By John W. Whitehead 
?Of all the tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.??C.S. Lewis
Caught up in the televised drama of a military-style manhunt for the suspects in the Boston Marathon explosion, most Americans fail to realize that the world around them has been suddenly and jarringly shifted off its axis, that axis being the U.S. Constitution.
For those like myself who have studied emerging police states, the sight of a city placed under martial law?its citizens under house arrest (officials used the Orwellian phrase ?shelter in place? to describe the mandatory lockdown), military-style helicopters equipped with thermal imaging devices buzzing the skies, tanks and armored vehicles on the streets, and snipers perched on rooftops, while thousands of black-garbed police swarmed the streets and SWAT teams carried out house-to-house searches in search of two young and seemingly unlikely bombing suspects?leaves us in a growing state of unease.
Mind you, these are no longer warning signs of a steadily encroaching police state. The police state has arrived.
Equally unnerving is the ease with which Americans welcomed the city-wide lockdown, the routine invasion of their privacy, and the dismantling of every constitutional right intended to serve as a bulwark against government abuses. Watching it unfold, I couldn?t help but think of Nazi Field Marshal Hermann Goering?s remarks during the Nuremberg trials. As Goering noted:
It is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.
As the events in Boston have made clear, it does indeed work the same in every country. The same propaganda and police state tactics that worked for Adolf Hitler 80 years ago continue to be employed with great success in a post-9/11 America.
Whatever the threat to so-called security?whether it?s rumored weapons of mass destruction, school shootings, or alleged acts of terrorism?it doesn?t take much for the American people to march in lockstep with the government?s dictates, even if it means submitting to martial law, having their homes searched, and being stripped of one?s constitutional rights at a moment?s notice.
As journalist Andrew O?Hehir observes in Salon:
In America after 9/11, we made a deal with the devil, or with Dick Cheney, which is much the same thing. We agreed to give up most of our enumerated rights and civil liberties (except for the sacrosanct Second Amendment, of course) in exchange for a lot of hyper-patriotic tough talk, the promise of ?security? and the freedom to go on sitting on our asses and consuming whatever the hell we wanted to. Don?t look the other way and tell me that you signed a petition or voted for John Kerry or whatever. The fact is that whatever dignified private opinions you and I may hold, we did not do enough to stop it, and our constitutional rights are now deemed to be partial or provisional rather than absolute, do not necessarily apply to everyone, and can be revoked by the government at any time.
Particularly disheartening is the fact that Americans, consumed with the need for vengeance, seem even less concerned about protecting the rights of others, especially if those ?others? happen to be of a different skin color or nationality. The public response to the manhunt, capture and subsequent treatment of brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is merely the latest example of America?s xenophobic mindset, which was also a driving force behind the roundup and detention of hundreds of Arab, South Asian and Muslim men following 9/11, internment camps that housed more than 18,000 people of Japanese ancestry during World War II, and the arrest and deportation of thousands of ?radical? noncitizens during America?s first Red Scare.
Moreover, there has been little outcry over the Obama administration?s decision to deny 19-year-old U.S. citizen Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his due process rights and treat him as an enemy combatant, first off by interrogating him without reading him his Miranda rights (?You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...?).
Presently, under the public safety exception to the Miranda rule, if law enforcement agents believe a suspect has information that might reduce a substantial threat, they can wait to give the Miranda warning. For years now, however, the Obama administration has been lobbying to see this exception extended to all cases involving so-called terror suspects, including American citizens. Tsarnaev?s case may prove to be the game-changer. Yet as journalist Emily Bazelon points out for Slate: ?Why should I care that no one?s reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights? When the law gets bent out of shape for him, it?s easier to bend out of shape for the rest of us.?
The U.S. Supreme Court rightly recognized in its 1966 ruling in Miranda v. Arizona that police officers must advise a suspect of his/her civil rights once the suspect has been taken into custody, because the police can and often do take advantage of the fact that most Americans don?t know their rights. There have been few exceptions to the Miranda rule over the last 40 years or so, and with good reason. However, if the Obama administration is allowed to scale back the Miranda rule, especially as it applies to U.S. citizens, it would be yet another dangerous expansion of government power at the expense of citizens? civil rights.
This continual undermining of the rules that protect civil liberties, not to mention the incessant rush to judgment by politicians, members of the media and the public, will inevitably have far-reaching consequences on a populace that not only remains ignorant about their rights but is inclined to sacrifice their liberties for phantom promises of safety.
Moments after taking Tsarnaev into custody, the Boston Police Dept. tweeted ?CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won.? Yet with Tsarnaev and his brother having been charged, tried and convicted by the government, the media and the police?all without ever having stepped foot inside a courtroom?it remains to be seen whether justice has indeed won.
