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Government Using Anti-Terrorism Laws to Crush Dissent
The following quotes all have something in common:
"It is not
the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into
error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from
falling into error"
– United States Supreme Court decision in American Communications Association v. Douds
"To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men."
- Abraham Lincoln
"Those who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Ben Franklin
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
- Thomas Jefferson
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
-Thomas Jefferson
"It
is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human
history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to
improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends
forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million
different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current
that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
- Robert F . Kennedy
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
- Samuel Adams
"Patriotism
means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the
president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in
which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him
insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to
oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he
fails in his duty to stand by the country."
– Teddy Roosevelt
"To
announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we
are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic
and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
– Teddy Roosevelt
“The citizen who sees his society’s democratic clothes being worn out and does not cry it out, is not a patriot, but a traitor.”
- Mark Twain
"Liberty
has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the
subjects of government. The history of liberty is a history of
resistance. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of
government power, not the increase of it."
- Woodrow Wilson
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent"
- Thomas Jefferson
"This
country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it.
Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can
exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their
revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
- Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural
"In
this point of the case the question is distinctly presented whether
the people of the United States are to govern through representatives
chosen by their unbiased suffrages or whether the money and power of a
great corporation are to be secretly exerted to influence their
judgment and control their decisions."
- Andrew Jackson
"I
am more than ever convinced of the dangers to which the free and
unbiased exercise of political opinion -- the only sure foundation and
safeguard of republican government -- would be exposed by any further
increase of the already overgrown influence of corporate authorities."
- Martin Van Buren, Eighth President of the United States
"As
we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the
existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is
struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron
heel. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures
of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the
people's masters."
- Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States
"I
again recommend a law prohibiting all corporations from contributing
to the campaign expenses of any party.… Let individuals contribute as
they desire; but let us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations
from making contributions for any political purpose, directly or
indirectly." Teddy Roosevelt added, "The fortunes amassed through
corporate organization are now so large, and vest such power in those
that wield them, as to make it a matter of necessity to give to the
sovereign -- that is, to the Government, which represents the people as
a whole -- some effective power of supervision over their corporate
use. In order to insure a healthy social and industrial life, every big
corporation should be held responsible by, and be accountable to, some
sovereign strong enough to control its conduct."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"In
the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the
military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of
misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of
this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We
should take nothing for granted."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"It
was natural and perhaps human that the privileged princes of these new
economic dynasties, thirsting for power, reached out for control over
government itself. They created a new despotism and wrapped it in the
robes of legal sanction. ...And as a result the average man once more
confronts the problem that faced the Minute Man....
- Franklin Roosevelt
"A
small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete
control over other people's property, other people's money, other
people's labor -- other people's lives. For too many of us life was no
longer free; liberty no longer real; men could no longer follow the
pursuit of happiness."
- Franklin Roosevelt
"These economic
royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of
America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their
power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow
of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the flag and
the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the flag and the
Constitution stand for."
- Franklin Roosevelt
"Behind the
ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no
allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To
destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance
between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the
statesmanship of the day."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"We hold
these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any
Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness."
-Thomas Jefferson, American Declaration of Independence
What do the quotes all have in common?
The great Americans who said them would be considered terrorists today.
Specifically, according to Department of Defense training manuals, protest is considered "low-level terrorism". And see this, this and this.
An FBI memo also labels peace protesters as "terrorists".
Indeed, police have been terrorizing children, little old ladies and other "dangerous" people who attempted to protest peacefully.
And a 2003 FBI memo describes protesters' use of videotaping as an "intimidation" technique, even though - as the ACLU
points out - "Most mainstream demonstrators often use videotape during
protests to document law enforcement activity and, more importantly,
deter police from acting outside the law." The FBI appears to be
objecting to the use of cameras to document unlawful behavior by law
enforcement itself.
The Internet has been labeled
as a breeding ground for terrorists, with anyone who questions the
government's versions of history being especially equated with
terrorists.
The government is also using anti-terrorism laws to keep people from learning what pollutants are in their own community. See this, this, this and this.
Claims of "national security"
are also used to keep basic financial information - such as who got
bailout money - secret. That might not bode for particularly warm and
friendly treatment for someone persistently demanding the release of
such information.
The state of Missouri tried to label
as terrorists current Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters, former
Congressman Bob Barr, libertarians in general, anyone who holds gold,
and a host of other people.
