As those of us who care have documented on the blogs over the last few years, our rights as citizens have been being steadily stripped. We have often referred to this phenomenon as sliding down the slippery slope to tyranny and fascism. And now, with the assault on the protesters, the PRE-protestor, we see where this slippery slope leads. OUR government, a government that was once thought to be of, by and for The People, have made The People trying to exercise their Constitutional rights to dissent, protest, speech and assembly….into a criminal class. A PRE-crime criminal class. And it is, by and large being accepted.
They have spied on American citizens and with the information that they have gathered have conducted PRE-EMPTORY raids. Raids designed to intimidate and sow fear and PREVENT crimes that have not been committed. Raids intended to bludgeon the will of citizens to stop them from exercising their rights.
And the atmosphere and events and fear of the last eight years, as well as the Patriot Act and all of the other right stripping, citizen intimidating has made this acceptable and unremarkable. It has allowed a level of totalitarianism to flourish that would NOT have been acceptable in the America of ten years ago.
The black clad, paramilitary trained and equipped SWAT teams, armed with information gained from domestic spying are conducting raids on citizens who are only attempting to exercise their Constitutional rights. Where does it stop? Until we get a new administration and force it to reverse these draconian, totalitarian police powers……It Will Not. And unless we DO demand the restoration of the Constittuion of the new administration and are succesful, it will not stop until we reach the bottom of the slippery slope and either acquiesce to a Police State….or revolt.
The police and the forces behind them (DHS) are violating nearly every important Constitutional right we have. Military style raids on private homes for crimes that MIGHT be committed. Searches IN CASE their might be contraband, Detaining people without real probable cause, because of their PROFILE as potential terrorist. THIS is what we ‘Purity Trolls’ have been ‘whining’ about for years now. And here it is. How does it feel America?
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at the head of said administration. What you write is, IMHO, correct. My question is: “How do we expect someone who voted for FISA on the rationale that even though telecom immunity wasn’t a good thing, pretty much the rest of it is, to change our trajectory down that slippery slope?”
It’s interesting. One of the, well let’s be nice and call it left-wing, sites I read had an article about how one should support Labour in Great Britain even though it’s pretty much abandoned it’s working class background because so many still think it represents the working class. I equate Labour’s abandonment of their traditional base to how the Dems have fled from theirs. The writer seemed to be hoping for a ‘revolution’ within the Labour party, much as, I suppose, we hope for a similar ‘revolution’ within the Democratic party. The question for me is do we have the time to root out the neo-liberal militarists from the Dems, or are they so entrenched as to make a timely ‘overthrow’ of their power in time to correct where this country is headed? My answer is probably not and that I don’t see the current nominees as being part of that change.
of pre-emption is a critical issue here. You can tie it not only to the invasion of Iraq, but to Cheney’s one percent doctrine. I’ve been watching this kind of thinking infiltrate our law enforcement for years now. Its insidious and totally based on fear as opposed to justice.
wasn’t this going on before the Iraq Invasion? i seem to recall posting a story about the inflitration and eventual exposure of a cookie-eating peace group somewhere or another.
this is news? 😉
I don’t know what to do. I repeatedly contacted my senators, and even my rep (who is a useless Rethug), about FISA because that’s where this all begins.
Well, we know how well that turned out.
There is no doubt left: the GOP will enforce a police state no matter what; and 1984 is here, if 24 years later than predicted.
keeping the sheep too scared to object to bad policy…or speak up/out about fair elections….or crumbling infrastructure, or the rape of the environment, or the neglect of education and health care systems…
tighten your tin foil, and get comfy under the bed…
It’s a big, bad, nasty dangerous world out there. Full of fanatical killers who hate you because you’re free. You got to make sure you’re safe. That’s the most important thing, right?
Everything else ain’t worth sh*t without you’re safe and secure, right?.
Right. No question.
I heard on the news today that they’re closer now. In my town.
Sh*t. Now what? I’ve got it! I’ll put up a steel fence around the house. To be safe and secure.
Ahhh, that’s better.
The local radio station said this morning that there’s a good chance they’re now in the neighborhood.
F*ck! Now what? I’ve got it! I’ll put up steel shutters on the windows. To be safe and secure.
Ahhh, that’s better.
The mailman came today. He said he’s seen some suspicious looking brown people on the street this morning. But not to worry. He called Homeland Security.
They said since they don’t need warrants anymore that this is nothing to worry about. They’ll be right out to arrest anyone on the sidewalk today. But just to be on the safe side they said to shut, seal and lock the steel shutters. To be safe and secure.
Ahhh, that’s better.
Something woke me up at three in the f*cking morning today. Some low banging and thumping on the wall from outside. I had a hard time getting up out of bed to check it out because the air is getting so bad in here I can hardly fu*king breath in here now. Cough, cough. But I’m safe and secure. Gasp. Choke. Sh*t, there’s no food in the cupboard. And the fridge is empty.
But I just remembered… I’m safe and secure. Why isn’t this any better?
It’s getting really hard to breath in here now. But good thing I’m safe and secure.
F*ck I’m hungry. Mostly for human contact… I wish I had someone to talk to…
I’d like to let someone know that I’m safe and secure. But I’m afraid to open the shutters now. I wish there was some air in here…
Tell my kids I loved them, will you? And please give them this note.
…_excellent_ Rodman peice on preventative detention.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…
America, as we once knew it, is gone and it won’t be coming back anytime soon. Who is going to save us, the folks who voted for retroactive FISA immunity? Those who voted for the Patriot Act?
What is happening in St. Paul is a preview of what lies ahead for those who dare to express truly dissident views or do anything other than sit meekly and quietly in the comfort of their homes.