Fascism in the U.S. is REAL

Encyclopedia Britannica definition of Fascism:
"Philosophy of government that stresses the primacy and glory of the state, unquestioning obedience to its leader, subordination of the individual will to the state's authority, and harsh suppression of dissent."

AMERICAN FASCISM

Torture is legal, habeas corpus is gone, spying on citizens is okay, dissent is criminalized

· 5/10/08 - Three small-town eighth-graders in Minnesota were suspended by their principal for not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. (read).

· 4/21/08 - Pentagon Propaganda Program Exposed
The New York Times has revealed new details on how the Pentagon recruited more than seventy-five retired military officers to appear on TV outlets as so-called military analysts ahead of the Iraq war to portray Iraq as an urgent threat. The Times reports the Pentagon continues to use the analysts in a propaganda campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance. (read).

· 4/3/08 - Bush administration suspended Fourth Amendment rights following 9/11 (read).

· 3/30/08 - 80 year old church Deacon arrested for wearing anti-war tshirt in a mall (read).

· 2/7/08 - More than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does (read).

· 1/8/08 - Eighty people were arrested at the Supreme Court in a protest calling for the shutdown of Guantanamo; they were charged with violating an ordinance that prohibits demonstrations of any kind on Supreme Court grounds (read).

· 1/8/08 - Rhode Island to test a tracking system by putting computer chips on grade-schoolers' backpacks (read).

· 12/27/07 - Tasers, Pepper Spray, and Arrests in the Struggle for Affordable Housing in New Orleans (read). (Watch video)

· 12/27/07 - FBI Effort Will Build Biggest Biometric Database (read)

· 12/14/07 - Man Who Flies Flag Upside Down Gets a Brick Through His Truck Window and a Rock Through His Daughter's Bedroom Window. (read)

· 12/6/07 - Anti-Bush protesters arrested for holding "Impeach Bush and Cheney" sign. (read)

· 12/6/07 - Anti-Torture Protesters in Arizona Jailed Without Bail. A Catholic priest and a retired Catholic lay leader have been jailed without bail for taking part in a non-violent protest against U.S. torture practices. (read)

· 12/2/07 - Peace Group Barred from Florida Schools (but military recruiters are allowed). (read)

· 12/2/07 - US says it has right to kidnap British citizens. (read)

· 11/27/07 - FBI Improperly Using Patriot Act Surveillance Powers, ACLU Charges. (read)

· 11/23/07 - Firefighters taking new roles as "anti-terrorist" eyes of the US government. (read)

· 11/17/07 - Boston police to search homes without warrants - Boston police are launching a program that will call upon parents in high-crime neighborhoods to allow detectives into their homes, without a warrant, to search for guns in their children's bedrooms. (read)

· 11/10/07 - 18 Veterans Arrested in Antiwar Protest (on Veterans Day). (read)

· 10/25/07 - More Than 755,000 on US Terrorist Watch List. (watch)

· 10/10/07 - Ron Paul signs not allowed at Florida man's house. (watch)

Gov't Trying to Silence DC Sept. Antiwar Protests

· Rev. Lennox Yearwood, organizer of upcoming DC protest, arrested and hospitalized at Petraeus hearing (watch video). Cindy Sheehan, Medea Benjamin and 8 others also arrested at hearing (read)

·

Gov't trying to silence DC Sept. Antiwar protests. Iraq war vet arrested for putting up posters

Three anti-war activists were arrested in front of the White House for putting up anti-war posters promoting the September 15 March and Die-In in Washington DC. Those arrested include an Iraq war vet and the mother of an Iraq war vet [VIDEO]

· Government Fines ANSWER Coalition Another $10,350
One week after it filed a free speech lawsuit, the ANSWER Coalition received a second round of fines for $10,350 for posters promoting the September 15 March on Washington to End the War on Iraq. Previously, the ANSWER Coalition was hit with $10,000 fines for postering for their Sept. 15 march.

· The Troops Out Now Coalition has been informed that they will not be allowed to erect tents for their antiwar rally because suddenly, it has been decided that all of the areas on the Mall in DC where tents could be erected would be fenced off and would under go “re-sodding”.

