Do you believe the U.S. is a police state.

[Lost Texan in NC]

:smoke:

Many in this country, say this is the best country on earth. These same people used to say that the Soviet Union was the worst. My Question is;

With some of the same policies and tactics that the Soviet Union used, how can people justify this country as the best on earth.

[name not needed]

1. When you can get tasered twice for not getting out of your car,

I'd say it qualifies as a police state.

[AX10]

5. agreed, and when so many DUer's justify it, it is truely frightning.

I thought that DU was anti-torture and pro-justice. Ms. Goodwin was NON Violent.

[hnsez]

66. im against tasers, but the cops followed procedure

[MadHound]

67. Gee, what did cops ever do before they had tasers?

Oh, yeah that's right, use reason, logic and their persuasive skills in dealing with such people. Now it's just sooooo much easier to fry such dangerous citizens into submission.

You know friend, that whole "following procedure" schtick was used as a defense at a large trial almost sixty years ago at Nuemberg. Guess what, it didn't work then, and it isn't working now. Wrong is wrong, whether the cop does it on his own initiative or is simply "following procedure"

[hnsez]

77. Thats why i hate tasers, that cop was a Nazi to fry that lady

[XanaDUer]

6. Does anyone have a link to this story?

I have seen it mentioned here on DU today. I must have missed it.

[merh]

23. Here ya go.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005/05/29/a16a_taser_vig1_0529.html

video link in this thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3788527&mesg_id=3792800

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3795253

[takebackthewh]

31. Sounds to me like she got what she deserved.

One of my own personal rules is: Never argue with a policeman.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

34. That may be true, but in the past you weren't going to get tasered...

...by a police officer that believes force is his #1 option and that everyone is guilty until proven innocent.

[XanaDUer]

41. Ok, I have read the entire article

She was in the wrong, too, but man, is this what our country has become?

These tasering incidents seem to be growing.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

42. Somewhere in the range of 75-80 people have died so far....

...as a result of being tasered. IMHO, that is 75-80 people too many.

The taser is supposedly a non-lethal weapon...but even a single dose can kill someone with a weak heart.

[AuntiBush]

46. You're absolutely right. Have read about this way too much lately.

Even my Repub friends say "You were right..." "We're now run by a Facist, Tyranny." They want to march w/Dems' but think it will do not good "because" of "taser" use and a "police state" we're under.

All I said was, "Hi, how ya been..?"

[Q]

60. A bit out of context here...

...but I wonder if that's what the German people thought as they watched Jews being beaten for not 'following the rules'?

And now we're going to have a National ID. Are your papers in order?

[me b zola]

86. I don't even know how to respond to your post

"Sounds to me like she got what she deserved." :wtf:

Did Rodney King get what he deserved as well?

Such authoritarian views which deem police brutality as acceptable when a person does not immediately comply with police demands are not consistent with a civilized society, and in fact, prove the OP's question in the affirmative.

[jayfish]

87. Baaaaaa ...Baaaaaa...

Jay

[XanaDUer]

38. Thanks!

...

[merh]

39. You are welcome

:hi:

[leyton]

2. I am concerned about Gitmo and military tribunals.

As for myself, not so much.

[havocmom]

3. They aren't dealing with reality.

Much safer and more comfy staying delusional and totaly unaware.

[libertypirate]

4. Can you call home if they come take you away and label you a

terrorist?

We live in a police state...

[indepat]

9. And has it not been reported detention centers are being built in the USA

under FEMA's authority. If so, for whom?

[Lost Texan in NC]

14. FEMA, Ha!

:smoke:

I don't think that too many folks know, But FEMA actually has a provision that they can suspend the Constitution in the case of a national emergency. I wonder what Bu$h considers a "National Emergency."

[EVDebs]

29. Nixon's Operation Garden Plot and in CA Reagan had

Operation Cable Splicer. If you google you'll find a list of the detention camp locations.

This may be the origins of the expression 'not a happy camper'.

[indepat]

61. Wonder if this law allowing suspension of the Constitution is constitution

and wonder if the Supremes give a diddledy-f**k?

[MountainLaurel]

69. And let's not forget

That the REAL ID Act has given ultimate power to the Department of Homeland Security: Their activities cannot be questioned or investigated by Congress, by GAO, no one.

