Paranoia?

February 20th, 2008 at 06:32pm Will Kesler 366

Hope and change. Every four years we are beset with this same litany. However, this year there may be too much change and hope perhaps crushed under martial law. Many Americans fear the regime that ignores our Constitution, that stripped away fundamental rights, that facilitates vast corruption and enmeshed us in unending war will not simply abandon their quest for dominance and slip away to write their memoirs.

Are we paranoid? If we are, so was D. Eisenhower as he warned that we must guard against the acquisition of power by the industrial-military complex. “We must never let this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted.”

A quick glance into the current Executive Branch reveals that it is the industrial-military complex. It is also obvious that said complex has degraded our Legislative and Judicial Branches to a frightening extent. Laws have been passed, plans laid and infrastructure created that could enable our worst president to become our first dictator.

Paul Roberts, a former editor for the Wall Street Journal cautions that “Bush has put into place all the necessary measures for dictatorship in the form of executive orders that are triggered whenever he declares a national emergency.”

Without announcement or media coverage our president recently signed The National Continuity Policy, a directive which states that in case of catastrophic emergency “The president shall lead the activities of the Federal Government.” This directive defines such emergency as any incident or disruption that results in “extraordinary” levels affecting our infrastructure, economy, etc.

In other words Bush gave himself the power to run our government by signing his own vaguely worded directive.

Yet it will require more than a signature to implement martial law. It will take our military. Since 1878 the Posse Comitatus Act mandates that congressional authority is needed to employ the military within our borders. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 nullified posse comitatus, officially granting the president sole authority to use our military against citizens within our borders.

This statute also authorizes the president to commandeer National Guard units, without the consent of state governments, while expanding permissible cause for martial law to include “natural disaster, epidemic, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition.” Such “condition” is not defined or limited in scope. All safeguards have been eliminated and new powers granted to the president to use almost at his whim.

If Bush unjustly declares martial law millions of patriots will defy prohibitions forbidding gatherings at any time or place. Thus becoming domestic terrorists given that the Patriot Act defines anyone who breaks a state or federal law (marching in the street) that endangers the welfare of others as a terrorist. Once labeled a terrorist, a citizen could be interned indefinitely without any constitutional rights.

Interned where? In Jan. of ’06, Halliburton was granted a 385 million dollar contract to construct detention centers in the United States. There is evidence that FEMA has already established hundreds of prison camps, fully operational and ready to receive prisoners.

A recent Gallup poll disclosed that 45% of Americans believe that George W. Bush knew about 9/11 in advance of the attacks. Almost half of us believe that the illicit regime that controls our Executive Branch has already committed horrendous, unforgivable acts of treason. And if they did, it is very plausible that more will follow.

Entry Filed under: Politics, Colorado, United Post

9 Comments Add your own

1. reckless G | February 21st, 2008 at 12:24 pm

Will,

Often given to political paranoia myself, I have long held a suspicion that there would be no national elections in ’08, due to some “emergency” that would be used by the Bush administration to cancel the elections and institute martial law.

But now I see that McCain is so eager for power that he will sit, stay, beg, rollover and lick the butts of the Neocons, so there really is no need for them to resort to such drastic measures. With McCain in the White House, the Republicans will retain control and the Neos will continue to mangle the Constitution and manipulate the system to their advantage until such time as they need to implement those special powers that have been given to the president. Then McCain will gladly assume his role as the ultimate authority over the land.

By then, the prisons will be ready for people like you and me.

Sue Gray
2. Mitch Mulhall | February 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm

[...lick the butts of the Neocons...]

What's with this sudden fixation with the excremental? Yesterday, Ed Troy employed the term "diaper butts" in another thread...

So if McCain gets elected, you're going to jail? On what charge(s)?

Will--interesting post...

[...FEMA has already established hundreds of prison camps, fully operational and ready to receive prisoners...]

Are you referring to those vacant trailers sent down to New Orleans after Katrina? If so, I don't think they're ready to receive prisoners. Last I heard, they've been declared uninhabitable...

Cheers,
3. reckless G | February 21st, 2008 at 3:49 pm

[So if McCain gets elected, you're going to jail? On what charge(s)?]

I was referring to Will’s scenario about unjustly declaring martial law…

[…millions of patriots will defy prohibitions forbidding gatherings at any time or place. Thus becoming domestic terrorists given that the Patriot Act defines anyone who breaks a state or federal law (marching in the street) that endangers the welfare of others as a terrorist. Once labeled a terrorist, a citizen could be interned indefinitely without any constitutional rights.]

