU5eg.83308$F_3....@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
> Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State
>
> By Allan Uthman, Buffalo Beast. Posted May 26, 2006.
>
>
>
> Is the U.S. becoming a police state? Here are the top 10 signs that it may
> well be the case.
>
> 1. The Internet Clampdown
>
> One saving grace of alternative media in this age of unfettered corporate
> conglomeration has been the internet. While the masses are spoon-fed
> predigested news on TV and in mainstream print publications, the
> truth-seeking individual still has access to a broad array of
> investigative reporting and political opinion via the world-wide web. Of
> course, it was only a matter of time before the government moved to patch
> up this crack in the sky.
>
The leaders of the internet can and do filter I believe things on the net by
( my estimation) conspiring to spread out the importance of any one site.
For instance, my favorite places on the net are usually on newsgroups. Most
internet service providers first emphasized the newsgroups and feeds, now
some don't even offer it and many don't tell subscribers of them . There are
other things I believe the biggest internet companies conspire with govt in
doing but heck I still appreciate what we do have. To me whats way worse is
people accepting high levels of particulates with absolutely nothing done to
stop it faster. People are losing their health MUCH faster in those area
compared to other areas where pollutants are low , and I believe it can be
proven if staticians had a way to get the right information. I still think
or home the truth still will win out but like many science fiction films, I
don't expect the right things to really inspire a better society. To me when
weather whores on tv news ignore one of the most important aspects of health
on earth for humans and are paid off to be quiet of the negative
consequences ,so they can make more profits from drug companies, everything
else is just secondary. Everything else about freedom and what is allowed or
conspired against is all a guess.and to me when they kill you slowly and get
away with it, who cares what else they can do? You have to truly be an
imbecile to ignore allot of what goes on. But I am sure its trully worse in
other countries.
> Attempts to regulate and filter internet content are intensifying lately,
> coming both from telecommunications corporations (who are gearing up to
> pass legislation transferring ownership and regulation of the internet to
> themselves), and the Pentagon (which issued an "Information Operations
> Roadmap" in 2003, signed by Donald Rumsfeld, which outlines tactics such
> as network attacks and acknowledges, without suggesting a remedy, that US
> propaganda planted in other countries has easily found its way to
> Americans via the internet). One obvious tactic clearing the way for
> stifling regulation of internet content is the growing media frenzy over
> child pornography and "internet predators," which will surely lead to
> legislation that by far exceeds in its purview what is needed to fight
> such threats.
>
Truthfully I dont care either way in that regard Give me clean air at least,
give me a fighting chance to see good correlations take hold, not pollution
and five people shot everyday!!!!! Give me the ability to get up and
contribute postively to this country in decent health without worrying about
crime or pollution
> 2. "The Long War"
>
> This little piece of clumsy marketing died off quickly, but it gave away
> what many already suspected: the War on Terror will never end, nor is it
> meant to end. It is designed to be perpetual. As with the War on Drugs, it
> outlines a goal that can never be fully attained -- as long as there are
> pissed off people and explosives. The Long War will eternally justify what
> are ostensibly temporary measures: suspension of civil liberties, military
> expansion, domestic spying, massive deficit spending and the like. This
> short-lived moniker told us all, "get used to it. Things aren't going to
> change any time soon."
wars and dysfunction and all the things I outlined earlier continue
,,because this CONTINUATION brings jobs. One can argue whether leaders
really want people happy and safe and sane and free , probably because it
would mean less money for certain sectors and maybe mass unemployment . Who
can argue with that, because if they did a poll, probably still many
americans would rather see people have jobs then to worry about closing coal
plants for safer air. One reason is because newsmedia implies our standards.
newsmedia tells us what is important, not vice versa. One can easily turn
our crime around and say we are living under two terror threats daily , one
from fanatics abroad and another from dysfunctional people who are broken
from dysfunctional families and policies like pollution and immigration that
leaves millions on the edge daily.
>
> 3. The USA PATRIOT Act
>
> Did anyone really think this was going to be temporary? Yes, this
> disgusting power grab gives the government the right to sneak into your
> house, look through all your stuff and not tell you about it for weeks on
> a rubber stamp warrant. Yes, they can look at your medical records and
> library selections. Yes, they can pass along any information they find
> without probable cause for purposes of prosecution. No, they're not going
> to take it back, ever.
>
they are already killing me , so why am I not surprised? Any way I am
making myself depressed, give thanks I still got Jenos Pizza and many fine
eateries and bars to fill in the voids. I use to think people who were fat,
alcoholic, criminals and drug users were just bad people. Now I just think
these are often normal sequence of events from policies that keep the rich
richers , and makes it almost impossible for families to do the right thing
even if they wanted.
Suburbanaristic
"Angus Scrimm" <tarta...@msn.com> wrote:
> Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State
>
> By Allan Uthman, Buffalo Beast. Posted May 26, 2006.
>
>
>
> Is the U.S. becoming a police state? Here are the top 10 signs that it may
> well be the case.
>
> 1. Someone snipped everything.
Damn fascists.