[nonconformist]

32. Google "Rex 84" nt

[sweetheart]

7. America is a prison

It it is not a police state. It is a place where the police are the
guards, and they shake down any citizen they want, take their property,
kill them, or do anything else they wish. Bush is the warden, and he
reserves the warden's impunity to kill or imprison any prisoners at
will.... it is a rich prison, and the prisoners who work in the kitchen
get favours, whilst the darker skinned ones get raped.... its a typical
state of affairs that the republican prison party deeply worships.

[Lost Texan in NC]

16. Read This Book

:smoke:

Why Our Drug Laws Have FAILED and What We Can Do About It, by Judge James P. Gray

[sweetheart]

22. Done

Thanks for that! :smoke:

[EVDebs]

30. Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade by McCoy

is the original master's thesis of Alfred McCoy Univ Wisconsin that started all of this. Cord Meyer tried to have it supressed.

[Jose Diablo]

58. Yes, it is a prison

This explains the earlier periods in our country, the constant push for expansion. If there is a 'frontier', then the prison must expand the walls constantly, to keep the prisoners within the walls or else they will escape to freedom.

Those 'Indian' villages had many Europeans living in relative freedom. But the European culture demanded an end to this individual freedom to keep everyone imprisoned, just like in the feudal system the European culture prefered.

[MsConduct]

8. Day by day we are losing our rights. If the U.S. in a police state

yet, it surely is heading in that direction. It's getting harder to love it, and getting easier to want to leave it.

[Dave Reynolds]

10. It is becoming a police state,

but this inmate is armed and has lots of ammo.

:evilgrin:

[Lost Texan in NC]

18. Here, Here

:smoke:

That's next, Our Guns

[acmejack]

11. Yes

You must show your papers if asked. Soon these papers will be standardized. Our government spies on it's citizens and exhorts them to spy on each other. The govt propagandizes the public. The govt lies to the populace. We hold political prisoners w/o charges indefinitely and torture them. Not only are we living in a police state, we have assumed rogue nation status.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

12. Nope. A Corporate State.

Almost as bad.

When I think of a police state I think of my many trips to Mexico where there are Federales with carbines on the street corners. That's when you know you've arrived.

[Lost Texan in NC]

21. Have You Looked

:smoke:

on the streets of America, lately. I live in a small NC town where the police wear combat gear. Some of the larger cities actually have armored vehicles, as in tanks. Do you see that in Mexico.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

25. yes you see that in mexico

actually you drive thru military checkpoints in mexico, and see pickups full of paramilitary cops.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

43. It's a fair point.

I remember Gates in LA militarizing the police force. I'll still maintain that we're a corporate state with the police being more like union busters than a police state. But the signs are all around us.

[ngGale]

75. Also live in a small NC town...

our Christmas parade was a farce. Along with all the Christian floats, we had first responder trucks and hardware you wouldn't believe. Looked like some stupid WWII flick. Our town is packing some heavy equiptment and showing it off. However, we did manage to say NO to the tasers.

[bennywhale]

13. The people who say it is the best country in the world are the conformists

it seems to me. It probably is the best country in the world for them, like for the most committed communists the Soviet Union was the best country. In America, it seems you are totally free within certain parameters, outside those parameters (Black, Hispanic, Native American, Anti-government activist, Politically Left, non compliant with Police, lower cals etc) the full force of the government apparatus comes down upon you and it is a police state.

Those who believe it is free are those who won't have to worry, like Nazi's didn't have to worry about anything in Germany 1930s

[bridgit]

15. america is not a police state proper...

i went to college in l.a. & boyfriend was raised there. standing tall before 'the man' is only the second part. after you're given your court date. you have to get past 'the tin man' first & he's got the freaking badge, a gun, guffs, nightstick, mace, taser, the whole schlemiel, and the phony, oft time self generated mandate to use them all @ his 'righteous' discretion. it is far too much responsibility for too many, which is why it should take more than passing a pull-up & pee test to get in.

the dweebs in the taser incident were too ready to take it all down hard. too many stories of police action going bad; people shot dead & vast dislocation. take it down easy unless you harbor some romantic notion of hero status. don't act the untouchable fool in the face of your own personal foible. it only incites them to reaction. even the anti-globalization participants, in the face of such potentiality, lay down and allow the cuffs to go on. sort it all out after. force them to be reasonble, and they will have few other options.

if & when they make the transition to 'police state proper' many will long for the bygone days known as: NOW!

