We Live In a Surveillance State in America Can We Stop from Evolving into a Full-Blown Police State?

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http://www.alternet.org/activism/we-live-under-total-surveillance-state-america-can-we-prevent-it-evolving-full-blown-police

We Live Under a Total Surveillance State in America -- Can We Prevent It from Evolving into a Full-Blown Police State?


“Knowledge (of) the scale of our capability would raise public awareness generating unwelcome publicity for us and our political masters." —Classified UK NSA document

“To approve such a program, the Court must have every confidence that the government is doing its utmost to ensure that those responsible for implementation fully comply with the Court’s orders. The Court no longer has such confidence." —U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Order, p. 12, 3-9-2009

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For those alarmed by the steady growth of lawless, violent and authoritarian U.S. Executive power for the last 50 years, the events of the past few months have been exciting. The emergence of a de facto coalition of progressives and conservatives opposing the National Defense Authorization Act law giving the Executive the right to unilaterally detain or execute American citizens without a trial, and NSA mass surveillance of phone and Internet data, has been unprecedented, and offers the first hope in 70 years that Executive power can be curbed

The most important development has been the public and congressional reaction to President Obama's proposal to strike Syria. A huge majority of the American people opposed even a limited military action by the Executive Branch. Reading the polls, the President decided to seek congressional authorization for a limited military action. For the first time in living memory, Congress clearly opposed him. It is too soon to say what this will mean for the future, but the implications clearly extend beyond just this particular strike or President.

The main arena besides the Middle East where the issue of the Executive Branch vs. Congress and the American people will play out in coming months will concern attempts to limit not only Executive surveillance of innocent Americans, but its other assaults on the very foundation of democracy itself.

The fundamental issue involved amidst the ongoing cascade of revelations about NSA wrongdoing is this: what must be done to roll back the Executive Branch's creation of a surveillance state, which is just one more major economic crisis or 9/11—as even centrists like Bob Woodward and Tom Friedman warn—from becoming a police-state.

[hootinholler]

1. Oct 26 March

Be There!

[randome]

2. Bob Woodward is a centrist? WTF?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[JDPriestly]

4. Bob Woodward is a Republican.

[JohnyCanuck]

3. ....can We Stop from Evolving into a Full-Blown Police State?

At this point in time, I think the USA can stop from evolving into a police state, and I hope enough people will wake up in time to get the critical mass needed to stop the process down the slippery slope, but to be honest, I am not optimistic.

Admittedly, I haven't been in the USA for a number of years, but I still interact with Americans (friends and relatives) on a fairly regular basis and have access to their TV channels. From my point of view way too many people are still being brainwashed and lured into complacency by the mass media's mind numbing, entertainment and info-tainment programs, not to mention the the consumer society around them which makes things like acquiring the latest i-phone or Grand Theft Auto video game priority #1 for way too many - especially so when compared to the numbers who give any thought at all as to the necessity of reigning in the march forward to a full blown police state.