Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Interview With Bill Wood, Former Navy SEAL, Provides Interesting Insight Into The Workings Of The Powers That Be (Video)


This video is quite long - 2 ½ hours. Please take the time to watch in its entirety. Although some of the topics discussed by Bill Wood may seem far-fetched, keep in mind that when it comes to our government and the uber-egotistical leaders we have put into office, almost anything is within the realm of possibility.

An interview with an ex-Navy Seal  who during the years 1992-2000 was sent on top secret bombing missions in the Middle East, predominantly in Iraq. Years after the first Gulf War when we were supposedly not at war with Iraq yet he and Seal Team 9 were targeting Tomahawk Missiles on a monthly basis taking out targets that were increasingly "soft"... involving deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians. Find out how this highly trained young man and his team were coerced by the military into purposely destroying villages and creating future terrorists as part of a plan that would ultimately serve their dark purpose, the "war on terror" and 9-11.

And if that weren't enough, hear how he was trained in Area 51 as a specially gifted group of highly classified psi spies to see beyond the famous Looking Glass technology into the future involving 2012 and beyond. 


Monday, January 30, 2012

Sarah Palin: Ron Paul Is The “Only One” Serious About Reining In Spending

Maybe she CAN see Russia from her back porch!!


While still hesitant about his foreign policy, Sarah Palin recently professed in an interview that Ron Paul is the “only one” passionate and serious about reining in the size of government, spending, and debt. Townhall.com web-editor Daniel Doherty reports,

Appearing on Fox News this morning, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin surprised her acolytes by singing the praises of the most libertarian-leaning GOP presidential candidate … Ron Paul.

I still sense his desire to be more of an isolated-type country and not be as aware and active on the international scene when it comes to protecting our allies like Israel and doing all that we can.

That is my hesitancy there still with Ron Paul’s candidacy. However, on the domestic front, he is the only one who has been so adamantly passionate about doing something about the suffocating debt, about doing something about reining in government growth and actually slashing budgets – $1 trillion a year, he’s been specific about until we get our hands around this - I respect that.

I appreciate it. His austerity measures that he wants to see Congress adopt in order to rein in government and let the private sector actually grow and thrive and hire more people.
Click here to see full article

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Don't Let 'Em Take Your Gun - Grand Funk Railroad (Video)

These lyrics ring as true today as they did when GFR recorded them.
Go ahead..sing along. Maybe you'll get some of that good ol' 2nd Amendment rhythm in your soul...
God Bless America and God Bless Grand Funk!

Ohhh, people why don't you come
in here and let me talk to you
a while.
That's right, step right up and
listen to a concerned citizen speak
his piece.

I'll tell you a little something
that my daddy told to me.
My basic fundamentals if you want to be free.
'Cause son, there's something wrong internally.
So, if you want your freedom son.
Don't want your country to be overrun.
You got to keep America number one.

(CHORUS)
My daddy told me "Son, don't
let 'em take your gun.
That's what they tryin' to do.
Son, don't let 'em take your gun.
They're takin' your Bill of Rights away from you."
My daddy said "Son, don't
let 'em take your gun.
That's what they tryin' to do.
Son, don't let 'em take your gun.
Don't let 'em take your gun away from you."

Ohhh, this year is our anniversary.
Two hundred years, people we've been free.
Won't be nobody takin' over our land.
If everybody's brother's got a gun in his hand.
I'm tellin' you we learned to fight for justice.
We're willing to die for freedom.
Hand in hand.
You got to understand.
We are American men.

Said they want your gun.
Said they want your gun.
Send 'em on the run.
Send 'em on the run.
Hip-hurray for fun.
Hip-hurray for fun.
If they do we're done.
If they do we're done
.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Bruins Goalie Tim Thomas Declines White House Visit – Does Not Agree With Barry O’s Politics

Boston Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas, is our new sports hero! He had the cajones to let Obama know his fancy (and hopefully short-lived) residence is not reason enough to compromise his beliefs. If only the rest of the team would get on board...


Boston Bruins' star goaltender Tim Thomas skipped Monday's White House visit by the Stanley Cup champions due to political differences with President Barack Obama.

Thomas, a Flint, Mich., native and one of only two American players on the Bruins' Stanley Cup roster last season, was the only Boston player to decline the invitation.

"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People," Thomas said in a statement.

"This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government," he wrote.

"Because I believe this, today (Monday) I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL."

Thomas, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in last year's playoffs, is known to be a political conservative and has publicly stated he is a fan of right-wing commentator Glenn Beck, according to Boston sports radio website WEEI.com.