[OrwellwasRight]

81. 1. Depends what color you are

Seriously. I am treated differently when I am with friends of color than when I am with whiteys. I have been pulled over and hassled for basically DWB (driving WITH blacks, in my case), but that just doesn't happen if I am alone or with other white folk. So I really do belive that one's experience of "a free country" v "a police state" is completely influenced by how one looks.

2. Read 4th Amendment Decisions from about 1970 onward. There was a zenith of freedom in cases like Miranda, and it has been downhill for about forty years now: under the guise of the war on drugs, this court (with its 4 alleged "liberal members" -- HA!) has approved searches of all passengers in a car and all their belongings, drugs tests of students and government workers, searches of folks on parole and probation, "regulatory" searches of any items held in police custody (e.g., they bring you in for a bad check, decide to impound your car, and then just happen to find things in your car even though your car is COMPLETELY unrelated to passing a bad check, and on and on and on. This court is out of FUCKING control, and is creating a fabulous police state.

Look between my toes just so I can go to Chicago? Yeah, I'm free.

[FourStarDemocrat]

17. It depends where you live...

If you live in a wealthy suburban area, you almost never see a police car, and residents of the area are left largely to do as they please. Only in an emergency will you see the police around, or see a roadblock, etc.

If you live in a minority area, a low-income urban area, and if you are a person of color then it's likely that you'll have a different experience.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

26. yes

this is true, and I speak from experience. Living in a poor neighborhood woke me up to this sobering fact.

[Lost Texan in NC]

27. I see!

:smoke:

That's why the vast majority of the prisoners in the U.S. are low income and Black.

[JohnyCanuck]

19. Police State USA?

Police State USA?
by Dr. Norman Livergood (former Department Head at the US Army War College)

The US Patriot Act was enacted by a Congress that had not actually read it. The only thing representatives and senators got was a two or three page compendium from the White House press office. Nobody was actually given the time to read the provisions of the act. The White House intimidated members of Congress into passing the bill by telling them that if they refused to sign it, they'd be labeled as "unpatriotic"--something almost all members of Congress were frightened of at the time.


Lieberman, Daschle and Gephardt later wrote a memorandum stating that Congress had effectively given the Bush Administration "near dictatorial powers."

A Militarist Police State

The signs are unmistakable; the Bush regime is waging a "war against dissent," rapidly moving the United States to a total police state.

http://www.new-enlightenment.com/police_state.htm

Brainwashing America
by Dr. Norman Livergood

The puppet Bush regime is using new, aggressive forms of brainwashing to change the very way Americans think and feel.

This is the psychological dimension of the "High Cabal's" general onslaught against American workers, just as the "war on terrorism" is the military dimension and corporate crime and tax cuts for the rich comprise the economic dimension.

We are living under the beginning stages of a military dictatorship in precisely the same way that 1930s Germans suffered under the Nazi regime.

As in the case of Nazi Germany, state-sponsored propaganda (brainwashing) is a vital part of the Bush regime's strategy.

http://www.hermes-press.com/brainwash1.htm

See also The Nazification of America


Dr. Livergood's prognostications make for gloomy reading but he does make the following statement in his article "Police State USA"

Fortunately, we are only in the first stages of this new hellish police state and we can stop it in its tracks if we act now to form a unified, activist citizen taskforce.

<snip>

This isn't a matter of if we decide to stop this police state in its infancy; we either stop it now or it will inevitably germinate into a full-blown monster. Now that the cabal behind Bush have stolen the 2004 election--and put in place a system to steal all future elections--we must do everything we can to struggle against the Bush II police state. Certainly, we must have the courage to point out its reality and resist it in whatever way possible.

[randr]

20. As I read this post I was listening to Democracy Now

They were playing a recording of a pregnant woman being tased by a cop and drug out of her car onto the pavement where she was threatened with additional shocks if she did not lay on her stomach and put her hands behind her back. This all accompanied by the officers constant screams at her and her uncontrolled sobbing.
The people who work for us, be they temporary elected help, or members of our police force, have grown increasingly disrespectful of our rights and humanity. They are in many instances out of control.

[OrwellwasRight]

82. Don't forget the woman jailed

becuase her kids weren't in seatbelts. JAILED.

[proudbluestater]

84. Randr, Amen to your post, amen.

[spindoctor]

24. The people who say that this is the best country on earth....

...usually haven't so much as traveled outside the US. When asked about it, I find the common answer is "Why should I?"