And according to a law school professor, pursuant to the Military Commissions Act:
Anyone who ... speaks out against the government's policies could be declared an "unlawful enemy combatant" and imprisoned indefinitely. That includes American citizens.
The Founding Fathers, Supreme Court justices and presidents quoted above would vigorously protest.
Note: Government apologists are also eager to label
anyone "taking a cynical stance toward politics, mistrusting
authority, endorsing democratic practices, ... and displaying an
inquisitive, imaginative outlook" as worthy of a Stalinist trip to the
insane asylum. I guess the famous Americans quoted above were not only
terrorists, but they were also crazy.
»
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the terrorism
of truth ..
I'm in a quandary. What is best? The article or the comments.
Both excellent!
Yes this is a nice spew tonight.
OK, so there is no doubt that our government and the financial institutions that fund them have been hijacked by a violent criminal minority. People will not stand for it for long.
The more people put pressure on them, the more desperate and violent they will get. People have to persevere.
The people won't stand for it for long? What planet are you living on? Why would "the people" all of a sudden have a problem being governed by a violent, criminal minority, after all these years (centuries) of that very thing?
The lumpen don't care about much beyond their own personal economy. As long as their gut is full and they are kept entertained, having violent criminals as leaders doesn't bother them at all. In fact, they seem to prefer it.
So tell me, how is the incommunicado lifestyle in your remote cave dwelling going?
It just seems to me, you are not up on what is going on out here.
The Americans I speak with at the Post Office, on the street or at the local eatery are well aware of serious problems with government and they all intend to vote their conscience. They are also quite prepared to water the tree of liberty.
Quite obviously, I do not live in NYC or any place resembling a large sterilized city.
Being well aware of the serious problems with government and voting their conscience almost seems to be mutually exclusive.
The truth is classified, a National Security Secret.
Therefore, anyone who tells the truth is guilty of sedition and is an enemy of the State.
Starve the beast peacefully by escaping the USD plantation.
This government would not win a war with its people.
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"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government has grown out of too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." -- Alexander Hamilton
"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." -- John Adams 1826
"I consider the fortunes of our republic as depending in an eminent degree on the extinguishment of the public debt before we engage in any war; because that done, we shall have revenue enough to improve our country in peace and defend it in war without recurring either to new taxes or loans. But if the debt should once more be swelled to a formidable size, its entire discharge will be despaired of, and we shall be committed to the English career of debt, corruption and rottenness, closing with revolution. The discharge of public debt, therefore, is vital to the destinies of our government." -- Thomas Jefferson
What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. -- Thomas Jefferson
"And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. " -- Thomas Jefferson wrote on May 28, 1816
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -- Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776.
"Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.
There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves." Winston Churchill
Are we to the point of existential threat?
I chose a more passive mode for two reasons: 1) I'm getting old and 2) my vision is too poor for urban combat.
If Strator is to be believed, the United States stands on three pillars of power: financial, military and political. I'm sorry, but direct challenge to our military power would only screw up my GPS, and get me seriously killed.
But just like picking up my own litter, I can quit leaving them so many tips. Its what's realistic and sustainable that counts, if you're going to enter a campaign against a government, no matter how Quixotic.
The Fed might be able to print all it wants, but the S&P 500 can't, and that's where we can elbow our way back to the table, and get the politicians under Adult Supervision again. Nothing puts the fear of God onto both these parties like poverty. That's why I suggested starving 'em out. Some wanted change. Some wanted trickle down economics.
Well here ya go. Lessee who gets trickled on.
"I chose a more passive mode for two reasons: 1) I'm getting old and 2) my vision is too poor for urban combat."
LOL...sound logic. Self preservation has it's merits.
But, theoretically, there is always the outside chance that events may quickly overtake a pacifist stance and one would have to choose whether to go quietly into that good night with a wimper or a bang.
I'm not advocating anything, except exercising ones right to vote, conduct trade as one see's fit and being free from interference in personal affairs. As you can see my post was confined to a quotation from Churchill about violent action OR the lack thereof in the context of GW's post.
The qualifier in the Churchill quote and mine is the word "may" ;-)
It is all about money (which is why GW posts these here IMHO). When did the people who went to capitals and court houses to help run things turn into "the government" with a serious sense-of-entitlement problem? Politicians instead of public servants? People with expertise and leadership skills replaced by talking heads that are too eager to vote with the herd for lobbyists rights. If I was younger I wouldn't trust anyone over 30.
