by Marvin J. Ramirez
Marvin J. RamirezNOTE FROM THE EDITOR: At a time when most people are noticing the government increase of domination over the people, contrary to what should be: the people domination over the government, El Reportero is glad to publish the following article authored by Washingtonblog.com. I believe that it is my duty to inform the people of some aspects of our current government that are becoming detrimental to our liberties. Perhaps this article will wake some people up, perhaps not. Due to its length and our limited space, we will publish it in several parts. This is the first part of a series.
Americans • like Nazi Germans • don’t notice that all of our rights are slipping away • Part 1 The US is the world’s largest prison state
In the classic history of Nazi Germany, They Thought They Were Free, Milton Mayer writes:
“What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.
“This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.
The German citizens were boiling frogs … the water heating up so gradually that they didn’t realize they had to jump out of the pot to safety.
Because the exact same thing is happening to Americans (fear of terror makes people stupid no matter what country they live in), let’s remember exactly what we’ve lost in recent years …
First Amendment
The 1st Amendment protects speech, religion, assembly and the press:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
However, the government is arresting those speaking out … and violently crushing peaceful assemblies which attempt to petition the government for redress.
A federal judge found that the law allowing indefinite detention of Americans without due process has a “chilling effect” on free speech.
There are also enacted laws allowing the secret service to arrest anyone protesting near the president or other designated folks.
The threat of being labeled a terrorist for exercising our First Amendment rights certainly violates the First Amendment. The government is using laws to crush dissent , and it’s gotten so bad that even U.S. Supreme Court justices are saying that we are descending into tyranny.
For example, the following actions may get an American citizen living on U.S. soil labeled as a “suspected terrorist” today:
• Being young (if you live near a battle zone, you are fair game ; and see this ).
• Using social media.
• Reporting or doing journalism.
• Speaking out against government policies.
• Protesting anything (such as participating in the “Occupy” movement ).
• Questioning war (even though war reduces our national security ; and see this ).
• Criticizing the government’s targeting of innocent civilians with drones (although killing innocent civilians with drones is one of the main things which increases terrorism. And see this ).
• Asking questions about pollution (even at a public Congressional hearing ?).
• Paying cash at an Internet cafe.
• Asking questions about Wall Street shenanigans.
• Holding gold.
• Creating alternative currencies.
• Stocking up on more than 7 days of food (even though all Mormons are taught to stockpile food, and most Hawaiians store up on extra food ).
• Having bumper stickers saying things like “Know Your Rights Or Lose Them”.
• Investigating factory farming.
• Infringing a copyright.
• Taking pictures or videos.
• Talking to police officers.
• Wearing a hoodie.
• Driving a van.
• Writing on a piece of paper.
• (Not having a Facebook account may soon be added).
And holding the following beliefs may also be considered grounds for suspected terrorism:
• Being frustrated with “mainstream ideologies”.
• Valuing online privacy.
• Supporting Ron Paul or being a libertarian.
• Liking the Founding Fathers.
• Being a Christian.
• Being anti-tax, anti-regulation or for the gold standard.
• Being “reverent of individual liberty”.
• Being “anti-nuclear”.
• “Believe in conspiracy theories”.
• “A belief that one’s personal and/or national “way of life” is under attack”.
• “Impose strict religious tenets or laws on society (fundamentalists)”.
• “Insert religion into the political sphere”.
• “Those who seek to to politicize religion”.
• “Supported political movements for autonomy”.
• Being “anti-abortion”.
• Being “anti-Catholic”.
• Being “anti-global”.
• “Suspicious of centralized federal authority”.
• “Fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation)”.
• “A belief in the need to be prepared for an attack either by participating in … survivalism”.
• Opposing genetically engineered food.
Opposing surveillance
Of course, Muslims are more or less subject to a separate system of justice in America, according to the UK’s The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/12/hsbc-prosecution-fine-money-laundering.
“The US is the world’s largest prison state, imprisoning more of its citizens than any nation on earth, both in absolute numbers and proportionally. It imprisons people for longer periods of time, more mercilessly, and for more trivial transgressions than any nation in the west. This sprawling penal state has been constructed over decades, by both political parties, and it punishes the poor and racial minorities at overwhelmingly disproportionate rates.
IT WILL CONTINUE ON NEXT WEEK EDITION