Anyway, I lived and worked in quite a few countries including one that can certainly be classified as a police state. The US is a far cry away from that level, but there is hope. We are certainly on the right track.

[EVDebs]

28. Police State as in martial law is inherently unconstitutional

but the majority of fools will agree and go along with it.

[Lost Texan in NC]

33. Name those fools

:smoke:

They are called Republibots. Youv'e seen them before. glazed look when in the company of Bu$h, red ties, blue suits, and a white face.

[MrSlayer]

35. No, come on.

Anyone claiming we are a police state because an idiot refused to comply with the police and got tasered needs their head examined. If it had happened in the former Soviet Union or Nazi Germany the person would have disappeared and you would have never heard about it. Get a grip.

[emanymton]

53. Got A Grip. Ask Rodney King About Police Using Power...

have times channged? People are not safe with police forces with absolute power.

"Where are YOUR papers?"

[EVDebs]

64. "under color of authority" and a national emergency they can do it

As long as no one is willing OR able to challenge them. Remember, the authorities are now in power....not the people or the Constitution any more.

[emanymton]

70. Sadly I Feel You Are Correct

[MrSlayer]

73. I'd ask Rodney something but he's most likely in jail for the 100th time.

Yes, this one incident represents every police stop that has ever occurred. I maintain that we are far from a police state and far from the whole "papers" cliche.

[emanymton]

74. And While Police Look At Your Papers, Explain Your Belonging to DU

and other 'terrorist' organization.

If you have nothing to hide, why would a 'terrorist' want a lawyer?

[MrSlayer]

80. This is so over the top.

The Police are not the Gestapo, Bush isn't Hitler and you sound like a panicked paranoid. These guys (BushCo) are serious hardcore assholes without a doubt but we are not anywhere near Nazi "your papers please" territory. These guys can only push so far before even the blindest of the blind see and stand up to stop it. If I'm wrong, and I have no reason to think I am, I will be standing with you at the forefront of the battle when the revolution comes.

[emanymton]

88. Tell That To The Unarmed US Citizen Who Was Declared 'Enemy ....

Combatant' and being held for two+ years without charge, lawyer and redress.

We The People have no rights when the state makes unarmed citizens physically in USA disappear.

The revolution is on going. The press is not reporting it.

[MrSlayer]

89. I'm not familiar with that case.

Do you have a link? I'm not immune to persuasion if you have good facts.

[emanymton]

91. Jose Padilla Was Arrested, Declared Enemy Combatant ...

and then made to disappear. The following web page can be used to get a quick idea of some of the facts.

http://www.cato.org/dailys/08-21-03.html

When it happens to one, then no one is safe.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

36. Most dictatorships are police states by extension...

...does anyone still believe we live in a democracy?

[TeeYiYi]

37. Florida is technically under Martial Law right now . . .

Four days before 9/11, On Friday, September 7, "Jeb" signed Florida Executive Order No. 01-261 which states, in part:

"I hereby delegate to The Adjutant General of the State of Florida all necessary authority, within approved budgetary appropriations or grants, to order members of the Florida National Guard into active service, as defined by Section 250.27, Florida Statutes, for the purpose of training to support law-enforcement personnel and emergency-management personnel in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters and to provide training support to law-enforcement personnel and community-based organizations relating to counter drug operations. This Executive Order shall remain in full force and effect until the earlier of its revocation or June 30, 2003."

This Fla. EO places the Florida National Guard (which is not a lawful militia), a unit of the Federal U.S. Army, in control of all Florida law enforcement (State FDLE, County Sheriffs, and local PD's) and the Florida Emergency Management department (Florida's FEMA under federal FEMA control). Remember, this was 4 days before the WTC disaster.

On the morning of 9/11, Governor "Jeb" then signed Florida Executive Order No. 01-262 immediately after the second WTC tower fell. Florida was the first STATE to declare a "State of Emergency" and did so before New York State or the Federal Washington City leaders did, yet there were no "terroristic" incidents that had taken place. Florida EO 01-262 states, in part:

"I hereby declare that a state of emergency exists in the State of Florida... The authority to suspend the effect of any statute or rule governing the conduct of state business, and the further authority to suspend the effect of any order or rule of any governmental entity... The authority to seize and utilize any and all real or personal property as needed to meet this emergency... The authority to order the evacuation of any or all persons from any location in the State of Florida, and the authority to regulate the movement of any or all persons to or from any location in the State; The authority to regulate the return of the evacuees to their home communities... I hereby order the Adjutant General to activate the Florida National Guard for the duration of this emergency."