"Everybody has their own opinions and political beliefs and he chose not to join us," team president Cam Neely said, according to ESPNBoston.com. "We certainly would have liked to have him come and join us, but that's his choice."

In brief remarks, President Obama noted Thomas' stellar play on the title run, even though the netminder appears unlikely to return the compliment.

"This Stanley Cup was won by defense as much as by offense," Obama said. "Tim Thomas posted two shutouts in the Stanley Cup Finals and set an all-time record for saves in the postseason and he also earned the honor of being only the second American ever to be recognized as the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP."

Thomas also won the Vezina Trophy last season as the league's top goalie, helping the Bruins raise the cup for the first time in 39 years.


Article by FoxNews

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Puerto Ricans Likely To Oust Dozens Of Lawmakers. A Model For The US? YES!!

Any of this chicanery sound familiar, Patriots? Puerto Rican citizens are showing that the people are the judges of their leaders. This can and should be a reality here in the US. We CAN take back our country.
Wake Up America!

Jan. 11, 2012, members of the house attend a session at the capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A voter referendum will ask the people of the U.S. island territory if they want to amend their Constitution and fire dozens of members of their Senate and House of Representatives as a cost-savings measure, reducing the size of the legislature by almost 30 percent. The answer is almost certain to be a resounding yes.


Lawmakers in Puerto Rico have been accused of corruption, cocaine use and domestic violence, feeding scorn among a public already seething over a dismal economy and rampant crime.

Now, it may be payback time.

Voters on the U.S. island territory are being asked if they want to amend their Constitution and fire dozens of members of their Senate and House of Representatives, cutting costs and reducing the size of the legislature by almost 30 percent.

The answer is almost certain to be a resounding yes in the technically binding referendum.

"They should all be kicked out," said Miguel Garcia, a 58-year-old engineer, after the governor recently signed the bill authorizing the Aug. 19 referendum. "They don't do anything ... They think the people are blind."

It's a popular sentiment on the island, where local politics, especially the endless debate over Puerto Rico's relationship to the U.S., is an obsession.

In good times and bad, disdain for politicians is widespread. But Puerto Ricans have perhaps more reasons to complain given the number of scandals involving lawmakers and salaries that make them more highly paid than most of their U.S. counterparts. Their incomes put them in the upper echelon in an island where nearly half the people are poor and unemployment hovers around 16 percent in a recession-battered economy.

Add to the mix last year's record number of homicides, high costs for water and power and crumbling schools, and you get an electorate in a sour mood. Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have left in recent years in the largest exodus in decades.

"The government does not respect the people's wishes," said Pedro Villanueva, a 65-year-old retiree who voted in favor of a previous failed effort to eliminate one house of the legislature and make it unicameral. "The government does whatever it wants."

The legislation authorizing the referendum was passed by both houses, which are dominated by Fortuno's pro-statehood party. The idea of the referendum appealed to voters in an election year.

The measure would reduce the Senate from 27 seats to 17 and shrink the House from 51 seats to 39 starting in 2017. Fortuno says it would make the legislature more efficient.

In a November poll by Gaither International, one of the Caribbean's leading market research companies, 81 percent of respondents said they would go to the polls and vote in favor of the cuts. The survey of 1,150 people had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The majority of lawmakers from the opposition Popular Democratic Party oppose the proposed changes.

Sen. Cirilo Tirado said the cuts will make lawmakers less responsive to the people.

"It does not resolve anything," he said, arguing that the money saved would just be spent elsewhere.

"People have to understand that it's not just about eliminating legislators because 'I'm mad with the legislative assembly,'" he said. "They are going to lose representation before the executive system ... It is a danger to democracy."

Tirado said it would be easier for big business interests to sway a smaller legislature. But he agrees with those who say the salary and stipends that legislators receive are excessive.
Puerto Rican legislators receive $74,000 in base salary, behind only what legislators in California and New York make. The speaker of the Puerto Rico Senate makes nearly $111,000. Legislators also receive between $152 to $160 as a daily food stipend.

That pay irks Jaime Mendez, a 48-year-old truck driver who moved with his wife back to Puerto Rico from New York four years ago.

"They don't vote and they don't do anything," he said.

The Senate's budget is $38.2 million, while the House of Representatives spends $47 million. The government has not said how much would be saved if the referendum passes.

A series of scandals also has damaged lawmakers' reputation.
In January 2009, former Sen. Jorge de Castro Font pleaded guilty to corruption for trading political favors for cash and services.

In early 2011, former Rep. Luis Farinacci stepped down after he was accused of domestic violence against his wife. A jury found him not guilty in June, and despite pledges to run again, Farinacci disappeared from the political scene.

