| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"John Manning" |
| Date: |
14 Nov 2003 06:54:22 AM |
| Object: |
In a Police State Atmosphere, Fascists Will Rise to the Top |
"It is a historical fact that a majority of the German people under
Hitler’s rule were completely happy with the Nazi power structure. They
never questioned the government as long as the repeal of freedoms did
not affect them. The ones that did wake up and question the Nazi’s were
either exterminated or too afraid to speak out."
In a Police State Atmosphere, Fascists Will Rise to the Top
By Jay Shaft - Coalition For Free Thought In Media
11/13/03
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5203.htm
In a nation where a police state atmosphere is permitted, the fascists
will rise to the top. This may sound like a crazy, radical statement,
but it is going on in America right now with the current Ashcroft led
Justice Department. With the top leader of the nations law enforcement
structure permitting and enacting more and more assaults on civil rights
and invasions of privacy it is only natural that many closet fascists
will come out into the open.
The United States is now a burgeoning police state, with broad new
powers to intrude upon the privacy and rights of its citizens. There is
often no oversight of this new power, and investigations into abuses are
often hampered or outright halted by the very rules set up to intrude
into citizen’s privacy. The new rules that are supposed to protect
national security often block inquires into use of that power, and put a
muzzle on those who have their rights trampled.
John Ashcroft, US Attorney General, our supreme commander in the "War on
Terror", has ties in his past to white supremacist/ neo-nazi groups. As
George W. Bush's attorney general, Ashcroft has used the Department of
Justice to support Republican efforts at voter suppression; many of them
aimed at black voters.
Ashcroft ran on a platform that included "No Desegregation of Public
Schools" in the Missouri Governor’s race. Here is a record of his
efforts to block desegregation and voluntary busing in St. Louis and
Kansas City. http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1097
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1099
Ashcroft's Missouri Years Summarized
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1060
He has taken campaign contributions from the white separatist/neo-nazi
group the CCC (Council of Concerned Citizens). They were at one time
known as the White Citizens Council before changing their name to
something less inflammatory and more benign.
The strange story of Ashcroft's connections with the CCC is told here
and here.
If you really want to have your eyes opened to the true racist nature of
the CCC check out their web site here http://www.cofcc.org/. This site
will make you ill if you are not prepared for the level of hatred that
it contains. You can order your choice of Ku Klux Klan flags, uniforms,
stickers, nazi materials, and a patch that shows a hooded Klansman, a
burning cross, and the phrase ''Department of the Interior: Bureau of
Negro Control.''
In the governor’s election race, attorney general’s race, and his US
Senate race, and the elections for many years before that they gave
large amounts of money to help get Ashcroft reelected. While Ashcroft
has never admitted to being a member of the CCC, leaders and organizers
of the CCC have claimed him as an active member in the past. A news
update in December 2001,on the St. Louis chapter's web site, heralded
Ashcroft's nomination as US Attorney General with an item headlined "Our
Ship Has Come In."
In 1998 after his involvement with the CCC became known, Ashcroft denied
"firsthand knowledge" of the group. This is something that is completely
false and it has been proven many times that Ashcroft was closely
involved with working politics of the CCC.
Ashcroft gave three speeches before the group in the 1990s, saying that
the council stands ''for the right principles and the right
philosophy.'' In 1997, he was photographed in his Senate office, smiling
and joking with the national leaders of the CCC. Yet he has denied all
ties to them and denied knowledge of their racist sentiments and stands
against black civil rights.
Ashcroft and the state of Missouri were sued to get the public schools
desegregated after the federal order to desegregate all public schools
was ignored by Ashcroft after repeated orders from the federal
government to stop segregating all state schools. These facts have been
conveniently ignored and overlooked by the mainstream media. Repeated
attempts by groups like the ACLU, National Lawyers Guild, and many
others to bring these issues to the public have been largely ignored and
silenced by the media.
With our own US Attorney General having these ties to fascism and
repression, how many more totalitarian/fascists are now in the federal
and local ranks with his tacit approval? How many closet nazis are now
stepping into power in the many law enforcement agencies empowered by
the newly created Homeland Security Department?
