JUAN COLE: How to turn a democracy into a STASI authoritarian state in 10 easy steps

[kpete]

How to turn a democracy into a STASI authoritarian state in 10 easy steps:

1. Misuse the concept of a Top Secret government document (say, the date of D-Day) and extend classification to trillions of mundane documents a year.

2. Classify all government crimes and violations of the Constitution as secret

3. Create a class of 4.5 million privileged individuals, many of them corporate employees, with access to classified documents but allege it is illegal for public to see leaked classified documents

4. Spy on the public in violation of the Constitution

5. Classify environmental activists as terrorists while allowing Big Coal and Big Oil to pollute and destroy the planet

6. Share info gained from NSA spying on public with DEA, FBI, local law enforcement to protect pharmaceuticals & liquor industry from competition from pot, or to protect polluters from activists

7. Falsify to judges and defense attorneys how allegedly incriminating info was discovered

8. Lie and deny to Congress you are spying on the public.

9. Criminalize the revelation of government crimes and spying as Espionage

10. Further criminalize whistleblowing as “Terrorism”, have compradors arrest innocent people, detain them, and confiscate personal effects with no cause or warrant (i.e. David Miranda, partner of Glenn Greenwald)

Presto, what looks like a democracy is really an authoritarian state ruling on its own behalf and that of 2000 corporations, databasing the activities of 312 million innocent citizens and actively helping destroy the planet while forestalling climate activism.

http://www.juancole.com/2013/08/greenwald-terrorist-dictatorship.html

[KoKo]

1. A very good summation... K&R

[oberliner]

2. He sure does like his Top 10 lists

Google Juan Cole and Top Ten - it's wild.

[fasttense]

3. List seem to be all the rage anymore.

And here are the top 5 reasons why:

It fits into American's short attention span.

It makes speed reading easier.

It fits into a blog/posting window easily.

It appeals to the feminine side list making sensibility.

It's faster to read and write.

[oberliner]

5. Well put

I couldn't agree more!

[alsame]

4. Step 11:

Convince a substantial proportion of the population that Steps 1-10 are no big deal.

[HardTimes99]

10. Step 13, spy on anyone in government with the power of the purse who might use said power - nt

[another_liberal]

13. Good one!

That should take care of CYA concerns completely.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Ah come in Mr. Cole

The water is warm. I have been singing this music well before 2008.

We are an inverted totalitarian state.

[WillyT]

8. K & R !!!

[leftstreet]

11. DURec

[heaven05]

12. hey juan!

you forgot one uhhh two- steal the election in an obvious manner to start what it seems our POTUS is continuing now. geez

[JoePhilly]

14. Does Juan realize that #10 happened outside the Stati States of America?

Forget it ... he's on a roll.

[99th_Monkey]

15. Huge K& R!!! ~eom

[JDPriestly]

16. K&R.

And keep the people ignorant of history. Bore them with the basics in grade school and scare them with teachers who are terrified of losing their jobs. That will keep kids from reading books not on the required list. Then all you have to do is leave the history books off the list. Pretty soon they won't even know what the STASI or the Gulag or slavery were.

[Bandit]

17. He left off, Create "Emergency Managers"

Non elected persons making taxing decisions without representation from the people.

[indepat]

18. Big brother has learned the ways of a secretive totalitarian police state

and has implemented many of its facets with skill, aplomb, and almost total disregard of the Constitution.

[Warren Stupidity]

19. Wait, I thought only idiots like me were using "Stasi State".

Does this mean Juan Cole is an idiot too? It seems to be the only possible explanation.

[idwiyo]

20. K&R