People like Will and I who have a history of defying the government and vocalizing our opposition to its policies, and who most certainly will continue to do so, may become targets of a future totalitarian regime. In which case we, along with other dissenters, could be rounded up and incarcerated.

But only if they can catch us!
4. alpha6 | February 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am

Yeah, I am sure the federal government is going to be concerned about those out spoken people in Carbondale....you guys have been watching too much TV. Watched Red Dawn over the weekend did we?

And I would like to see some links to support your "FEMA is building prisons" assumption. FEMA is one of the worst most incompetent government agencies that can't even do its job during disasters...I can't imagine that if the government wanted to build secret prisons it would have FEMA do it....even they are not that stupid.

A recent Gallup poll disclosed that 45% of Americans believe that George W. Bush knew about 9/11 in advance of the attacks. WOW now that's really something worth considering...unless you consider who was polled...

Here is another Gallup poll - Washington, D.C. – According to a Gallup/Harris poll released Monday, a full 37 percent of American citizens are incapable of identifying their home country on a map of the United States.

And you want to put faith in what the average American knows? The average American is an idiot.

When asked to reveal the identity of the giant America-shaped landmass found on the map, several of those polled were decidedly varied in their answers.

“That thing definitely looked familiar,” said autoworker and father of three Ed McConnell. “And my gut told me there were probably a whole bunch of Americans there. So I had to go with ‘Iraq.’”

Other guesses as to the nature of the mystery country included “Hollywood,” “Palestine,” “The Shire” and “Club Med Punta Cana.”

Shirley Matheson, a part-time Arby’s employee residing in Dayton, Ohio, agreed with Weiss’s assessment. “I live in the U.S.A., so why would I need to know where America is? Or the United States for that matter?”

Further, when quizzed on when America declared independence from Great Britain to become a sovereign nation, more than two-thirds replied: “six thousand years ago, when God created humankind.”

http://www.recoilmag.com/news/america_not_on_map_of_america_0208.html

I wouldn't worry so much about the government destroying our country, our educational system will take care of that.
5. reckless G | February 22nd, 2008 at 3:22 pm

And who runs the educational system?

Uh huh.

One of Hitler's meathods for controlling the populace was; keep 'em dumb. If they aren't capable of critical thought, there is less of a chance they will become suspicious, disatisfied or rebellious. That's why "Hitler's youth" was fed a strict education of pure propaganda, Hey just like us!

Another thing; how far reaching was Hitler's sweep of undesirables? "They" will be concerned about a few outspoken folks in Carbondale because they will be concerned about outspoken folks all across the nation. Why would Carbondale be excluded? With the monitoring of phone calls and emails picking up on key words and phrases, it will be easy to discover who is part of the revolt.

And of course, the old reliable method; citizen spies. I guarantee there would be people in this valley all to eager to turn in the America-hating traitor; Sue Gray.

So what am I going to do if the US goes all totalitarian on my ass?

Uh yeah...like I'm going to reveal my super secret emergency plan on Aspen Post.
6. Will Kesler | February 22nd, 2008 at 6:12 pm

To Sue, Mitch and whoever alpha6 is,

First off, Sue beat me to the punch. Alpha6 seems to me to be a great example of how our educational system works. How it brainwashes people into “trust your government, we have your best interests in mind.” I am reminded that his response to my efforts to educate concerning income tax seem to come directly from our government’s IRS website that deals with “frivolous tax arguments.” That’s about as far as his expertise goes and worse still he thinks that it is enough to refute tons of facts.

There are currently over 17 thousand results when you Google “FEMA detention camps.” There is enough controversy to make your head spin. However, if you take the time for serious research, some very disturbing facts rise to the surface. First off, there are multiple lists and multiple videos of possible sites. All sorts of sites are heavily guarded and people simply do not know what is happening inside. The Am Track repair depot close to Beech Grove IN comes up again and again. Check it out. video.google.com/videoplay?docid=277826260716604258 and ask yourself… could it be true?

Ask yourself… why three rows of barbwire, with the tops all pointing inward to keep people in, not to keep people out. Lot’s more suggesting a prison camp, not a repair depot.

The truth is that Halliburton was given a 385 million dollar contract to construct detention centers in the U.S. Where are they? Why don’t we know about them? Did H. simply pocket the money and walk away?

Ask yourself… since our government has recently passed multiple laws enabling them to more efficiently declare martial law... isn’t it logical that they would also construct an infrastructure to intern those elements that (they say) caused them to declare a state of emergency.