The lesson for the rest of us is this: once a free people allows the government to make inroads into their freedoms or uses those same freedoms as bargaining chips for security, it quickly becomes a slippery slope to outright tyranny. And it doesn?t really matter whether it?s a Democrat or a Republican at the helm, because the bureaucratic mindset on both sides of the aisle now seems to embody the same philosophy of authoritarian government. Increasingly, those on the left who once hailed Barack Obama as the antidote for restoring the numerous civil liberties that were lost or undermined as a result of Bush-era policies are finding themselves forced to acknowledge that threats to civil liberties are worse under Obama.
Clearly, the outlook for civil liberties under Obama grows bleaker by the day, from his embrace of indefinite detention for U.S. citizens and drone kill lists to warrantless surveillance of phone, email and internet communications, and prosecutions of government whistleblowers. Most recently, capitalizing on the nation?s heightened emotions, confusion and fear, government officials used the Boston Marathon tragedy as a means of extending the reach of the police state, starting with the House of Representatives? overwhelming passage of the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which opens the door to greater internet surveillance by the government.
These troubling developments are the outward manifestations of an inner, philosophical shift underway in how the government views not only the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but ?we the people,? as well. What this reflects is a move away from a government bound by the rule of law to one that seeks total control through the imposition of its own self-serving laws on the populace.
All the while, the American people remain largely oblivious to the looming threats to their freedoms, eager to be persuaded that the government can solve the problems that plague us?whether it be terrorism, an economic depression, an environmental disaster or even a flu epidemic. Yet having bought into the false notion that the government can ensure not only our safety but our happiness and will take care of us from cradle to grave?that is, from daycare centers to nursing homes, we have in actuality allowed ourselves to be bridled and turned into slaves at the bidding of a government that cares little for our freedoms or our happiness.
_
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He is the author of The Change Manifesto (Sourcebooks).
(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));
Latest Commentary
- Ron Paul: Shutdown After Boston Bombings More Frightening Than Attack Itself
- Is Pot too Potent to Legalize?
- What's Bad About a House-to-House Search?
- The Day the Music Died for Good
- Government Should Stop Its Own Violence First
- Why The DOJ's Decision To Not Read Dzhokhar Tsarnaev His Miranda Rights Is A Terrible Idea
- The Rodney Dangerfields of the Ideological Universe
- The Company That Owns Your Genes
Problem? Most didn't even know that anything was wrong with what and how they did these actions. The deliberate dumbing down of Amerika. If you write and impress in your articles the points with the actual facts as to why this is unlawful and must be resisted than they just might catch on and resist and a massive outcry might just be heard that insures these things don't happen again because they have a viable remedy because they know the actual disease and not just the symptoms.This that follows is from another post and letter and I do not have the time or patience to edit and tailor it for this piece as I know that the information it contains should be self explanatory in this context:
The individuals in question have 2 roles.Peace officer and policy enforcement officer.The policy enforcement officer is an agent and principle for the corporation (a soulless legal fiction)whose "legal"( not lawful) statutes only apply to the artificial corporate person (another soulless legal fiction) who is not you .Legal Fiction = JOHN DOE. You = John Doe.>look at all your "legal documents including SScard,DRivers Lic,Birth cert...
The principle and agent cannot claim personal injury as an agent nor for the state. The only time he can engage you is when there is a breach of the peace that he personally views and there must be a real living human soul claiming personal injury. The STATE corporation does not qualify as a living human soul, hence the reason the mafia murders witnesses. No witness ,no crime no charge no personal injury for that incident. They can later get them for murder if they can prove it.All forms of government are actually corporations that are for profit that must seek out revenue under misrepresentation and fraudulent color of law. They provide you services.under implied contract.This is why they ask you for the ID that has JOHN DOE on it, it's a contract for services " I do not consent to contract and I waive all the benefits."
There is remedy under their own system...
Under 18 USC 241, CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. ?If two or more persons conspire to injure, threaten, or intimidate any citizen in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or if two or more persons go in disguise on the highway or the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured ? they shall be fined not more that $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both: and if death results they shall be subject to imprisonment for any term of years or for life?.
The Legitimate Political Power of a corporate entity is absolutely dependent upon its possession of Commercial Bonds against Public Hazard, because no Bond means no responsibility, means no power of Official signature, means no real corporate political power, means no privilege to operate statutes as the corporate vehicle.These corporate entities and their principles and agents must exercise and act in equity.An official (officer of the court, policeman, etc.) must demonstrate that he/she is individually bonded in order to use a summary process.