There is no declared expiration of this Florida Executive Order. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Florida is now under martial law and will remain so until this EO is revoked. We tried to warn the people of Florida about this in 1998 when our State Constitution was changed in order to allow this to take place, but no-one listened. See "Martial Law Now Legal in Florida" at http://ecclesia.org/lawgiver/flaconst.asp ).

http://www.rense.com/general14/jebdeclared.htm



Why Did Jeb Warn of Terrorism in Florida on September 7?

On September 7 - 4 days before Florida-based terrorists attacked the US - Jeb Bush issued an unusual executive order. "Based on the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port, the necessity to protect life and property from such acts of terrorism, and inhibiting the smuggling of illegal drugs into the State of Florida, the use of the Florida National Guard to support FDLE in accomplishing port security training and inspections is 'extraordinary support to law enforcement' as used in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes." Did Jeb know something the rest of us didn't know then - and still don't know now? http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/
... demdailynews, 9/25


Jeb Declares State of Emergency and Establishes Police State

After the attack on September 11, Jeb Bush declared a State of Emergency in Florida, and put state and local government agencies under the control of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (Florida's state troopers). This gives the state police broad powers to suspend state laws, commandeer state and local government employees, seize property, and evacuate residents. Pretty scary - especially since Jeb has thoroughly politicized the FDLE by firing career officers and appointing loyalist hacks. Right-wingers love to accuse Democrats of being dictators, but here's one in the flesh - and his name is Bush. http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo
...demdaily news 9/25

TYY

[WhoWantsToBeOccupied]

78. Could this have affected any election recounts?

Dems didn't even try to contest the election "results" in Florida in 2004. Does Jeb have things so tight down there that transparent elections are completely impossible?

I realize that the vote "margin" was substantial, but what would have happened if the "vote" had been contested?

[TeeYiYi]

79. Florida is its own little twisted universe . . .

. . . and the answer to your question is undoubtedly yes. Anything is possible when it comes to Florida, the most corrupt state in the union with Jeb and the BFEE at the helm.


Check this out:

"Fraud by Computer" in Florida

Election Official Thwarts Recount Using Phony Vote Totals
December 14,2004 -Venice, FL.
by Daniel Hopsicker

A “mistake” made in the office of a seriously-compromised Supervisor of Election in Pinellas County whose husband is a top executive of the country’s largest election services company has almost unnoticed spiked the best hope for a election recount in Florida that might have thrown a spotlight on the dark corners of the Florida election process concealing widespread systemic and system-wide vote fraud.

The office of Supervisor of Elections in Pinellas County, Deborah Clark, provided inflated totals on the YES side of the gambling initiative which were then used by state officials in the official state tally of the hotly-contested gambling initiative known as Amendment 4.

<snip>

Advantage Hard Rock

A recount of Florida’s votes on the state gambling initiative offered an opportunity to correlate what was found with what are so far just “theories” of how the Presidential election in Florida might have been stolen.

Deborah Clark provided an extra 34,000 votes on the YES side of the gambling initiative, sufficient to legally preclude what would have otherwise been a mandated recount.

<snip>

“Computer Glitches” Beat John Kerry”

A recount of the gambling initiative, known as Amendment 4, election experts said, would have offered clues as to how and why 90,000 extra YES votes for gambling were recorded in Broward County, for example.

This number is almost equal to the “extra” votes for President Bush cast in Broward County which researchers say were inexplicable except through manipulated electronic vote tabulation—which were counted in the same county’s tally.

Recording phony vote totals seemed a system wide and systemic problem, and only AFTER being discovered by an outside observer were the wrong totals corrected. For example, Vincent Profaci, an attorney near Orlando went to bed with Kerry way ahead in his home county of Orange.

When he woke up he discovered to his horror that Kerry had fallen inexplicably behind.

Officials excused the 34,000-vote mistake as a computer glitch.

In fact, almost every time vote fraud was discovered by election observers, it was blandly explained away as nothing but a “computer or software glitch.”

Newsflash: “COMPUTER GLITCHES” beat John Kerry in Florida.

