In a Police State, Fascists Will Rise to the Top

In a nation where a police state atmosphere is permitted, the fascists will rise to the top. This may sound like a crazy, radical statement, but it is going on in America right now with the current Ashcroft led Justice Department. With the top leader of the nations law enforcement structure permitting and enacting more and more assaults on civil rights and invasions of privacy it is only natural that many closet fascists will come out into the open.

The United States is now a burgeoning police state, with broad new powers to intrude upon the privacy and rights of its citizens. There is often no oversight of this new power, and investigations into abuses are often hampered or outright halted by the very rules set up to intrude into citizen’s privacy. The new rules that are supposed to protect national security often block inquires into use of that power, and put a muzzle on those who have their rights trampled.

John Ashcroft, US Attorney General, our supreme commander in the "War on Terror", has ties in his past to white supremacist/ neo-nazi groups. As George W. Bush's attorney general, Ashcroft has used the Department of Justice to support Republican efforts at voter suppression; many of them aimed at black voters.

Ashcroft ran on a platform that included "No Desegregation of Public Schools" in the Missouri Governor’s race. Here is a record of his efforts to block desegregation and voluntary busing in St. Louis and Kansas City.

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1097

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1099

Ashcroft's Missouri Years Summarized

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1060

He has taken campaign contributions from the white separatist/neo-nazi group the CCC (Council of Concerned Citizens). They were at one time known as the White Citizens Council before changing their name to something less inflammatory and more benign.

The strange story of Ashcroft's connections with the CCC is told here and here.

If you really want to have your eyes opened to the true racist nature of the CCC check out their web site here http://www.cofcc.org/. This site will make you ill if you are not prepared for the level of hatred that it contains. You can order your choice of Ku Klux Klan flags, uniforms, stickers, nazi materials, and a patch that shows a hooded Klansman, a burning cross, and the phrase ''Department of the Interior: Bureau of Negro Control.''

In the governor’s election race, attorney general’s race, and his US Senate race, and the elections for many years before that they gave large amounts of money to help get Ashcroft reelected. While Ashcroft has never admitted to being a member of the CCC, leaders and organizers of the CCC have claimed him as an active member in the past. A news update in December 2001,on the St. Louis chapter's web site, heralded Ashcroft's nomination as US Attorney General with an item headlined "Our Ship Has Come In."

In 1998 after his involvement with the CCC became known, Ashcroft denied "firsthand knowledge" of the group. This is something that is completely false and it has been proven many times that Ashcroft was closely involved with working politics of the CCC.

Ashcroft gave three speeches before the group in the 1990s, saying that the council stands ''for the right principles and the right philosophy.'' In 1997, he was photographed in his Senate office, smiling and joking with the national leaders of the CCC. Yet he has denied all ties to them and denied knowledge of their racist sentiments and stands against civil rights.

Ashcroft and the state of Missouri were sued to get the public schools desegregated after the federal order to desegregate all public schools was ignored by Ashcroft after repeated orders from the federal government to stop segregating all state schools. These facts have been conveniently ignored and overlooked by the mainstream media. Repeated attempts by groups like the ACLU, National Lawyers Guild, and many others to bring these issues to the public have been largely ignored and silenced by the media.

With our own US Attorney General having these ties to fascism and repression, how many more totalitarian/fascists are now in the federal and local ranks with his tacit approval? How many closet nazis are now stepping into power in the many law enforcement agencies empowered by the newly created Homeland Security Department?

There have been many recorded cases of federal agents, state, and local police abusing their new powers granted under the USA/PATRIOT Act. The stories are making the rounds of the First Amendment rights defenders and free speech defense groups. Many activists and so called radicals have been questioned by federal agents, and had their homes and businesses searched under the clause in the Patriot Act permitting sneak and peek searches without a warrant or any warning of a search being conducted.

On November 14, 2001 an announcement was made by the DOJ that any person designated as a terrorist by the President is to be placed under the control of the Secretary of Defense and not allowed the aid of U.S. or foreign courts.

Ashcroft was questioned about judicial oversight of the Justice Department in June 2003 while appearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Ashcroft acknowledged that he did not consult with members of Congress concerning his significant revisions of the Attorney General Guidelines governing security investigations. He warned Committee members that, "As we consider the Constitutional methods we use to fight the enemies of freedom, we must remember that terrorism threatens our future."

When people have contact with the Homeland Security Department they are warned not to discuss the interrogation and questions asked or be in violation of national security laws. This puts a muzzle on people who very well might have had their rights abused or had their rights completely denied. Most of the time they are not allowed to contact a lawyer or have access to any legal advice.

Our constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure and ability to invoke the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination have been taken away under the Patriot Act, and there is no sign that they will be restored. The very constitution that made us such a great nation is now just so much toilet paper for Ashcroft and the rest of the current regime to wipe their collective asses on.