· 9/21/07 - Metro newspaper in NYC refused to run an ad headlined “Who is the Real Nuclear Threat” from the World Can’t Wait. (read)

· 9/20/07 - The Senate voted to condemn an advertisement by the liberal anti-war group MoveOn.org that accused the top military commander in Iraq of betrayal. (read)

· 9/18/07 - "Don't tase me bro": Univ. of Florida student arrested and tasered for asking questions at John Kerry speech. (watch)

· 9/5/07 - CBS Early Show Removes Anti-War Protesters from View in Kansas City. (read)

· 8/23/07 - White House Office of Administration says it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. (read)

· 8/17/07 - Man arrested for holding IMPEACH sign. (read)

· 8/14/07 - In an unprecedented action, the ANSWER Coalition received citations fining the organization $10,000 for the placement of posters announcing the September 15 March on Washington DC. The fines come after a campaign led by FOX news calling for the DC government to take action against those putting up posters for the September 15 demonstration. (read)

· 8/3/07 - Bush’s Executive Order on Lebanon Even Worse than the One on Iraq. Anyone who engages in any act—violent or nonviolent—against the government of Lebanon can now have his or her property frozen. And it also gives the U.S. Treasury Secretary the authority to freeze the assets of “a spouse or dependent child” of any person whose property is frozen. (read)

· 8/1/07 - Bush Invokes Executive Privilege for Rove in Attorney Firings (read)

· 7/31/07 - Couple Terrorized, Assaulted and Arrested For Flying an Upside Down U.S. Flag (read)

· 7/29/07 - Bush’s Critics Say Threat of Martial Law in The United States is ‘Real’ (read)

· 7/25/07 - FBI Proposes Building Network of U.S. Informants (read)

Isn't this what dictators do?
Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

On at least four occasions while Bush has been president, Congress has passed laws forbidding US troops from engaging in combat in Colombia...

After signing each bill, Bush declared in his signing statement that he did not have to obey any of the Colombia restrictions because he is commander in chief.

''There is no question that this administration has been involved in a very carefully thought-out, systematic process of expanding presidential power at the expense of the other branches of government. This is really big, very expansive, and very significant." (read)

The Progressive Magazine - McCarthyism Watch

11/17/07 - Here Come the Thought Police. House passes “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act” House passed this 404-22 (see how they voted)
which may criminalize US citizens for their beliefs (read 1, 2, 3)

We Are All Prisoners Now
Paul Craig Roberts
Dec. 2007

Naomi Wolf - "The End of America" - the U.S. is in a slow descent into fascism (listen to Democracy Now interview)

SEIZING ASSETS
EXECUTIVE ORDER

An Executive Order signed by Bush on July 17, 2007 titled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq" may provide the President with the authority to confiscate the assets of whoever opposes the US led war.

· Former Reagan Lawyer: New Executive Order So Broad Even Senator Clinton’s Property Could Be Seized Over Iraq Policy Questions (8/3, listen).
· Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU said "This Executive Order reaches far beyond criminal activity to activity that may be entirely innocent. A person may find herself inadvertently in violation of this order and there is no provision for judicial review." (7/27, read).

· 7/25, listen to Libertarian Jacob Hornberger discusses the order (about the 40 minute mark)

· Washington Post article by Walter Pincus: "Be careful what you say and whom you help -- especially when it comes to the Iraq war and the Iraqi government" (7/23, read).

· Center for Research on Globalization: Bush Executive Order: Criminalizing the Antiwar Movement (7/20, read)

· 7/19, listen to Thom Hartmann's interview with Paul Craig Roberts, an old-line conservative and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan].

Related: Bush’s Executive Order on Lebanon Even Worse than the One on Iraq
(8/3/07, read)

12/23/07 - A newly declassified document from 1950 shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty. (read)

· 7/25/07 - Univ. of Colorado professor Ward Churchill fired after 9/11 remarks (read)

· 7/14/07 - The White House Has a Manual for Silencing Protesters and Demonstrations. "As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site." (read)

· 7/12/07 - "I don't think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops." (read)

· 7/11/07 - Surgeon general was 'gagged by White House'. (read)

· 7/11/07 - President Bush ordered his former White House counsel, Harriet Miers, to defy a congressional subpoena and refuse to testify before a House panel investigating U.S. attorney firings. (read)

· 7/2/07 - Bush disregards judiciary process -- erases Scooter Libby's jail sentence. (read)