Bottom line, I am not sure, that’s why I titled my blog “Paranoia?’ Then again I am not so naive, as alpha6 seems to be, to discount what could very well be a very real threat to freedom.
7. alpha6 | February 23rd, 2008 at 11:03 am

Will,

It appears that "Paranoia" is an accurate description of yourself. If you know anything about me or my posts you would know that I am against most things government. If you trust the government with your safety, security, health or retirement, just to name a few then you are an idiot. (see my above post about the "Average" American)

Also, I love how when I point out the weakness of your "Gallop" poll you try and turn in around as my being naive. I ask you give some factual evidence to your FEMA Prisons assertion and you give me as evidence a Google search? Hey Mr. Intelligent, try Googleing UFO's, there are over 58 million hits, doesn't mean they exist.

Your "Paranoia" is getting in the way of your logical thinking, but then again lets take a look at the definition of Paranoia - "Paranoia is a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion."

I think that nails it right on the head. You might think that I am naive, but at least I am not delusional.

Sue - sorry to break it to you..but the Govt. already knows of your super secret plan. By tapping into the DIA supercomputer and running a search of your name, I found that they have been reading your thoughts since your trip to the Middle East. I suggest you make a new plan, but this time wear a lead lined head protector, and then don't think about it again unless you are in the shower and using positively charged ion water. That negates the effects of passive mind reading through microwave transceivers currently in use. : )

Also, to bone yourselves up on Totalitarian Government, I suggest the following link for a nice overview on theories and definitions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism
8. reckless G | February 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 am

WikiDef:

“Totalitarianism is state regulation of nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of secret police, propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, personality cults, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, single-party states, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror tactics.”

Looks like we’re over halfway there already!

alpha, thanks for the tip on the lead lined head protector. I’ll look into get an ionic shower system installed. I’m only half kidding about this government paranoia stuff. Like Will, I can see the writing on the wall, but at this stage I don’t feel too threatened. Still, I do keep a .38 handy just in case.

Here’s some info on the prisons.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/national/04halliburton.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I like how they bill it as emergency detention centers for an “unexpected influx of immigrants” or “some kind of mass migration,” but they leave it open for “new programs that require additional detention space.” I think those new programs include domestic terrorists as defined in the PATRIOT ACT that Will classified in his post.
9. Will Kesler | February 24th, 2008 at 11:26 am

Alpha6,

From your comment #7. “It appears that ‘Paranoia’ is an accurate description of yourself. If you know anything about me or my posts you would know…” So, being paranoid and delusional as you say, I spent a few minutes checking out some of your posts. Just wanted to get a feel for you before I wrote this. Here are some of your quotes (admittedly taken out of context, but still they offer insight into where you are coming from.)
“The average American is an idiot.”
“Some people were meant to be ruled.”
“They (the Palestinians) have no real friends in the Arab world.”
“I think it falls along the same lines as the Global Warming crap.”
“Ron Paul is a wing nut.”
“In typical left wing fashion, you attack the person.”
“You can't refute the argument so you side step the subject and resort to personal insults.”

And here is the one that makes me wonder. While you may not have been serious, no one called you on it and it did come from somewhere. (Perhaps this may be an opportunity for you to clarify.)

“Peace is way over rated. Nothing like a good war to thin out the population, generate jobs and revenue and just look at the advances that war brings in technology...
And if that’s not enough to get you on board, well then we just make it a green issue. Just think how much less green house emissions there would be if we cut the world population in half...doesn't bother me if we start in Iraq and clean out the middle east. I say, on to Africa, Asia, South America and Europe after that...why stop when you are on a roll. I think everyone needs some killing.”

Alpha, I ask that you re-read my last two posts. I made it clear that “Bottom line, I am not sure, that’s why I titled my blog ‘Paranoia?’” I then further explained my position with the following two quotes. “People simply do not know what is happening inside.”
“And if they did (know about 911) it is very plausible that more will follow.” (Note to Michael Conniff, I don’t believe anything. I am, however, offering some facts that can be interpreted as a threat to our freedom.)

Alpha, your definition of paranoia is “a disturbed thought process characterized by excessive anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion.” Perhaps you could point out what I have written that is irrational or delusional. And, by the way, contrary to your assertion, I did give you a web site to check out.

Also, I do not need to “bone myself up” on a definition of “Totalitarian Government.” I live under one every day. How else could I define a government that stole my life savings without a piece of paper, without an interview, without any due process of any kind as required by law? And yes, it does cause me anxiety, as it should anyone who is aware.