Depends on what we mean by Revolution.
If it means we pounce out of a Corolla with AR-15s, I'm just curious whom, exactly we shoot. I don't mean to be a buzz-kill, but I grew up in the radio business, and have been to a lot of exciting things, and they go pretty fast. Que Sera Sera is barely a song and a seriously discredited plan.
And really, if things are as FUBAR as a lot of folks think it is (no argument here), then really, just quit buying stuff from big corporations -- where you can, anyway. Buy used for things that you can. If that happens in any kind of size, there'll be lobbyists pushing lawnmowers all over America. And the influence begins to wane, or at least concentrate into a small enough group that we can shave their pets.
I say we starve 'em out. They'll surrender in a few quarters. I know this is slow, and it'll make unemployment go batshit, but its damn nearly the only thing there is where you don't have to break a single law or fire a single shot. You just quit buying crap at Wal-Mart, and buy from the most-localized outfit you can.
k
Or, maybe we can take a lesson from the Irish...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/14/real-ira-targets-banks-bankersVery well said. Starving the machine is probably the best non-violent action you can take other than conciously choosing to not participate in the war it makes.
Soon they will start making laws demanding that all consumers shop at Walmart twice a week.
I have been happily out of consumer-zombie-drone worker-bee central for years. I originally dropped-out out of disgust at what was going on years ago. I refused to participate any longer.
At first it was a scary, wrenching maneuver to go against the herd.
Surprisingly, on days like yesterday (Tuesday) it appears to have been a terrific "career move".
Starve the beast.
Going Galt. Consumer Edition.
bingo
"I prefer not to." - Bartelby the Scrivener
(obligatory)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMRo5XCKddQ
+100
Holy shit, GW! You gotta see this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100914/od_yblog_upshot/massive-fi...
america is decades past the point where peaceful protest or ballot boxes could recover freedom...the ruling class are made of totalitarian fascists who have made war an inevitability if the stupid people of this country care to maintain their freedoms....they are evil violent oppressive tyrants...
of course the fbi classifies anyone who breathes a threat to the state....the fbi in conjunction with the cia, army delta forces, and the memphis police department murdered martin luther king jr because he was a national security threat....
illegals are imported by the boatload because they are docile obedient clients who can be counted on to vote for more statist fascism.
another unjunk sir! I can't stand it when I hear a "resident alien" or illegal talk about how they don't believe we should be able to carry a gun. I tell them " Go back HOME, then you won't have to worry about it, you're here now so you have a responsibility to keep and respect our laws and traditions" . Of course this is a COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.
The choice then becomes do we educate the new comers to the situation they're coming into, or do we vehemently oppose their movement to this country?
.
I find when negative generalizations are made regarding an entire nation, the accuser is laboring under a great deal of emotional stress. Consider shutting up and taking a long holiday.
I am an American and I am not stupid.
You, evidently suffer from that brand of arrogance that renders you the equivalency of those you deride.
Consider this an infinite junk.
Unjunk #2. Ignore the lemmings.
What planet are you living on?
Those "docile obedient clients" are the only ones protesting on the streets!!
That's why they want to get rid of them.
But hey, good luck finding people who'll replace all those agricultural workers
at the same salary. Expect to pay triple for your fruits and veggies.
I guess it'll be no prob if you are a regular fast food customer.
.
I see that no one dares say that there are Americans who will not accept menial jobs. Even though these characters have no training or other skills, they demand jobs other than flipping burgers, landscaping, cleaning buildings etc.
They prefer to stay on welfare than do these jobs. Drug running is more profitable yes?
Politicians need these illegals to fill the gap. Some pay taxes and they will never collect a dime. Lessens the ss burden.
Some pay taxes and they will never collect a dime. Lessens the ss burden.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/ss-pay-100s-billions-illegal-workers
Assume: A person comes illegally to the US and illegally obtains a fake SS and using that fake # finds work. This person stays in the US continuing to work illegally for many years. During that period this person has SS payroll taxes deducted from their paycheck. This person returns to (Mexico) and at age 62 applies for SS retirement benefits.Question: Is this person entitled to receive benefits? If so what are the conditions for payment?