Last February, House Majority Whip Rolando Crespo resigned after he said he tested positive for cocaine in a surprise and mandatory drug test.

Just this month, Rep. Jose Luis Rivera Guerra was referred to the ethics committee after acknowledging to reporters that he stole water and power from the government for his private residences.

"Voters are very mad with the government. And with good reason," said Noel Colon Martinez, an attorney and political analyst who once ran for governor as member of the Puerto Rican Independence Party.

But he argued that the referendum "does not address the real demands that the people are making of the legislative assembly." He favors a vote on having a part-time legislature with lower salaries and benefits.

The vote for a unicameral legislature in 2004 passed with 84 percent, but legislators challenged the vote in court and ultimately won their battle in the island's Supreme Court. Some voters fear this vote too will be bypassed, while others says nothing will improve even with a smaller legislature.

"I don't believe in politicians very much," said Laura Guzman, a 58-year-old administrative assistant. "Obviously not many of them are qualified. Bigger, smaller, if the people don't change, things will stay the same."

Friday, January 20, 2012

What If....? The Good Judge Napolitano Asks The Questions (Video)

What If... All These Are True? Then What?
Wake Up America!

Massachusetts Charging Hundreds to Fight Tickets, Win or Lose

This is so wickedly wrong at the core that someone (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, ?) needs to expose and smash these cash generating schemes being perpetrated by our “representatives” at every level of government. 
We The People are NOT the ATMs of government! We The People should NOT be held accountable for the iniquities of those we put in office to represent us. 
Wake Up America!


Two hundred seventy-five bucks to fight a $15 ticket? Welcome to Massachusetts—and a properly lousy day for Vincent Gillespie (pictured). Back in July 2005, Gillespie received a parking ticket while he was walking to a parking-enforcement office to fight a ticket for the same infraction. After getting the duplicate citation thrown out, he wanted to argue the original ticket in a court, with the cop who wrote it present. The state told him to write a check for $275 in court fees. Gillespie wrote a check to a lawyer instead, and they filed suit against the state of  Massachusetts.

The practice of charging citizens to fight traffic and parking tickets has become more widespread in the U.S. during the financial hardships of the past several years. But Massachusetts differs from most other states in that it won’t refund the fees even if the ticket is dismissed. Here’s how it works: In most Massachusetts municipalities, a challenge is first heard by a hearing officer, whose instruction is to presume that the information written on the ticket is accurate. If citizens want a real judge or the officer who wrote the ticket to be required to show up, or actual rules of evidence to apply, they have to go to district court—the same venue that’s used for serious, high-cost civil legal matters. And depending on the municipality, going to district court can cost as much as $275 just to get in the door to argue your case.

Gillespie’s was one of two cases the commonwealth’s Supreme Judicial Court heard this year about the legality of charging fees to fight tickets. He and Ralph Sullivan, who filed the other, separate lawsuit, argued that the fees violate laws that prohibit the government from charging people to defend themselves in court. The state of  Massachusetts countered by saying that the fees are a justifiable necessity: Thousands of people appeal parking and traffic tickets, and for the state to deal with rising administrative costs, it has to charge. The state also says that the costs will deter frivolous challenges to tickets, which bog down the courts.  And because parking and traffic tickets aren’t considered criminal issues, Massachusetts' policy evades the traditional prohibition on charging people to defend themselves in court. In both instances, the court rejected the lawsuits, siding with the state in saying that the policies are within the bounds of the law.

For many, what is most worrying about Massachusetts’s current system is that the high fees to challenge a ticket don’t merely seem unjust in a principled sense, it’s that the guarantee of losing money no matter the outcome deters innocent folk from legitimately fighting tickets that were incorrectly issued. Massachusetts drivers don’t have a lot of recourse to these two decisions. One option would be to lobby  for the state legislature to change the laws. The other is to take the state to federal court, arguing that this practice is unconstitutional. While no action has been taken yet, we’ve heard that just such a lawsuit could be brewing.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Chuck Woolery On Democracy (Video)

Good Ol' Chuck hits the nail on the head with this video. 
This nation was NOT founded under Democratic principles where the majority rules. The United States was intended as a REPUBLIC whereby our elected officials "serve" the public (that's you and me folks) who voted them into office by representing OUR interests...not their own.
Wake Up America!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Truth About ObamaCare (Video)

In case you haven't educated yourself about Government Health Care Bill H.R. 3200, it might be worth your while to watch this video. ObamaCare is Socialism at its worst.
Wake Up America!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Allen West on the Marines Incident: 'Shut Your Mouth, War Is Hell'

Representative Allen West tells it like it is. If you don't like what he says, that is your opinion. If you have never been in combat and are piping off about this incident, Zip It, then drop down and give us 20!
Wake Up America!!