· 7/1/07 - Special Operations Prepared for Domestic Missions. (read)

· 6/26/07 - 'You Have No Rights: Stories of America in an Age of Repression' by Matthew Rothschild. (read)

· 5/22/07 - George Bush's Power Grab... Is Martial Law Coming? (YouTube)

· 7/1/07 - Anti-war Iraq vets arrested at military base after being told they could not wear 'political' tshirts. (read)

· 6/29/07 - ACLU Seeks to End Ban on Sale of Shirt Listing Iraq War Dead. (read)

· 6/22/07 - Is Vice President's Office Above The Law? (read)

· 5/26/07 - Protesters Barred From Cheney’s West Point Speech (read)

· 5/25/07 - George Bush's Power Grab - Is Martial Law Coming (Watch CSPAN video)

· 5/22/07 - Florida protester arrested for holding signs (read)

· 5/14/07 - 'Honk for Peace' Case Tests Limits on Free Speech (read)

· 5/13/07 - No more YouTube, MySpace for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (read)

· 5/2/07 - Protestors, media beaten by police in LA (read)

· 5/2/07 - The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer (read)

· 4/24/07 - Fascist America, in 10 Easy Steps
From Hitler to Pinochet and Beyond, History Shows There Are Certain Steps That Any Would-Be Dictator Must Take To Destroy Constitutional Freedoms. And George Bush and His Administration Seem To Be Taking Them All (read)

· 3/25/07 - NYPD spied on convention protest planners (read)

· 3/14/07 - ‘Loyalty’ to Bush and Alberto Gonzales Was Factor in Prosecutors’ Firings (read)

· 3/9/07 - FBI misused Patriot Act to obtain information on citizens (read)

· 2/19/07 - Making Martial Law Easier (read)

· 2/15/07 - Neo-Nazi rally in Orlando was organized by FBI informant (read)

· 1/25/07 - U.S. Military Spied on Hundreds of Antiwar Demos (read)

· 1/24/07 - Executive Order Expands Presidential Power Over Agencies - president given power to oversee and interfere with federal regulations on everything from warning labels on medicines to safety standards for construction worksites. (read)

· 1/18/07 - Pentagon: Hearsay enough to put suspected terrorists to death (read)

· 12/1/06 - The US plans this month to launch the nation's first airport screening system that takes potentially revealing X-ray photos of travelers (read)

· 12/1/06 - U.S. government quietly rates millions of travellers for terrorism potential (read)

· 11/21/06 - Six Muslim imams removed from U.S. airliner (read)

· 11/14/06 - Enterprise Terrorist Act which makes it a felony for animal rights activists to engage in non-violent protests that result in businesses losing money (read - scroll down)

· 11/13/06 - Bush: Immigrants may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism (read)

· 11/13/06 - Administration: Gitmo Detainees Have No Rights (read)

· 11/1/06 - US near the bottom of privacy study - determined to be an "extensive surveillance society,” (read)

· 10/24/06 - US Rank of Press Freedom Slides Lower (53rd) (read)

· 10/20/06 - U.S. admits (and defends) propaganda tactic in Iraq. (read)

· 10/12/06 - Pentagon Documents Uncovered by ACLU Shed New Light on Surveillance of Florida Peace Activists - Defense Department Tracked Quakers, Student Groups Nationwide. Report cites acts of civil disobedience and vandalism as cause to label anti-war protests as “radical” and potential terrorist threats. (read)

· 10/5/06 - Bush signings called effort to expand power - President Bush's frequent use of signing statements to assert that he has the power to disobey newly enacted laws is an integral part of his "comprehensive strategy to strengthen and expand executive power." Bush has used signing statements to challenge more than 800 laws that place limits or requirements on the executive branch, saying they intrude on his constitutional powers. By contrast, all previous presidents challenged a combined total of about 600 laws. (read) -- A day after this report, Bush does it again (read)

· 10/4/06 - The U.S. government can continue to eavesdrop on Americans' overseas phone calls and e-mails until its appeal of a judge's ruling outlawing the surveillance is decided (read)

· 10/3/06 - Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of U.S. - the software would let the government monitor negative opinions of the United States or its leaders in newspapers and other publications overseas (read)

· 10/3/06 - A Denver-area man filed a lawsuit today after being arrested for criticizing Dick Cheney (read)