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Edited on Fri Feb-24-06 01:19 AM by Neil Lisst
Just finished. First publication here at DU.
2007
a short story by Neil Lisst
Could this be 2007? It was a question Bill asked himself in disbelief. He sat in his home, wondering what would happen next, wondering if there would be a group of government agents showing up at his home to take him into custody.
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2006 had no sooner rolled onto the scene than presidential advisor/creator Karl Rove let everyone know the theme in the run-up to the 2006 election would be terror. Republicans would protect you, and Democrats would help Osama bin Laden by not being as Republican as Republicans.
Terror topics increased, as Rove orchestrated and insinuated into the news stories about terror, stories that heightened fears, stories that softened the clay of public opinion through fear, making it easier to shape. Stampeded by an aggressive executive branch, the Republican controlled House and Senate began summarily rolling over and playing asleep, if not dead. As they abdicated their role as ballast for an overreaching executive, President Bush's obsession with being a 'war president' grew in leaps and bounds.
As it had with Iraq, the US government representatives to the UN began pressing the body to authorize military action against Iran, to stop the perceived threat of nuclear weapons development. On a second track, a constant cacophony of stories tying Iran to terror were unleashed, a steady diet of chum in the water, to keep the terror issue and its tie to Iran thrashing.
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In the spring of the year, the Bush administration began targeting 'internet disruptors,' a term loosely used to describe anyone who might be a US citizen and might be spreading stories that Department of Homeland Security had deemed were willing efforts to clandestinely affect the blogosphere. Sites like Democratic Underground and Daily Kos were hit hard, as DHS contacted the internet service providers of over 5000 such activists and warned them that their customer may have been engaging in seditions against the government.
By summer, things had begun to spiral out of control. The crackdown on the internet led to protests in Crawford and Austin, where over 3000 activists were arrested and bused to a facility in south Texas run by Halliburton subsidiary, KBR. The activists have not talked to attorneys or the Red Cross, and the Bush administration says their status is being reviewed.
When protests broke out in other cities around the nation, President Bush declared martial law and announced "we are at war, and just as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt had to deal harshly with sedition, so will I. Today, I have ordered military units into all college campuses where there have been protests. Anyone arrested will be sent to a detention camp in Texas, and we'll sort you out there."
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Bill had protested in Austin at a rally called DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION!! There were plainclothes government agents with cameras, taking photos, taking videos, and recording auto license tags. Bill had parked several blocks from the rally, thinking he'd be OK, but as he was driving away, he saw in his rear view mirror a man in dark clothes pointing a large camera at his car.
Bill figured it wouldn't be long from the time they accessed his car tag history until the time they identified who he was and where he lived.
"So how does this work now?" he wondered. "Will they show up immediately? Will it filter down? Will I be accused of something and that is all the local police will hear?" Suddenly, buying a brisket at the Sheriff's annual Barbeque every year doesn't mean anything. Suddenly, staying out of trouble his whole life doesn't mean anything. Suddenly, he's a wanted man, accused by the US government of threatening his country by supporting the constitution.
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The internet was the first to go. When Bill tried his internet, it read: THIS ACCOUNT SUSPENDED AT THE REQUEST OF HOMELAND SECURITY. Recognizing that his cell phone would not be far behind, Bill began calling close family and friends, weighing as he did the risk of exposing them to further investigation by his calling against their need to know what was happening in his life.
Within two hours, the cell phone account had been suspended and Bill's internet connection was gone. His ground line disappeared shortly after dial-up went.
Bill realized they were cutting him off from communicating with the outside world until they could get there. In fact, it likely meant they were on the way.
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Bill decided he'd better enjoy the pine trees of east Texas while he still had time. He took in the whole winter scene of the piney woods at dusk, sitting on his back porch and looking across the way at the bridge.
There they come. A caravan of sheriff and DPS vehicles, followed by a couple of dark SUVs without any markings.
In two minutes, they'd be at the house.
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the end
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