 
 Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a former Army lieutenant colonel, sends THE WEEKLY STANDARD an email commenting on the Marines' video, and has given us permission to publish it.

“I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.

“All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?

“The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

“As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.”

All you whiners are dismissed.

Semper Fi

Friday, January 13, 2012

Banks Got Free Money From Fed - No Bailout For Americans, Only Bankers (Video)

Corrupt Federal Reserve is loyal only to their masters..most of whom are not even from this country. Bankers own the US and it is time to face the truth.
Wake Up America!

Full-Blown Civil War Erupts On Wall Street – Financial Elite Start Turning On Each Other

Finally, after trillions in fraudulent activity, trillions in bailouts, trillions in printed money, billions in political bribing and billions in bonuses, the criminal cartel members on Wall Street are beginning to get what they deserve. As the Eurozone is coming apart at the seams and as the US economy grinds to a halt, the financial elite are starting to turn on each other. The lawsuits are piling up fast. Here’s an extensive roundup:

Time to put your Big Bank shorts on! Get ready for a run… The chickens are coming home to roost… The Global Banking Cartel’s crimes are being exposed left & right…
Prepare for Shock & Awe…

Well, well… here’s your Shock & Awe:

First up, this shockingly huge $196 billion lawsuit just filed against 17 major banks on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bank of America is severely exposed in this lawsuit. As the parent company of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch they are on the hook for $57.4 billion. JP Morgan is next in the line of fire with $33 billion. And many death spiraling European banks are facing billions in losses as well. 

FHA Files a $196 Billion Lawsuit Against 17 Banks 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), today filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions, certain of their officers and various unaffiliated lead underwriters. The suits allege violations of federal securities laws and common law in the sale of residential private-label mortgage-backed securities (PLS) to the Enterprises.

Complaints have been filed against the following lead defendants, in alphabetical order:

1. Ally Financial Inc. f/k/a GMAC, LLC – $6 billion
2. Bank of America Corporation – $6 billion
3. Barclays Bank PLC – $4.9 billion
4. Citigroup, Inc. – $3.5 billion
5. Countrywide Financial Corporation -$26.6 billion
6. Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), Inc. – $14.1 billion
7. Deutsche Bank AG – $14.2 billion
8. First Horizon National Corporation – $883 million
9. General Electric Company – $549 million
10. Goldman Sachs & Co. – $11.1 billion
11. HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. – $6.2 billion
12. JPMorgan Chase & Co. – $33 billion
13. Merrill Lynch & Co. / First Franklin Financial Corp. – $24.8 billion
14. Morgan Stanley – $10.6 billion
15. Nomura Holding America Inc. – $2 billion
16. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC – $30.4 billion
17. Soci̩t̩ G̩n̩rale Р$1.3 billion

These complaints were filed in federal or state court in New York or the federal court in Connecticut. The complaints seek damages and civil penalties under the Securities Act of 1933, similar in content to the complaint FHFA filed against UBS Americas, Inc. on July 27, 2011. In addition, each complaint seeks compensatory damages for negligent misrepresentation. Certain complaints also allege state securities law violations or common law fraud. [read full FHFA release]

You can read the suits filed against each individual bank here. For some more information read Bloomberg: BofA, JPMorgan Among 17 Banks Sued by U.S. for $196 Billion. Noticeably absent from the list of companies being sued is Wells Fargo.

And the suits just keep coming…


Thursday, January 12, 2012

DEBT LIMIT - A GUIDE TO AMERICAN FEDERAL DEBT MADE EASY (VIDEO)

This video parody of how Congress is handling the debt crisis is as funny as it is embarrassing. Vote out the bums who are running this country in 2012.
Wake Up America!

Barack...You've Been Punked!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

What Barack Obama's America Looks Like

 
Thomas Sowell: A Shining Light In A Sea Of Darkness

Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. A National Humanities Medal winner, he advocates laissez-faire economics and writes from a libertarian perspective. He is currently a Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. 

Sowell was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Harlem, New York. He dropped out of high school, and served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. He had received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1958 and a master's degree from Columbia University in 1959. 

In 1968, he earned his doctorate degree in economics from the University of Chicago. Dr. Sowell has served on the faculties of several universities, including Cornell and University of California, Los Angeles, and worked for "think tanks" such as the Urban Institute. Since 1980 he has worked at the Hoover Institution. He is the author of more than 30 books.  