There have been many recorded cases of federal agents, state, and local
police abusing their new powers granted under the USA/PATRIOT Act. The
stories are making the rounds of the First Amendment rights defenders
and free speech defense groups. Many activists and so called radicals
have been questioned by federal agents, and had their homes and
businesses searched under the clause in the Patriot Act permitting sneak
and peek searches without a warrant or any warning of a search being
conducted.
On November 14, 2001 an announcement was made by the DOJ that any person
designated as a terrorist by the President is to be placed under the
control of the Secretary of Defense and not allowed the aid of U.S. or
foreign courts.
Ashcroft was questioned about judicial oversight of the Justice
Department in June 2003 while appearing before the House Judiciary
Committee. Ashcroft acknowledged that he did not consult with members of
Congress concerning his significant revisions of the Attorney General
Guidelines governing security investigations. He warned Committee
members that, "As we consider the Constitutional methods we use to fight
the enemies of freedom, we must remember that terrorism threatens our
future."
When people have contact with the Homeland Security Department they are
warned not to discuss the interrogation and questions asked or be in
violation of national security laws. This puts a muzzle on people who
very well might have had their rights abused or had their rights
completely denied. Most of the time they are not allowed to contact a
lawyer or have access to any legal advice.
Our constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure and ability
to invoke the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination have been taken
away under the Patriot Act, and there is no sign that they will be
restored. The very constitution that made us such a great nation is now
just so much toilet paper for Ashcroft and the rest of the current
regime to wipe their collective asses on.
The founding fathers would be shocked if they could see just how quickly
and effectively the Constitution has been dismantled. The freedom of
every American has been taken away whether the citizens know it or not.
The Bill of Rights has become a useless as a blank piece of paper as far
as Ashcroft and the Bush regime are concerned.
The press in general has turned a blind eye to this phenomenon of
intrusion and abuse of our constitutionally guaranteed rights. There
have been many journalists who have recorded these abuses. Often these
journalists write for left wing or progressive news groups, but
mainstream media members are blatantly lacking in the coverage of
growing assaults on the constitution.
It appears that the mainstream media is scared of questioning the
government for fear of seeming weak on defeating terror. Often times the
major news groups are working in cooperation with the government in
spreading the hysteria and fear that make it easier for the feds to
suppress rights and enact sweeping new police state powers. It is all
excused by the need to be tough on terror and stop any more terrorist
acts no matter what the price paid in lost freedoms and privacy.
Now the war on terror and the Patriot Act are being applied to the war
on drugs and other criminal activities, after Ashcroft assured congress
that the Act would not be used for such things. At the time of the Act
being passed, Americans were assured that it was only going to be used
to go after terrorists and to stop further acts of terror. Now we see
more programs and assaults on rights being enacted by Ashcroft and
Homeland Security with no oversight or supervision. It seems that the
excuse of doing whatever it takes to stop terror now has no leash and
the police dog is now running loose attacking any target in it’s path.
Many US cites, counties, and states have passed resolutions to refuse to
comply with the Patriot Act. Many local and state governments are
refusing to let their tax dollars be used in any way to enforce the Act.
Quite a few local and state law enforcement agencies have refused to
give any officers or agents for use in Patriot Act enforcement.
This has not stopped the government from going forward with using the
Act to do background checks on private citizens, harass activists and
those questioning the government, and trample many constitutional rights.
The newest outrage and removal of privacy rights occurred just last
week. Ashcroft announced that the FBI would now do background checks and
records searches on suspected radicals and activists without a warrant
or any warning, and with no access to any records of what has been done.
Under the new rules of National Security and the Homeland Security
Department, it is no longer possible to have any oversight on just how
the new Patriot Act is being implemented. The FBI has denied numerous
Freedom of Information requests seeking to find out just how the new
powers have been used. The very agencies exercising the police powers
are also responsible for maintaining the records and oversight of the
use of these powers. It is ridiculous to expect the police state to
police itself.
The promise of not expanding the use of the Patriot Act to US citizens
is now so much hot air and Ashcroft has denied he ever said any such
thing. Just how far he will take this repression of civil rights and
invasion of privacy is yet to be seen. It looks like there is nothing to
stop him from doing whatever he wants in the "war on terror".
