Shocking Loss of Freedom in the US

sources: Naomi Wolf, and http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/10/23/shocking-loss-of-freedom-in-u-s.aspx



Dr. Mercola's Comments:

In this video, Naomi Wolf, author of Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, discusses some truly disturbing facts: a political coup has occurred that few are even conscious of, and even fewer know how to deal with, simply because we believe “it can’t happen in America.”

Following the Blueprint for Fascism

Give Me Liberty is the follow-up to Naomi’s book The End of America, which details the 10 steps of fascism; chronological steps that, historically, always take place when a would-be dictator wants to crush democracy and seize power. For example,

Step 1: Hyping internal or external threat

Step 2: Creating a secret prison system outside the rules of law

Step 3: Creating a paramilitary force that is not answerable to the people

Step 4: A surveillance apparatus, and so on.

Those who have read The End of America can easily see how the “blueprint for fascism” has been followed in the United States, set off by and increasingly gaining momentum after 9/11.

Understanding the Nature of the Threat to Your Freedom

Wolf goes on to say that few people realize that on October 1, 2008, a coup took place that has the potential to forever change our way of life in the U.S.

As reported by the Army Times, on October 1st the first brigade of the 3rd infantry division, consisting of some 3,000-4,000 soldiers, was deployed for active duty in the U.S.

Not since 1807 have we had military policing American streets.

Why should you care?

Because with the advent of this military deployment on U.S. soil, combined with the fine-print included in the Wall Street bailout bill that just passed, the United States officially fit the definition of a police state.

What is the definition of police state?

1. The leader has his own treasury
2. The leader has his own army on the streets

According to Wolf, the $700 billion bailout bill that just passed includes fine print giving the U.S. President alone $100 billion dollars in discretionary spending, without oversight. With the passing of this rushed, hyped up “emergency bill” the President effectively acquired his own treasury.

And, the soldiers now stationed on American soil answer to their Commander in Chief; the President, alone. He now has his own army on the streets, and any order to turn on American civilians would be legal.

The Army Times reports (emphasis mine):

… The force will be known for the next year as a CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced “sea-smurf”).

… this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.

After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one.

They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.

The 1st BCT’s soldiers also will learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.

The package is for use only in war-zone operations, not for any domestic purpose.

“It’s a new modular package of nonlethal capabilities that they’re fielding. They’ve been using pieces of it in Iraq, but this is the first time that these modules were consolidated and this package fielded, and because of this mission we’re undertaking we were the first to get it.”

The package includes equipment to stand up a hasty road block; spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and, beanbag bullets.

Wolf also points out that the U.S. President and his lawyers have successfully established legal claim on the war on terror -- the whole world is a battle field where military law can supersede civil law. No matter where you are in the world, including the U.S., you can be named an enemy combatant, and you can be detained as a terrorist under the rules established under the Patriot Act.

Additionally, the 2007 Defense Authorization Act made it legal for the U.S. military to be deployed against its own citizens – something that has been prohibited for more than 100 years under The Posse Comitatus Act, established at the end of the Civil War. (Use of the military on an emergency ad hoc basis was permitted, such as what happened after Hurricane Katrina).

This April, 2007 article by James Bovard in The American Conservative details how this long-standing democratic safeguard was decimated.

The question is, why are soldiers being deployed to active duty within the United States at this point in time, and WHY will this mission be a PERMANENT one?

Congress Members Threatened With Martial Law if They Didn’t Pass Bailout Bill

In videos posted on YouTube, Representative Brad Sherman states that in private conversations, members of Congress were threatened with Martial law within one week should they refuse to pass the bailout bill.

Normally, a threat like that would ring hollow, but with the deployment of troops on American soil just days prior, the threat of Martial law was an empty threat no longer. The problem with passing the bill, according to Wolf, is that once you yield to the first threat of a would-be dictator, you’ll see more and more insidious incursions.

Writes Bovard in his American Conservative article:

““Martial law” is a euphemism for military dictatorship. When foreign democracies are overthrown and a junta establishes martial law, Americans usually recognize that a fundamental change has occurred… Section 1076 is Enabling Act-type legislation – something that purports to preserve law-and-order while formally empowering the President to rule by decree.”

How Can Liberty be Regained?

It’s important to remember that the philosophy of liberty is based on self-ownership. The U.S. was formed on the belief that we have a right to life, liberty, and the property we create -- and a responsibility to think, speak and act on that behalf.

It is easier, though, to do nothing, and to let those in power have all of the control. But when that happens, you often lose your liberty and your freedom of personal choice -- and may even end up inadvertently supporting something evil.

Although my current focus is on the health care front, trying to educate and convince you that you have the right and the ability to take control of your own health, I believe we must support the spirit of freedom and justice upon which not only America was founded, but which also sits at the very core of humanity, at all times.

The website www.MyAmericaProject.org has more information on what you can do, and how to join the My America Project.