Let’s take a closer look at things like this can happen. Lets take a look at what happened in Pinellas County.


"How To Fix An Election for Dummies"

Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Deborah Clark election supervisor in Pinellas County, Florida, in May of 2000.

Trouble began almost immediately. Some of it was even funny…

For example, in the Aug. 31 2002 primary, the population of an entire small town— 12,498 voters— appeared at the polls in Hillsborough County and apparently decided not to vote in the race for state attorney.

The town cast votes in all the other contests, but not in the race for state attorney. Had there been a town-wide secret pact?

To this day no one is sure why those voters didn't vote, or if they did, what might have happened to their votes. They are “ghost votes,” floating in the ether. The local papers labeled it “A Voting Mystery.”

More seriously, while Deborah Clark had worked as a top official in the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Office, her husband Richard Clark’s employer Elections Systems & Software, was awarded more than $400,000 in business with the office, and was up for a lucrative contract worth as much as $15-million to sell new voting machines to Pinellas County.


Much more: http://www.madcowprod.com/12142004.html

Be sure to check out the archives: http://www.madcowprod.com/archive.html

TYY

[Sugarbleus]

40. Not yet....but give it a bit more time.

Watched a film the other night about people rising up against the gov. The country went into martial law. Everyone was affected, angry, losing their shirts, dying from lack/need, rioting in the streets, and the shit hit the fan.

My sincere hope is that IF we have an upheaval of disenchanted citizens marching and revolting...that at least half of the police force and the military will BE ON THE CITIZEN'S SIDE.

[dad]

44. Yes

but most people are not aware of this

[seabeyond]

45. it is well on its way.

we can own it and do something, or we can continue to allow freedoms to be continually eroded because there are things we feel should be legislated. you dont stand up for my right to smoke, have a firearm, not wear a seatbelt, you can bet your rights will be taken away slowly too. credit checks before getting a job, whether or not to drug your kid, gay marriage, shit just being gay, pornography......? who is to know. they take my rights, they are going to take yours.

you stand up for mine, and i will stand up for yours. well, i will stand up for yours anyway, this is too important

[donheld]

47. If we're not in a police state

We are damn near close to it. I think some states are closer too it than others, but we're all too close. Most Americans are too ignorant of other countries to say Merika is the "best country on earth."

[dad]

50. I think the thing that puts us over the edge is voting

i.e., you cannot trust that the voting machines are honest. So there isn't that much of a democracy any more. Maybe the fascists have a 51% popularity edge, but I am thinking probably not. Whatever the real number is, Republicans will keep winning elections ad infinitum until there is revolution, as it is he who counts the votes that really matters. So say hello to president Jeb in '08, and president ricky martin bush in '16.

[raccoon]

63. I think they are ignorant of other countries too

They have no idea of what life is like in a country that actually has a social safety net for its citizens, that has a national health plan.

They're still thinking of America as she was in the glory days of the '50's and '60's.

[bvar22]

48. Do republicans LOVE a Police State??

The Republicans have been In Charge of America for 5 years.
Are we closer to a Police State?
You be the judge.




Secret Prisons where people are "disappeared"

Dismantling of Individual Protections from Government

Torture as a National Policy

Police Powers Increasing

One Party Government (No Effective Opposition Party)

Absurd (OBSCENE) and expanding Military Budgets

Dismantling of Humanitarian Programs to pay for Weapons

Restricting access to information about government

Restricting access to information contradicting Republican Party ideals (birth control).

Rewriting (forging) scientific data to support Republican Party ideals

State Owned Media

Persecution of Dissent

HyperNationalism masquerading as Patriotism

A VERY SMALL CLASS of POWERFUL ELITES

Bogus and unverifiable elections

Private Police and Security Forces not accountable to the Public.

Republican Party Secret Police to screen at Bush* appearances

NO Civilian Control and Oversight of Military

Highest percentage imprisoned in Western World

Potemkin Villages for the Press and Red Cross (Iraq and Guantanamo)

Rampant Historical Revisionism

Privileges and Access for Republican Party Members Only

Ruling by Executive Order

Judiciary controlled by Executive Branch

Legislative Organs controlled by Executive Branch

Power Consolidated and Concentrated in One Person

Government Officials WARNING to be careful what we say

Controlled and Scripted PUBLIC appearances of Republican Party Officials

Government encouraging citizens to spy on each other

Secret files on law abiding citizens

Manufactured phony State Heroes (Tillman, Lynch)

State Medals awarded by Cronyism and Republican Party Loyalty, not merit

Odor of Arrogance and Contempt from Republican Party Officials


WOW. I gotta stop.
I'm scaring myself!