By the time many Americans realize how many of the rights, freedoms, and
guarantees of privacy have been stripped away, it will be far too late
to get them back. When you tell the average American what has happened
they either give you a blank look, or parrot the statement of "at least
we’re safer now". No real safety has yet to be implemented under t
is
new police state empowerment and many harms and damages have already
occurred to our constitutional freedoms and rights.
Many government officials and quasi officials are now using the "You
have to get tough!" excuse to get away with many abuses of civil rights
and freedoms. There seems to be a prevalent attitude that any extreme
act can be forgiven if it is done for "safety" and "security". Many
local police agencies have set up their own version of Homeland Security
or work hand in hand with the national agency.
Just last week there was a drug raid in a South Carolina school where
children were held at gunpoint, while police dogs ran riot in a school
corridor. The students were all searched without parental consent or
legal advice. No drugs were found and many students were terrorized and
had guns pointed at their heads and screamed and yelled at in a very
abusive manner. One girl said after she moved around on the floor an
officer stepped on the back of her neck and put his gun to her head.
When asked about it the principal of the school made some very shocking
statements. He said, "You have to show these kids that we’re tough on
drugs and we won’t tolerate them anymore." He said that the use of force
was justified even though there were no drugs or anything illegal found.
This is an attitude that is becoming more and more prevalent among
government officials who see the federal government doing the same thing
and getting away with it. There are many in power who are testing the
boundaries of just how much is really exceptable, and it looks like it’s
quite a lot by the governments standards. This is only going to result
in the rise of more officials and police agents who feel that anything
is tolerable as long as it is explained by the need for security and
public safety.
The more assaults on liberties that the American people let the
government get away with, the worse it will get. Unless we try to put a
stop to this now, they will just assume that the people have no problem
with it, and that they support them in conducting these travesties. In
this heightened state of fear and terror many people are afraid to
question the government for fear of being viewed as un-American and
supporters of terror.
Bush’s brilliant statement "If you’re not for us you against us!" was a
stroke of genius on Karl Rove’s part.
With that one statement Bush tarred any dissenters with the broad brush
of being terrorist supporters, unpatriotic, and un-American. No other
statement could have been as effective in seeking to negate any dissent
no matter how true and factual the basis for dissent.
In this day and age the government has made it seem un-American to ever
question anything they do. Even with a justifiable grievance the powers
that be have thrown an effective muzzle on many Americans who might
otherwise speak out or publicly question the current regime. They have
made it taboo to raise any specter of government abuse or misuse of power.
Many petty dictators are now rising up in government agencies all over
the country and there are no safe guards in place to keep them in check.
All you have to do is look at the enforcement of laws on a national
level and see the broad freedom that agencies are taking with our
liberties. When local agencies see the blind eye turned to all these
police state tactics it gives them a sense of Gestapo power like never
before known.
When the people finally figure out what happened they will wonder how
they didn’t notice until it was too late. Sadly a vast majority will be
able to live with the new loss of freedom if they are spoon fed the myth
of being safer and more secure. It is a historical fact that a majority
of the German people under Hitler’s rule were completely happy with the
Nazi power structure. They never questioned the government as long as
the repeal of freedoms did not affect them. The ones that did wake up
and question the Nazi’s were either exterminated or too afraid to speak out.
The Homeland Security Department and DOJ have rounded up thousands of
foreign nationals and naturalized citizens under the new terror laws
since the end of 2001. Many nationals with work visas and school visas
from Arabic countries and North Korea, were made to report in for
questioning and possible deportation under the Patriot Act and NSEARS (
National Security Entry and Exit Registration Service) Act.
Citizens or nationals of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran,
Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen
all had to report in a three stage series.
Non-immigrants from certain countries, as well as other individuals whom
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or Department of State
(DOS) designate on a discretionary basis, are required to be processed
under "special registration" procedures, as part of the National
Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). [Source: 67 Fed. Reg.
