Drifting Towards a Police State

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Fri, 4 Nov 2005 11:03:27 -0800 (PST)

Drifting Towards a Police State

 

 

 

 

 

" We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. "

~ Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965), American Broadcast Newsman

http://liberty-tree.ca/qb/Edward.R..Murrow.Quote.A809

 

 

 

 

 

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,

people will eventually come to believe it.

The lie can be maintained only for such time

as the State can shield the people from the political,

economic and/or military consequences of the lie.

It thus becomes vitally important for the State

to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for

the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension,

the truth is the greatest enemy of the State. "

~ Joseph Goebbels was born in 1897 and died in 1945.

Goebbels was Hitler's Minister of Propaganda

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drifting Towards a Police State

 

by Mike Whitney

fergiewhitney

www.dissidentvoice.org

 

 

 

 

November 3, 2005

 

 

 

 

" Those who scare peace loving people with phantoms of lost liberty,

my message is this: Your tactics only aid the terrorists for they

erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give

ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. "

~ Former US Attorney General John Ashcroft

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that under the terms of the new Patriot Act

prosecutors will be able to seek the death penalty

in cases where " defendants gave financial support

to umbrella organizations without realizing

that some of its adherents might eventually commit violence " ?

(NY Times editorial, October 30, 2005)

 

So, if someone unknowingly gave money to a charity

that was connected to a terrorist group, he/she could be executed.

 

Or, that the Senate Intelligence Committee is fine-tuning

the details of a bill that will allow the FBI to secretly procure

any of your personal records without " probable cause "

or a court order giving them " unchecked authority

to pry into personal and business matters " ?

( " Republicans Seek to Widen FBI Powers, " New York Times,Oct.19,2005)

 

Or, that on June 29, President Bush put " a broad swath of the FBI "

under his direct control by creating the National Security Service

(a.k.a. the " New SS " )? This is the first time we've had a

" secret police " in our 200-year history. It will be run exclusively

by the president and beyond the range of congressional oversight.

 

Or, that on Oct.27,2005 president Bush created the National Clandestine

Service,which will be headed by CIA Dir.Porter Goss and will

" Expand reporting of information and intelligence value from state,

local+ tribal law enforcement entities and private sector stakeholders " ?

 

This executive order gives the CIA the power to carry out

-covert operations,- spying,- propaganda, and - " dirty tricks "

within the United States and on the American public.

( " The New National Intelligence Strategy of the US "

by Larry Chin, Global Research)

 

Or, that Pentagon intelligence operatives are now permitted

to collect information from US citizens without revealing

their status as government spies? (Greg Miller, " Bill would give

Cover to Pentagon Spies, " Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2005)

 

Or, that within two years every American license and passport

will be made according to federal uniform standards including

microchips (with biometric information) that will allow

the government to trace every movement of its citizens?

 

Or, that recent rulings, the DC District Court unanimously decided

in two different cases that foreign prisoners have no rights

under international law to challenge their indefinite imprisonment

by the United States and, (in Rumsfeld vs. Padilla)

that the president can lock up an American citizen

" without charges " if he believes he may be an " enemy combatant " ?

 

Both verdicts overturn the fundamental principles of

" inalienable rights " , habeas corpus, and the presumption of innocence,

replacing them with the arbitrary authority of the executive.

 

The American people have no idea of the amount of energy

that has been devoted to stripping them of their constitutional

protections and how stealthily that plan has been carried out.

It has required the concerted efforts of the political establishment,

the corporate elite, and the collaborative media.

 

For all practical purposes, the government is no longer constrained

in its conduct towards its citizens; it can do as it pleases.

 

The campaign to dismantle the Bill of Rights has focused primarily

on the key Amendments, the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 14th.

 

These are the cornerstones of American liberty

and they encompass everything from due process

to equal protection to free speech to a ban on the

" cruel and unusual " treatment of prisoners.

Freedom has little tangible meaning apart from

the safety provided by these amendments.

 

At present, there's no reason

for the administration to assert its new powers.

That would only dispel the widely held illusion of personal freedom.

 

But, the existing climate of " well being " will not last forever.

The poisonous effects of war, tax cuts, burgeoning budget deficits,

and inflation indicate that darker days lie ahead.

 

The middle class is stretched paper-thin and disaster

could be as close as a hike in interest rates.

 

The new repressive legislation anticipates the massive political unrest

that naturally follows a tenuous and volatile economic situation.

 

Is this why Congress has rubber-stamped so many of the Admin's.

autocratic laws, or does Bush simply " Hate our Freedoms " ?

 

The members of America's ruling elite carefully follow

the shifting of policy in Washington.

They have the power to access the mainstream media

and dispute the changes in the law that they oppose.

Regrettably, there's been no sign of protest

from the bastions of the corporate, financial

and political oligarchy, just an ominous silence.

 

Does this mean that American Brahmins have abandoned

their support for personal liberty and the rights of man?

 

America is undergoing its greatest metamorphosis.

It has been severed from its constitutional moorings

and is drifting towards a police state.

If Samuel Alito is appointed to the Supreme Court then Bush

will be able to solidify his " unchecked " power as executive

and 50 years of progressive legislation will be up for review.

 

Everything from abortion to Miranda will be reconsidered

through the hard-right lens of the new majority.

 

Americans still seem blissfully unaware of the fundamental changes

to the political system. The cloak of disinformation and diversion

has successfully obscured the perils of our present course.

 

Freedom is no longer guaranteed in Bush's America

nor is liberty everyman's birthright.

The rickety scaffolding that supports the rule of law has been

replaced with the unbridled authority of the supreme presidency.

The country is slipping inexorably towards the Orwellian nightmare -

- the National Security State.

 

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state, and can be reached at:

fergiewhitney.

 

Other Recent Articles by Mike Whitney at:

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Nov05/Whitney1104.htm