The founding fathers would be shocked if they could see just how quickly and effectively the Constitution has been dismantled. The freedom of every American has been taken away whether the citizens know it or not. The Bill of Rights has become as useless as a blank piece of paper as far as Ashcroft and the Bush regime are concerned.

The press in general has turned a blind eye to this phenomenon of intrusion and abuse of our constitutionally guaranteed rights. There have been many journalists who have recorded these abuses. Often these journalists write for left wing or progressive news groups, but mainstream media members are blatantly lacking in the coverage of growing assaults on the constitution.

It appears that the mainstream media is scared of questioning the government for fear of seeming weak on defeating terror. Often times the major news groups are working in cooperation with the government in spreading the hysteria and fear that make it easier for the feds to suppress rights and enact sweeping new police state powers. It is all excused by the need to be tough on terror and stop any more terrorist acts no matter what the price paid in lost freedoms and privacy.

Now the war on terror and the Patriot Act are being applied to the war on drugs and other criminal activities, after Ashcroft assured congress that the Act would not be used for such things. At the time of the Act being passed, Americans were assured that it was only going to be used to go after terrorists and to stop further acts of terror. Now we see more programs and assaults on rights being enacted by Ashcroft and Homeland Security with no oversight or supervision. It seems that the excuse of doing whatever it takes to stop terror now has no leash and the police dog is now running loose attacking any target in it’s path.

Many US cites, counties, and states have passed resolutions to refuse to comply with the Patriot Act. Many local and state governments are refusing to let their tax dollars be used in any way to enforce the Act. Quite a few local and state law enforcement agencies have refused to give any officers or agents for use in Patriot Act enforcement.

This has not stopped the government from going forward with using the Act to do background checks on private citizens, harass activists and those questioning the government, and trample many constitutional rights.

The newest outrage and removal of privacy rights occurred just last week. Ashcroft announced that the FBI would now do background checks and records searches on suspected radicals and activists without a warrant or any warning, and with no access to any records of what has been done.

Under the new rules of National Security and the Homeland Security Department, it is no longer possible to have any oversight on just how the new Patriot Act is being implemented. The FBI has denied numerous Freedom of Information requests seeking to find out just how the new powers have been used. The very agencies exercising the police powers are also responsible for maintaining the records and oversight of the use of these powers. It is ridiculous to expect the police state to police itself.

The promise of not expanding the use of the Patriot Act to US citizens is now so much hot air and Ashcroft has denied he ever said any such thing. Just how far he will take this repression of civil rights and invasion of privacy is yet to be seen. It looks like there is nothing to stop him from doing whatever he wants in the "war on terror".

By the time many Americans realize how many of the rights, freedoms, and guarantees of privacy have been stripped away, it will be far too late to get them back. When you tell the average American what has happened they either give you a blank look, or parrot the statement of "at least we’re safer now". No real safety has yet to be implemented under this new police state empowerment and many harms and damages have already occurred to our constitutional freedoms and rights.

Many government officials and quasi officials are now using the "You have to get tough!" excuse to get away with many abuses of civil rights and freedoms. There seems to be a prevalent attitude that any extreme act can be forgiven if it is done for "safety" and "security". Many local police agencies have set up their own version of Homeland Security or work hand in hand with the national agency.

Just last week there was a drug raid in a South Carolina school where children were held at gunpoint, while police dogs ran riot in a school corridor. The students were all searched without parental consent or legal advice. No drugs were found and many students were terrorized and had guns pointed at their heads and screamed and yelled at in a very abusive manner. One girl said after she moved around on the floor an officer stepped on the back of her neck and put his gun to her head.

When asked about it the principal of the school made some very shocking statements. He said, "You have to show these kids that we’re tough on drugs and we won’t tolerate them anymore." He said that the use of force was justified even though there were no drugs or anything illegal found.

This is an attitude that is becoming more and more prevalent among government officials who see the federal government doing the same thing and getting away with it. There are many in power who are testing the boundaries of just how much is really exceptable, and it looks like it’s quite a lot by the governments standards. This is only going to result in the rise of more officials and police agents who feel that anything is tolerable as long as it is explained by the need for security and public safety.

The more assaults on liberties that the American people let the government get away with, the worse it will get. Unless we try to put a stop to this now, they will just assume that the people have no problem with it, and that they support them in conducting these travesties. In this heightened state of fear and terror many people are afraid to question the government for fear of being viewed as un-American and supporters of terror.

Bush’s brilliant statement "If you’re not for us you against us!" was a stroke of genius on Karl Rove’s part.

With that one statement Bush tarred any dissenters with the broad brush of being terrorist supporters, unpatriotic, and un-American. No other statement could have been as effective in seeking to negate any dissent no matter how true and factual the basis for dissent.