Well, I got this wrong. So did all the people I asked (including a lawyer). How about you? The answer is that an illegal worker using an illegal SSN has the same rights to SS benefits as a legal worker with a legal SSN. The only difference is that the person who worked illegally must receive those SS benefits outside of the USA.
In 2006 the Ensign Amendment was drafted to eliminate this interesting treatment. The bill was defeated in the Senate by a 49-50 vote. Senator Leahy (D.Vt.) said at the time:
UNBELIEVABLE. Not only do they collect the benefits but they're required to take them out of the country to spend it!!!! Now that's the New World Order there!!! I hope you enjoy serving them.
++Tony - I see you got 2 junks. Consider this an unjunk.
I have tried to explain what's going on to my own family & friends, they think I'M the one who's nuts, I'M the one who is "anti-governent", I'M the one who's "crazy" . People ! DON'T YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHEN NO ONE TRUSTED THE GOVERNMENT IN THE LATE 60'S !!! WE WERE ALL ANTI-GOVERMENT when we were younger ! Remember when the government was despised under NIXON ! HERE WE ARE AGAIN ! IT'S REVOLUTION TIME AGAIN !
Lynn: I started talking about this to all my friends 4 or 5 years ago. Now the ones who will not believe are very few. Those people are either unable (too old or too uneducated) to understand the situation. One sad thing looking back is to revisit the places that in the 70's were brimming with manufacturing jobs and benefits........ and today are hollowed-out shells for "sale or lease" ....... gone! The people who were anti-government then are all on disability and social security now. This is what gives me the most unease when thinking of going forward. It's like the victim of abuse who keeps returning to the abuser. They just never feel like it's "worth it" to finally leave the bastard and make a real authentic life on their own. Nope, they're not going to do it. So, even though we finally do vote out all the bought politicians and replace all the bought judges, at this point, it will still take a virtual magician.... to sort out all of the ponzi schemes that are set in motion. The level of chaos that is bound to ensue. I believe and I am prepared!
Overwhelmed MYSELF sometimes.... but I keep on keeping on.
Sheeple:
Don't sweat it! Even Christ was met with skeptics in his own town.
How'd that work out for him?
Just Heavenly! He saved every one in the world.
Just as He planned.
The B.S. that's going on in the banking system, the Federal Government is the biggest scam on the people since ROOSEVELT sold us all down the river to the banksters to pay off the bankruptcy in the 1930's . SCAM / FRAUD / DISGRACE / ROBERT RUBIN & LARRY SUMMERS / CLINTON & BUSH. OUTRAGEOUS
If they were really worrried about offending muslims, I don't think they would have invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. I can't beleive the government wet themselves over someone buring a Koran, while they are torturing muslims in government facilities. Of course the fact that Osama Bin Laden was recruited and trained by the CIA to fight the Russians in Afghanistan, rarely makes the news.
Despite what you may think, your government doesn't give a rats ass about you, all it wants is your taxes and your silence. The entire war on terror is a just another subterfuge to enrich the military industrial complex and continue to provide justification for any and all programs the government wants to conduct.
The cold war was a pretext for the Yale boys to take over the government and its been a long ride downhill ever since. A series of wars on the thinnest of pretexts, and a continuing acidic erosion of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The NSA was only the beginning, once you can do signals interception, why stop with military information? Business is business and industrial espionage is a very lucrative use of resources for someone with a high enough security clearance.
I have a pretty good understanding of how George Bush sr, became a very wealthy man and it has little to do with having an uncanny knack for business. Director of the CIA, Ambassador to the U.N., Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Director of the Council on Foreign Relations, and then Vice President and President. All from going to school at Yale and of course having a father in Skull and Bones, who also financed the NAZIs, didn't hurt.
With madmen and monsters like these running the government and the secret agencies for which it stands, is it any wonder our country is now a hollowed shell, and the wealth of centuries, transferred to few powerful families and the debt transfered to the common citizen.
After all the business of America is business, as long as the business is War.
I'm On the Bus. Recall " for if it prosper, none dare call it treason"
Never waste a good opportunity. Hard to think that a guy wetting over someone burning a Koran tortures muslims in a basement somewhere in the world. It is all about going undercover, all about faking.
Samual Adams
Thanks for the quote Max. I would like to send it to some acquaintances, but they wouldn't know what SA was talking about.