For years we have thought that those on the Right that were concerned about the government becoming a dictatorship and doing unmentionable things like home invasions, gun confiscation, literature confiscation, and so on….we have looked the other way when it was against people that we deem ‘terrorists’ and then in the same breath condemn it when it is someone like those that support the Tea Party and its affiliates…..but the truth is that it could very well be a real concern and NOT an unwarranted fear…..
This from the wsws.org website……
The raids carried out by the FBI against antiwar activists last week are an ominous warning to the entire working class. The police-state tactics show the extent to which basic democratic rights—including the right to free speech and political association—have been undermined in the US.The Obama administration ordered the invasion of the homes of several individuals—primarily members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO)—and the seizure of documents, computers, cell phones, cameras and other personal and political material. Those targeted have been summoned to appear before a grand jury on October 12 and may face criminal prosecution for “material support” for terrorism.
What is the rationale for these actions? There are vague and unsubstantiated allegations of visits to groups that the US government officially designates as “terrorist.” These designations are entirely guided by the requirements at any given time of US foreign policy—that is, organizations are deemed to be “terrorist” depending on whether they are supporting or opposing US interests in the Middle East, Latin America or other parts of the globe.
Under attack is not simply one organization. The government and its array of military-police agencies aim to expand the criminalization of dissent in the United States.
The move by the FBI and the Obama administration is intended as a trial balloon. They seek to create a precedent as well as gauge the reaction from the public and from the media. On the last score, the administration is no doubt pleased with the response: near-universal silence. The newspapers have buried the story, and the television news has not covered it. The New York Times, the voice of the liberal establishment, printed a small article on its inside pages.
Why are there so much fear and loathing on the Right……and why is there NOTHING said about an obvious attack on civil rights? Civil Rights are NOT just for those who think like Michele Bachmann or O’Donnell……..This whole episode takes me back to the days in the 70’s during protests when COINTELPRO was used to set aside people’s civil rights in the name of security…
Can you smell that? That is the smell of approaching civil unrest…….
The breakdown of American democracy is inextricably linked to the growing social crisis in the United States itself. Inequality in the US is at record heights. The financial aristocracy has exploited a crisis of its own making to vastly enrich itself. It is now demanding that the bill be paid by the working class in the form of wage cuts, mass unemployment and austerity.
Something has GOT to change! And the upcoming elections is NOT going to be that change!
Excellent post about a vital subject. I don’t agree with much of what the left says and believes (just as I don’t agree with many on the far right), but I STILL suport their right to say and believe what they want – anything else is NOT democracy.
Of course, I would agree that security is paramount, isn’t it? ISN’T it? Well, it is, BUT (there it is), if you believe that you can trust the authorities to be any more truthful than the average terrorist, then you’re living in La-La Land!
It has been obvious for a long time that the “hawks” have set out to use 9/11 and subsequent events to create a climate of fear that they can exploit by introducing draconian laws and actions supposedly in order to “keep the people safe”. Such action gives credence to the conspiracy theorists claims that the CIA (and maybe the FBI and other such organisations) at least knew about the proposed 9/11 attacks before the event, even if they were not actually actively involved in a supporting capacity.
We may be, quite possibly, observing what amounts to a clandestine and far from “bloodless” coup d’état in the US.
“24” fans, watch this space, as reality mimics “art” once again!
I just watched one of my fav movies….7 days in may…..and when I think about it I see Blackwater as a possible bad guy….they have all the gear to fight a war and the US made it possible……would make a great novel…if only I wrote novels…..
My problem is..if the flag is sacred somehow, then it should NOT be used for anything but what it was intended…to fly over something official……my opinion is that the country is more than a piece of cloth….
Holy crap! I had another one of those brain farts….I was writing a post about flag burning and I went a bit to far her….sorry about that…..
I do not like any of this crap……we have Tea Party dipsticks toting guns but they are somehow okay….how about the candidate in nevada that says we should resort to a 2nd amendment solution to Obama…that refers to guns…..but that is not a problem…there are examples all over but these people are somehow concerned about the country…..it is all a pack of steaming crap!
Yes, I agree, but that seemingly surprises you for what reason exactly???
Not surprised…just frustrated….
Ah yes. Well, there’s plenty of that to be had all around… 😉
Sad to say…it is NOT a purely American problem, huh?
Oh, no… not even close…
Controls put in place to contain Cointelpro obviously never worked because it never stopped – at least not in Seattle. In 1981 the FBI collaborated with Marcos agents to gun down cannery workers and union organisers Domingo and Viernes. Then between 1982 and 1985 they infiltrated and broke up CISPES twice. Then between 1986 and 2001, when the controls were allegedly “lifted,” they targeted white supporters of the campaign to create an African American Heritage Museum for covert harassment. To say nothing of the black postal work and union organizer murdered in 1989 – whose evidence file was seized by US intelligence to block a homicide investigation. And the black ex-race car driver killed in 1996 (after a first unsuccessful assassination attempt a year earlier) for exposing DEA involvement in money laundering (via the race car circuit). I write about all this in my recent memoir THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ACT: MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN REFUGEE I currently live in exile in New Zealand.
Dr. Stuart, welcome to the ‘hood……NZ a beautiful country…..I appreciate the comment and I hope you come back often….Oh I am well aware of the governmental crap…look at Peltier……and now with the internet I look for more critics and activists to be found with child porn….it is way too easy to frame someone nowadays….