The Bush administration has more or less completed all 10 steps toward fascism. (As discussed by Naomi Wolfe here, or more in-depth in a video called "The End of America" which can be found here, or even more in-depth in her book The End of America).
The ten steps are as follows:
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy- Can you hear the word "terrorist" echoing in your head? Just what is a terrorist anyways? It is a very loose term and the definition seems to keep expanding. And while we're at it, how can you win a war on terror? (hint: you can't, it lasts as long as you want it to)
2. Create a gulag- Basically a prison that is above the law. It allows you to incarcerate anyone you want for any amount of time and do anything you want to them. Think Guantanamo Bay and CIA "black site" prisons.
3. Develop a thug caste- Blackwater and other private armies are officially immune from the law. They answer to no one. So? So, recently a boatload of Blackwater troops were re-stationed to Colorado. What are they doing there? Training with tasers and tear gas and rubber bullets. Hmm...what on earth would they need that for...
4. Set up an internal surveillance system- You know those cameras on all the stoplights? Well the Department of Homeland Security recently announced that they aren't for traffic regulation after all. Instead they are connected to a facial-recognition database to help catch "terrorists".
5. Harass citizens' groups- Through a little-known law, activist groups --whether they be anti-war, environmental, or even animal-rights-- are now labeled as "potential terrorist threats".
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release- More or less a list of dissidents and activist to watch. Arrest 'em if they try to board a plane, search 'em, release 'em. Detain anti-war marchers, or college professors that write books about the Constitution, harass them with criminal charges then drop the charges and release them. Rinse. Repeat.
7. Target key individuals- Is that District Attorney getting a little out of hand? Pull some political strings and get him fired. Senators, artists, writers, academics, civil servants, lawyers, doctors, anyone who starts talking too loudly.
8. Control the press- But this is America, we have free press! Actually, no. At the Republican Convention any reporters filming police brutality towards protesters were arrested and their equipment destroyed. One reporter was able to slip away and bury his camera before being arrested. He came back for it after he was finally released. (Bury his camera! It's like the bloody Soviet Union!)
9. Dissension equals treason- Get it into the minds of the people that speaking out in any way will get you in big trouble. Anyone can be declared a "terrorist". This makes people scared to make waves.
10. Suspend the rule of law- The President now has the power to use the militia of any state in any way he chooses (e.g. as a "domestic police force" under martial law). Among other things...
This list, while lengthy, actually only touches on a few of the many civil liberties we have lost in recent years. There is so much stuff that most people don't even know about. So educate yourself and spread the word, do your best to tell everyone- friends, family, total strangers- it doesn't matter if you make a fool of yourself. Aren't your civil liberties worth it? Aren't your God-given Constitutional rights worth it?
Now go click on those links up there!
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