2 You know when a leftist on CNN is concerned about the military police state in America that maybe we have, in fact, a problem. Fareed Zakaria blogs on CNN (emphasis added):
While we will leave the battlefields of the greater Middle East, we are firmly committed to the war on terror at home. What do I mean by that? Well, look at the expansion of federal bureaucracies to tackle this war.
Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. government has created or reconfigured at least 263 organizations to tackle some aspect of the war on terror. Thirty-three new building complexes have been built for the intelligence bureaucracies alone, occupying 17 million square feet – the equivalent of 22 U.S. Capitols or three Pentagons. The largest bureaucracy after the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs is now the Department of Homeland Security, which has a workforce of 230,000 people.
The rise of this national security state has entailed a vast expansion in the government’s powers that now touch every aspect of American life, even when seemingly unrelated to terrorism. Some 30,000 people, for example, are now employed exclusively to listen in on phone conversations and other communications within the United States.
In the past, the U.S. government has built up for wars, assumed emergency authority and sometimes abused that power, yet always demobilized after the war. But this is, of course, a war without end.
So we continue to stand in absurd airport lines. We continue to turn down the visa applications of hundreds of thousands of tourists, businessmen, artists and performers who simply want to visit America and spend money here, and become ambassadors of good will for this country. We continue to treat even those visitors who arrive with visas as hostile aliens – checking, searching and deporting people at will. We continue to place new procedures and rules to monitor everything that comes in and out of the country, making doing business in America less attractive and more burdensome than in most Western countries.
We don’t look like people who have won a war. We look like scared, fearful, losers.
This is what big government looks like. This is statism. This is how tyranny rises. And before you know it you are in a totalitarianism state.
It will never demobilize. Too much money, power and control in play. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said in his last presidential speech: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
Amazing how far we’ve come. We used to be repulsed that the Soviets would do this type of thing to their citizens during the cold war and the reign of communism. Now it’s our new normal. Amerika the beautiful indeed.
2 Responses to “The Rise of the National Security Police State”
Rwolf
Developing U.S Police State:
Where U.S. Government appears headed with the Patriot Act, The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 and recent introduced “Enemy Expatriation Act” that would allow U.S. Government to Strip Americans of Citizenship without evidence or a conviction—is getting Congress to grant U.S. Government (The Executive Branch) the Power to (arbitrarily) arrest, charge, Indefinitely Detain Americans that participate in 1st Amendment activities (on the premise) certain 1st Amendment Activities appeared intended, or were used to support or provoke: hostilities, combatants, belligerents, terrorism or threaten National Security. Some observers believe NDAA included the vague term “Belligerent” so U.S. Government would have authority granted by Congress to—roundup and Indefinitely Detain large numbers of Americans not involved in terrorism. Under NDAA, U.S. Government can deem anyone a “Belligerent” for arrest and indefinite detention without probable cause, charges, no right to an attorney or habeas corpus.
Rwolf
CISPA if passed by the U.S. Senate will provide Government and government contractors an incentive, including asset forfeiture contractors with out a warrant (to take out of context) any innocent—hastily written email, fax or Internet activity to allege a crime or violation was committed to cause a person’s arrest, assess fines and or civilly seize/forfeit a business or property. There are more than 350 laws and violations that can subject a business or property to government asset forfeiture. Government civil asset forfeiture requires only a civil preponderance of evidence for government to forfeit property, little more than hearsay.
Government can use CISPA to (certify any employee) including employees that work for a Government certified cyber self-protected entity—which opens the door for certified employees to spy on their employer/ clients with full immunity from lawsuits if done in good faith. In effect spies spying on spies, even for profit.
U.S. Government is not prohibited from paying any person; Government Certified self protected cyber entity or Certified Employee part of government forfeited assets or other compensation that result from the aforementioned providing U.S. Government a corporation’s confidential information or client information—that otherwise would require a warrant. U.S. Government now contracts on a fee/commission basis with (self protected cyber entities) e.g. private government contractors that have security clearances to facilitate arrests and Government asset forfeitures.
Currently Government can’t use evidence obtained through illegal Internet searches of e.g. email without a warrant, however that will change if CISPA is passed by Congress. Some of the same private security contractors involved in government asset forfeitures have lobbied Congress to pass CISPA.