Are we closer to a Police State than 5 years ago?


Feel free to add to the list or dispute my claims.

[slaveplanet]

57. To be fair

this didn't just start 5 years ago....The militarized start can be traced to the 70's when they developed SWAT...but the roots probably can be traced back even further.

It's been incrementalism with a big 9/11 booster...BTW the Patriot act was submitted on 9/17/2001....less than a week after. Of course it was a different name, but they changed it to the name that mocks our foundations by October.

and really they had no idea a bunch terra would happen.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

49. No, not yet.

We're sure as hell marching towards it though.

[NuttyFluffers]

51. yes. it is obvious now. get your passport while you can. n/t

[TeeYiYi]

52. That's a good idea. Thanks NF. Mine's expired . . .

Regardless of the reason, whether it be police state, homeland security or the upcoming computerized personal IDs, I don't think it would hurt to have a current passport in the event that things take a sudden turn for the worse.

TYY

[NuttyFluffers]

55. one of the many lessons that stuck with me from WWII

never know when you suddenly need to get out of Dodge. besides, traveling is fun; good incentive to go explore the world.

[cestpaspossible]

54. It's more than just policies and tactics

we are a society that glorifies violence, explosions, that winks at treating human beings as a commodity, we've even said that our business enterprises have the same rights that people do. It can't go on like this forever.

[slaveplanet]

56. not yet

but it's on the verge of putting any other to shame. They want to get all their ducks in a row as quietly as possible. When these Real ID's come in , and they put checkpoints everywhere, then complete the electronic tracking grid, DNA database, and smart highway/toll road grid.

You're going to see shakedowns like you've never imagined.

They're planning on having their way with us, and they're absolutely giddy about it.

[Disturbed]

59. Sliding towards it.

Patriot Act 111 coming up.

[hnsez]

62. I look forward to finally meeting all of you at the Gulag

[cthrumatrix]

65. I pray that this will not be the case

[MsConduct]

71. I've been praying my out since before the 2000 'election'. Doesn't

seem to be working, ya know?

[alfredo]

68. We are on our way to one.

[tom_paine]

72. On it's way...very unevenly this Rough Beast is a New Beast

BushPutinism is a new variety of Totalitarianism, one which takes the Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove concept to new heights.

To me, some parts of our nation have already been fully Sovietized, but in a new way. Our media, in it's new and grotesque form, acheves almost identical results to Soviet disinofrmation and propaganda outlets through subtle inimidation, coercion and corporate avenues.

But the result is the same, even if the 'information' seems 'freely flowing'.

And let us not kid ourselves. Amerika is not the best anymore. Perhaps materially...overall. But our Republic is decaying, and ranks well down the list in Freedom, though our lives are not yet touched individually. When that day comes, it will be too late.

But there is no question that all the ingredients are there, ready to go now. The infrastructure of Totalitarianism is in place in Imperial Amerika.

It will turn as the key in the ignition when the Caesars wish it and are provided an excuse to implement it.

[Vitruvius]

76. Police are VERY well paid in a police state.

For example, the av'g cop on Long Island, NY is paid over $100,000 a year. NYC cops are approaching the $100K mark. Ever wonder why they were so willing to abuse protesters during the 2004 Rethug Convention -- including arrests on phony charges and fabricated testimony?

[OrwellwasRight]

83. I don't understand

The more we pay them, the more they want to beat people up? You'd think it would be the opposite. They should be fat and happy. They are certainly living larger than me.

[Zinfandel]

85. LOL! Without a doubt! Pay attention. And not a moment too soon.

(I know you know).

[DoveTurnedHawk]

90. Enough With the Hysterical Shirt Rending

The very occasional story -- even the very occasional front-page story -- of police misconduct does not a police state make.

The PATRIOT act, however much I oppose it, has not had any impact on my life whatsoever. And I bet the same is true for 98-99% of the rest of you. The only security measure I can think of that's affected me personally since 9/11, in fact, is airport security and similar trivial inconveniences, and personally I believe those types of measures are generally warranted.

DTH

[DemGirl7]

92. If it isn't, it's well on it's way of becoming one n/t