An official who impairs, debauches, voids or abridges an obligation of contract or the effect of a commercial lien without proper cause, becomes a lien debtor and his property becomes forfeited as the pledge to secure the lien. Pound breach (breach of impoundment) and rescue is a felony.PUBLIC HAZARD BONDING OF CORPORATE AGENTS All officials are required by federal, state, and municipal law to provide the name, address and telephone number of their public hazard and malpractice bonding company and the policy number of the bond and, if required, a copy of the policy describing the bonding coverage of their specific job performance. Failure to provide this information constitutes corporate and limited liability insurance fraud (15 USC) and is prim-a-facie evidence and grounds to impose a lien upon the official personally to secure their public oath and service of office.If a person in office, such as a Judge or police officer, fails in their duty,acts in inequity or commits fraud, an affected Sovereign Freeman can claim and thus lawfully acquire any bonds or security funds that hold/held that person in office.
Find out the truth here in the top 2 posts http://governmentprops.blogspot.com/
The implied contracts are null and void due to the factors of misrepresentation, fraud, coercion,duress,ignorance...etc. Anything that you signed is considered a contract and this is why they insist in getting your signature. What catches their attention immediately is losing their money and supposed power and being revealed for the frauds they are.Can you imagine if the word got out amongst the masses about what is actually going on?Getting a lawyer will not save you now or in the future for that lawyer is also aware of the fraud and is incorporated for profit and damn well knows he is also committing fraud..Look at the video Freeman Vs Cop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtkdDMSXMmc and see this knowledge in action against an ignorant cop...but not as arrogant as the one you dealt with.These people are a danger in ignorance and it is unexcusable, for this time they merely arrested you but because of the camera did not abuse or kill you. That camera is a defense righted under the 2nd also. If you do not .remedy this properly these sociopaths(ones that took an oath under God) will progress and next time you and your son will not be so lucky unless you combat ,disarm and hold them responsible and accountable with the right knowledge in the right context.In this incidence below I did not know what I know now that I described up above hence the reason the sociopaths and psychopaths kept coming after me.
" I went and bought a weapon and got some extra clips.Hollow points 380. So much power in such a compact size. I went to see the DA in the Cleveland County Court House.Mr. Sitzman.
Mr. Sitzman was not happy to see me.What can I do for you Mr.Leon?
" Mr.Sitzman, I would like to tell you that I am here to inform you that I am in fear of my life and my families lives and that I am armed according to the benefits of the constitution and as such ,if any law enforcement agent or officer or associates with your office attempts to stop me again I will shoot first and ask questions later, as your people would and if you had any questions you were to call this number on this card." I handed him the card and his face got really red."
http://violencerevengeforgive.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-i-came-to-be-stabbed-17-times.html
They all feel something is wrong but they just can't place their fingers on it.They don't know that most everything they know is a distortion, fraud, that nothing is as it seems
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which in some cases has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for the purposes of news reporting, education, research, comment, and criticism, which constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (found at the U.S. Copyright Office) and other applicable intellectual property laws. It is our policy to remove material from public view that we believe in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any of our members or users.
About Us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy
View the original article here
We've talked a lot about how the Justice Department (DOJ), mainly via the FBI, has been pushing for years to change the laws in order to require tech companies to build wiretapping backdoors into any and every form of communication online. As we've explained over and over again, this is a really silly proposal, that won't make us any safer. Instead, it's likely to make us a lot less secure, because those backdoors will be abused, not just by law enforcement, but by those with malicious intent who will work hard to find the backdoors and make use of them. 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - NewsChannel 5 has uncovered a brand new "policing for profit" case -- a case that resulted in a New York man losing a $160,000 on a Tennessee interstate. 
Pretty selfish way to commit suicide... 
Forced lockdown of a city. Militarized police riding tanks in the streets. Door-to-door armed searches without warrant. Families thrown out of their homes at gunpoint to be searched without probable cause. Businesses forced to close. Transport shut down. 
Unless the search passes certain legal criteria, it is illegal. 
While police in Watertown, Massachusetts closed in on the boat in which 19-year-old terrorist suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had concealed himself, FBI investigators in Chicago were snapping handcuffs on 18-year-old Abdella Ahmed Tounisi as he attempted to board an airplane bound for Istanbul. He intended to travel to Syria to fight on behalf an Islamic rebel group that seeks to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad. 
High school teen Cameron D'Ambrosio was arrested on terror charges and faces up to 20 years in prison for a Facebook post in which he made threats against the White House and mentioned the Boston bombings. 