OT:FW: Watching democracy die (and be reborn?)

[Moen Creek]

Title: OT:FW: Watching democracy die (and be reborn?)




How times have changed.  It is fascinating to see a Russian newspaper
critiquing the rise of tyranny in the United States!  Remember the
Evil Empire?  Ah, to see ourselves as others see us, perhaps with
greater clarity.

The article below (and notes from some people on this list) question
how much of a democracy the U.S. actually is.  The answer to that is
and always has been related to our capacity and willingness to govern
ourselves.

How much willingness do we have to increase our capacity for
self-governance -- or to watch that capacity wash away in the storm?

-- Tom


PS:  The reference to "Global Eye" in the title below is a reference
to the logo of Poindexter's new office in the Pentagon, viewable at
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=11323&c=130

_ _ _ _ _

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/11/22/120.html

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002. Page XXIV
Global Eye - Rough Beast
By Chris Floyd

We've said it before, and we'll keep on saying it: A country whose
leader has the power to imprison any citizen, on his order alone, and
hold them indefinitely, in military custody, without access to the
courts, without a lawyer, without any charges, their fate determined
solely by the leader's arbitrary whim - that country is a tyranny,
not a democracy, not a republic, not a union of free citizens.

Now, it may be that it is still a tyranny in utero, a rough beast
slouching toward Bethlehem - or in this case, Washington - to be
born, and not yet the full-blown monster, fangs bared and back plated
with bristling armored scales. But the tyranny has been conceived,
it's taken root in the womb, gained definite form and is clawing,
tearing its way toward the light.

President George W. Bush openly claims that he now holds this power
of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment. His minions defend it with
earnest arguments. They have already begun acting on its dictatorial
tenets. If this claim is not rejected by the other two branches of
government - an unlikely event, with both branches now held by Bush
partisans - then the fundamental liberty of every American citizen
will have been stripped away finally and completely. Henceforth,
liberty is not the inalienable right of the citizen, but a privilege
granted - or not - by an autocratic government.

What we are witnessing is the mutation of a democratic republic into
a military autocracy: Bush bases his claim of arbitrary power on the
president's constitutional role as commander-in-chief of the U.S.
armed forces. Although there is nothing in the constitution that
warrants the extension of military command to cover arbitrary rule
over the entire citizenry, and certainly nothing that countenances
the abrogation of basic rights and liberties on the unchallengeable
say-so of an all-powerful leader, the "commander-in-chief" argument
nevertheless serves a useful purpose for the autocrat, creating the
illusion of a limited and temporary suspension of liberties - a
drastic but necessary "wartime" measure.

But Bush and his officials have already warned us that this "wartime
emergency" might never end. A direct quote from the
commander-in-chief: "There's no telling how many wars it will take to
secure freedom in the homeland." The other branches concur in this
militarization of American society. Citing a political landscape
"changed by war," the new head of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, Republican John Warner, says he wants to "break down the
barriers" - the constitutional barriers - that restrict the
military's involvement in civilian life. The chief justice, William
Rehnquist, whose Supreme Court stands as the last defense against the
dictatorship of the executive branch, has already signaled his public
approval of military rule, quoting the old Roman maxim: "In time of
war, the laws are silent."

So if the wars never cease raging, the laws will no longer speak. Or
rather, they will speak only to ratify the will of the authoritarian
regime. Just this week, a "special" appeals court - a secret panel
operating outside the ordinary judicial system - upheld the right of
the state to invade the privacy of any citizen through expanded
wiretap and surveillance powers, Reuters reports. These invasions no
longer need meet the already-lax standards previously required for
domestic surveillance, but can now proceed virtually at the whim of
the federal forces, even without any direct connection to suspected
terrorist or espionage activity.

The "special" court is a three-judge board made up of appointees from
the Reagan-Bush administration, chosen for this secret duty by that
obedient Roman, William Rehnquist. It overturned a lower-court ruling
that curbed surveillance powers after documenting 75 cases of their
abuse by federal agents in both the Clinton and Bush II
administrations. However, Attorney General John Ashcroft - whose
agents will carry out most of the secret investigations - said this
week that the government will not "overstep its legal bounds" with
the new, broader powers. And indeed, with a "silent" high court and a
supine legislature willing to lend an air of legitimacy to any action
of the ruling junta - hijacking a presidential election, imprisoning
citizens without charge, waging aggressive war - no doubt Ashcroft is
right. There are no longer any "legal bounds" to overstep.

Bush's dictatorial powers of arrest and imprisonment are only part of
an unprecedented expansion of militarized state power into every
aspect of American life, coupled with an unprecedented level of
secrecy surrounding government activity. These changes are meant to
be permanent - and they are meant to remain under the control of the
Bush Regime and like-minded successors. It is absurd to believe that
Bush, Cheney and the rest of the junta are constructing this vast
machinery of dominance only to risk turning it over to any political
adversary who genuinely opposed empire, plutocracy and rule by a
privileged elite.

It is equally absurd to believe that these new, unconstrained powers
will not be abused. The very fact of their assertion is itself an
abuse, a perversion of the freedoms that Bush has sworn - falsely -
to uphold. They are a far greater threat to the foundations of
American liberty than even the most horrendous attack by murderous
criminals. No foreign terrorist can strip the entire American system
of its basic freedoms - the inviability [sic] of the citizen, the
right to due process, the constitutional separation of powers, the
people's right to know what their government is doing in their name.

Only an American tyrant can do that. And he is doing it, day by day.

Secret Court OKs Broad Wiretap Powers Reuters, Nov. 18, 2002

Surveillance Expanded After Court Ruling Associated Press, Nov. 19, 2002

Ashcroft Gets Unprecedented Powers Boston Globe, Nov. 19, 2002

Ashcroft Demands Records of 17 Senators Probing Sept. 11th Attacks
Washington Post, Aug. 24, 2002

"Wars for the Homeland": Remarks by the President at Mike Fisher
Luncheon White House web site, Aug. 5, 2002

Warner Wants to Boost Domestic Military Role Newsday, Nov. 13, 2002

Big Brother's Big Win Salon.com, Nov. 20, 2002

Justice Argues Bush has Final Say in Hamdi Case Washington Times, Oct. 26,
2002

Citizen Padilla National Review, June 27, 2002

Historically, Laws Bend in Time of War, Rehnquist Says Los Angeles
Times, June 15, 2002

A Snooper's Dream New York Times, Nov. 18, 2002

Citizenship in Emergency: Can Democracy Protect Us Against Terrorism?
Boston Review, Oct/Nov 2002

Why Mr. Hamdi Matters Washington Post, Aug. 10, 2002

Do Hamdi and Padilla Need Company? Ashcroft's Plan for Internment
Camps Findlaw.com, Aug. 21, 2002

General Ashcroft's Detention Camps Village Voice, Sept. 10, 2002

Justice Department Defies Judge on Enemy Combatant Case Washington
Post, Aug. 6, 2002

Detaining Americans
Washington Post, June 12, 2002

*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.***

________________________________

Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * PO Box 493 * Eugene, OR 97440
http://www.co-intelligence.org *  http://www.democracyinnovations.org
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