52583 (August 12, 2002)]
This site has a complete overview of how people had to report and in
what order by country and designation.
http://www.issso.grads.vt.edu/NSEERS.htm
Here are Ashcroft’s prepared remarks from June 6th 2002 that were made
when announcing NSEERS. There is a funny little warning on the top of
the page to the fact that (Attorney General Often Deviates from the
Prepared Remarks)
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2002/060502agpreparedremarks.htm
Here are his remarks from November 7th 2002 when the NSEERS Act was
actually implemented and carried out.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2002/110702agremarksnseers_niagarafalls.htm
It is extremely hard to find out just how many people were deported
under NSEERS as it is classified a National Security matter. FIA
requests for records of who was affected have been denied. Many people
showed up thinking they had all their paper work in order were deported
after being detained, some times for months in deplorable conditions. I
know of several journalists who had dual citizenship were deported and
now cannot return to their jobs in the US.
One last example on the rise of a police state is the arresting and
detaining of suspected terrorists at the Guantonimo Bay Marine
Installation down in Cuba. The Justice Department has repeatedly refused
to charge the detainees with a crime and prevented them from having
access to any legal council. In defending the right to hold them the
Justice Department and US regime have called them "foreign combatants"
even if they were never captured on a battlefield.
Despite the obvious fact that identifying them as combatants should make
the detainees prisoners of war, they have been denied their rights
granted by the Geneva Convention on POWs. The case is currently going
before the US Supreme Court and it will be interesting to watch whether
they rule for or against releasing these prisoners.
If their ruling upholds the right of the Justice Department to take
prisoners and hold them without trial, legal representation, and to hold
them indefinitely, it will further cement the current police state
powers. The Justice department has contended that by holding them
outside the United States, the prisoners do not have the right to a
trial in the US or any privileges granted to those who are US prisoners.
If this is not an example of a police state in action I do not know what
is. Numerous human rights groups and constitutional rights advocacy
groups have filed Freedom of Information Act requests and cases against
the DOJ and the US government. Below you will find a denial of FIA
information that was given to EPIC.
This is from Electronic Privacy Information Center info page on the
terror war detainees http://www.epic.org/open_gov/foia/cnss_v_doj.html :
DC Circuit Court Upholds Secrecy of DOJ Detentions: On June 17, 2003,
the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided opinion , [PDF] endorsed
the Justice Department's efforts to keep secret the identities of
hundreds of individuals detained after the September 2001 terrorist
attacks. In this decision, the Court affirmed the District Court’s
decision to withhold all specific detention information, and further
allowed the Justice Department to withhold the names of detainees and
their attorneys. The Court found that this information could be properly
withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemption 7(A), which exempts law enforcement
information that would interfere with enforcement proceedings if
released. The decision comes in a Freedom of Information Act case in
which EPIC is a plaintiff and co-counsel.
Here is more information on the USA/PATRIOT Act and some prepared
statements by Ashcroft
Electronic Privacy Information Center USA/PATRIOT Act page:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/
Attorney General Ashcroft's Prepared Statement June 5th 2003 given when
appearing before the House Judiciary Committee:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/ashcroft060503.htm
We are currently in a police state atmosphere where fascists will rise
to the top like turds in a giant cesspool. The signs are all around just
like they were around in the beginning of the Nazi Third Reich takeover
of all state affairs with a massive police and security force. It was
excused then as being the price you had to pay for safety and security,
and necessary for continued freedom and prosperity.
Sounds familiar right?
We are set upon a course of using war for world domination, using the
flag as a symbol of state power and authority. The government uses
easily absorbed catch phrase slogan propaganda like "God Bless America",
"Safety and Security", "War on Terror", "War for Liberation and
Freedom", "Preemptive Strike", "Might Makes Right", "Retaliation", "Let
No One Challenge Our Might", "We Will Take the War to Them", "If You’re
Not For Us You’re Against Us", and many other Bushisms.
The power structure for a police state is already in place, and for the
most part unchallenged. Will Americans realize this before it’s too
late? I sure hope so, because I happen to like the freedoms of writing
articles like this, and being able to challenge the right of the corrupt
leaders to govern our country. I like to have the option of dissent if
things are out of control or just plain wrong.
I will close with these excellent quotes from the book 1984.
"There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at
any given moment." - George Orwell, 1984
"…the consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the
handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable
condition of survival."
- George Orwell, 1984
Here is an excellent article examining what fascism is and how the
current US regime fits the image:
Fearing Fascism http://tinyurl.com/uw7n
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