In this day and age the government has made it seem un-American to ever question anything they do. Even with a justifiable grievance the powers that be have thrown an effective muzzle on many Americans who might otherwise speak out or publicly question the current regime. They have made it taboo to raise any specter of government abuse or misuse of power.

Many petty dictators are now rising up in government agencies all over the country and there are no safe guards in place to keep them in check. All you have to do is look at the enforcement of laws on a national level and see the broad freedom that agencies are taking with our liberties. When local agencies see the blind eye turned to all these police state tactics it gives them a sense of Gestapo power like never before known.

When the people finally figure out what happened they will wonder how they didn’t notice until it was too late. Sadly a vast majority will be able to live with the new loss of freedom if they are spoon fed the myth of being safer and more secure. It is a historical fact that a majority of the German people under Hitler’s rule were completely happy with the Nazi power structure. They never questioned the government as long as the repeal of freedoms did not affect them. The ones that did wake up and question the Nazi’s were either exterminated or too afraid to speak out.

One last example on the rise of a police state is the arresting and detaining of suspected terrorists at the Guantonimo Bay Marine Installation down in Cuba. The Justice Department has repeatedly refused to charge the detainees with a crime and prevented them from having access to any legal council. In defending the right to hold them, the Justice Department and US regime have called them "foreign combatants" even if they were never captured on a battlefield.

Despite the obvious fact that identifying them as combatants should make the detainees prisoners of war, they have been denied their rights granted by the Geneva Convention on POWs. The case is currently going before the US Supreme Court and it will be interesting to watch whether they rule for or against releasing these prisoners.

If their ruling upholds the right of the Justice Department to take prisoners and hold them without trial, legal representation, and to hold them indefinitely, it will further cement the current police state powers. The Justice department has contended that by holding them outside the United States, the prisoners do not have the right to a trial in the US or any privileges granted to those who are US prisoners.

If this is not an example of a police state in action I do not know what is. Numerous human rights groups and constitutional rights advocacy groups have filed Freedom of Information Act requests and cases against the DOJ and the US government. Below you will find a denial of FIA information that was given to EPIC.

This is from Electronic Privacy Information Center info page on the terror war detainees http://www.epic.org/open_gov/foia/cnss_v_doj.html :

DC Circuit Court Upholds Secrecy of DOJ Detentions: On June 17, 2003, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided opinion , [PDF] endorsed the Justice Department's efforts to keep secret the identities of hundreds of individuals detained after the September 2001 terrorist attacks. In this decision, the Court affirmed the District Court’s decision to withhold all specific detention information, and further allowed the Justice Department to withhold the names of detainees and their attorneys. The Court found that this information could be properly withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemption 7(A), which exempts law enforcement information that would interfere with enforcement proceedings if released. The decision comes in a Freedom of Information Act case in which EPIC is a plaintiff and co-counsel.

Here is more information on the USA/PATRIOT Act and some prepared statements by Ashcroft

Electronic Privacy Information Center USA/PATRIOT Act page:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/

Attorney General Ashcroft's Prepared Statement June 5th 2003 given when appearing before the House Judiciary Committee:

http://www.house.gov/judiciary/ashcroft060503.htm

We are currently in a police state atmosphere where fascists will rise to the top like turds in a giant cesspool. The signs are all around just like they were around in the beginning of the Nazi Third Reich takeover of all state affairs with a massive police and security force. It was excused then as being the price you had to pay for safety and security, and necessary for continued freedom and prosperity.

Sounds familiar right?

We are set upon a course of using war for world domination, using the flag as a symbol of state power and authority. The government uses easily absorbed catch phrase slogan propaganda like "God Bless America", "Safety and Security", "War on Terror", "War for Liberation and Freedom", "Preemptive Strike", "Might Makes Right", "Retaliation", "Let No One Challenge Our Might", "We Will Take the War to Them", "If You’re Not For Us You’re Against Us", and many other Bushisms.

The power structure for a police state is already in place, and for the most part unchallenged. Will Americans realize this before it’s too late? I sure hope so, because I happen to like the freedoms of writing articles like this, and being able to challenge the right of the corrupt leaders to govern our country. I like to have the option of dissent if things are out of control or just plain wrong.

I will close with these excellent quotes from the book 1984.

"There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment." - George Orwell, 1984

"…the consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival." George Orwell, 1984

Here is an excellent article examining what fascism is and how the current US regime fits the image:

Fearing Fascism

http://www.buzzflash.com/southern/2002/06/20_southern.html

Jay Shaft: Editor- Coalition For Free Thought In Media

E-Mail freethoughtinmedia2@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coalitionforfreethoughtinmedia/

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