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Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001. Page VIII
Global Eye--Weather Report
<http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2001/11/10/107.html>
By Chris Floyd
It won't come with jackboots and book burnings, mass rallies and fevered
harangues. It won't come with "black helicopters" or tanks on the street.
It won't come like a storm, but like a break in the weather, that sudden
change of season you might feel when the wind shifts on an October evening:
Everything is the same, but everything has changed. Something has gone,
departed from the world, and a new reality has taken its place.
As in Rome, all the old forms will still be there: legislatures, elections,
campaigns plenty of bread and circuses for the folks. But the "consent of
the governed" will no longer apply; actual control of the state will have
passed to a small group of nobles who rule largely for the benefit of their
wealthy peers and corporate patrons.
To be sure, there will be factional conflicts among this elite, and a
degree of free debate will be permitted; but no one outside the privileged
circle will be allowed to govern or influence state policy. Dissidents will
be marginalized, usually by "the people" themselves. Deprived of historical
knowledge by an impoverished educational system designed to produce
complacent consumers, not thoughtful citizens, and left ignorant of current
events by a media devoted solely to profit, many will internalize the
force-fed values of the ruling elite, and act accordingly. There will be
little need for overt methods of control.
The rulers will often act in secret; for reasons of "national security,"
the people will not be permitted to know what goes on in their name.
Actions once unthinkable will be accepted as routine: government by
executive fiat, the murder of "enemies" selected by the leader, undeclared
war, torture, mass detentions without charge, the looting of the national
treasury, the creation of huge new "security structures" targeted at the
populace. In time, this will seem "normal," as the chill of autumn feels
normal when summer is gone.
It will all seem normal. President George W. Bush signed an executive order
last week overturning a law requiring the release of presidential papers 12
years after the end of an administration, The Associated Press reports.
Bush officials say the president has "reinterpreted" the law, ordinarily
the job of the Supreme Court under the old republic, to mean that no papers
can be released unless both the current president and the former president
in question agree to it.
Historians, journalists or ordinary citizens seeking information about the
actions of past administrations will have to file suit to show a
"demonstrated, specific" need for access to the blocked material. The mere
assertion of a "right to know" about governmental affairs will not be
sufficient. Such a right no longer exists. A Bush spokesman acknowledged
that anyone requesting to see such documents would be tied up in expensive
court battles for years. But the use of executive fiat to abrogate the
function of the Supreme Court and overturn a law passed by the people's
representatives was necessary to protect "national security," the spokesman
said. Of course, a sitting president already has the authority to withhold
any past documents that might endanger national security. But Bush's new
edict will allow the quashing of presidential papers that might be
politically embarrassing or reveal criminal behavior by past administrations.
Seem normal. Former special prosecutor Kenneth Starr predicts that the
curtailment of civil liberties, including the use of torture, will be
approved by "at least five Supreme Court justices," The Washington Post
reports. (No points for guessing which five.) The Quiescent Quintet will
gladly give "heightened deference to the judgments of the political
branches with respect to matters of national security," says
Starr. Indeed, the Bush administration is now openly considering the use
of torture to compel testimony from suspected terrorists, or anyone
designated as a suspected terrorist, Slate.com reports. True, a few
girlie-men are still fretting about "constitutional rights," but the clever
dicks in the Oval Office have that one sussed: Recalcitrant prisoners can
always be exported to friendly regimes, like Egypt or Kenya, where they
don't bother with such prissy concerns. Information "extracted" there can
then be used in U.S. trials.
Wouldn't evidence acquired by such heinous and unconstitutional methods be
thrown out by the courts? Ordinarily, yes, under the old republic. But in
America's new weather, the judiciary will no doubt "give heightened
deference to the judgments of the political branches," etc. And if all else
fails, a handy executive order can always "reinterpret" the constitution to
accommodate the needs of "national security." Normal. Armed with the
sweeping new powers of the "U.S.A. Patriot Act" passed late last month, the
Bush administration is acting to "shift the primary mission of the FBI from
solving crimes to gathering domestic intelligence," The Washington Post
reports. In other words, the feds will move from protecting the people to
spying on them. The CIA has also been given authority to take part in
domestic surveillance and investigation for the first time. These domestic
"black ops" will be overseen by a secret court appointed by the chief
justice, William "Top Quint" Rehnquist. Like the chill of autumn. This
week President Bush demanded that Congress pass his "economic stimulus"
bill by the end of the month, The New York Times reports. The bill would
give $25 billion in federal money directly to the nation's wealthiest
corporations, including IBM, GM and GE, refunding taxes they paid over the
last 15 years. In all, the bill will give $112 billion in tax breaks to the
wealthiest individuals and corporations over the next two years.
It won't come like a storm. It will all seem normal. Like a break in the
weather, a shift in the wind.
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