By Dr. Sowell: 

The current Occupy Wall Street movement is the best illustration to date of what President Barack Obama's America looks like. It is an America where the lawless, unaccomplished, ignorant and incompetent rule. It is an America where those who have sacrificed nothing pillage and destroy the lives of those who have sacrificed greatly. It is an America where history is rewritten to honor dictators, murderers and thieves. It is an America where violence, racism, hatred, class warfare and murder are all promoted as acceptable means of overturning the American civil society.  

It is an America where humans have been degraded to the level of animals:  defecating in public, having sex in public, devoid of basic hygiene. It is an America where the basic tenets of a civil society, including faith, family, a free press and individual rights, have been rejected. It is an America where our founding documents have been shredded and, with them, every person's guaranteed liberties.  

It is an America where, ultimately, great suffering will come to the American people, but the rulers like Obama, Michelle Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, liberal college professors, union bosses and other loyal liberal/Communist Party members will live in opulent splendor.  

It is the America that Obama and the Democratic Party have created with the willing assistance of the American media, Hollywood, unions, universities, the Communist Party of America, the Black Panthers and numerous anti-American foreign entities.  

Barack Obama has brought more destruction upon this country in four years than any other event in the history of our nation, but it is just the beginning of what he and his comrades are capable of. 

The Occupy Wall Street movement is just another step in their plan for the annihilation of America.  

"Socialism, in general, has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."   

Thomas Sowell

Thursday, January 5, 2012

2011: A Civil Liberties Year in Review

It’s been a year of populist uprisings, economic downturns, political assassinations, and one scandal after another. Gold prices soared, while the dollar plummeted. The Arab Spring triggered worldwide protests, including the Occupy Wall Street protests here in America. Nature unleashed her forces with a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, flooding in Thailand and Pakistan, a severe drought in East Africa, and a famine in Somalia. With an unemployment rate hovering around 9.5%, more than 4 million Americans passed the one-year mark for being out of a job. After a death toll that included more than 4,500 American troops and at least 60,000 Iraqis, the U.S. military officially ended its war in Iraq. At the conclusion of their respective media circus trials, Casey Anthony went free while Conrad Murray went to jail. And Will and Kate tied the knot, while Demi and Ashton broke ties. All in all, it’s been a mixed bag of a year, but on the civil liberties front, things were particularly grim.

Welcome to the new total security state. The U.S. government now has at its disposal a technological arsenal so sophisticated and invasive as to render any constitutional protections null and void. And these technologies are being used by the government to invade the privacy of the American people. Several years ago, government officials acknowledged that the nefarious intelligence gathering entity known as the National Security Agency (NSA) had exceeded its legal authority by eavesdropping on Americans' private email messages and phone calls. However, these reports barely scratch the surface of what we are coming to recognize as a "security/industrial complex" – a marriage of government, military and corporate interests aimed at keeping Americans under constant surveillance. The increasingly complex security needs of our massive federal government, especially in the areas of defense, surveillance and data management, have been met within the corporate sector, which has shown itself to be a powerful ally that both depends on and feeds the growth of governmental bureaucracy.

GPS tracking and secret spying on Americans. Technology, having outstripped our ability as humans to control it, has become our Frankenstein's monster. Delighted with technology's conveniences, its ability to make our lives easier by performing an endless array of tasks faster and more efficiently, we have given it free rein in our lives, with little thought to the legal or moral ramifications of allowing surveillance technology, especially, to uncover nearly every intimate detail of our lives. Consider how enthusiastically we welcomed Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, which use orbiting satellites to produce accurate and continuous records of their position and of any person or object carrying the devices, into our lives. We’ve installed this satellite-based technology in everything from our phones to our cars to our pets. Yet by ensuring that we never get lost, never lose our loved ones and never lose our wireless signals, we have also made it possible for the government to never lose sight of us, as well. Indeed, as a case before the U.S. Supreme Court makes clear, the government is taking full advantage of this technology to keep tabs on American citizens, and in the process, is not only violating the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures but is putting an end, once and for all, to any expectation of privacy in public places. Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Jason Chaffetz have introduced a bill that would require police to obtain a warrant and prove probable cause before tracking someone via GPS. Senators Franken and Blumenthal have also sponsored legislation to “require companies to get a user’s consent before sharing cell phone location information.”

Internet surveillance. In late July 2011, the House Judiciary Committee passed the cleverly titled “Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011,” which laid the groundwork for all internet traffic to be easily monitored by government officials. Most recently, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), making its way through the House of Representatives, and its sister legislation in the Senate, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), have shown the government’s intent to control all internet traffic. The bills, which are supposedly intended to combat copyright violations on the internet, are written so broadly so as to not only eliminate internet piracy but replace the innovative and democratic aspects of the internet with a tangled bureaucratic mess regulated by the government and corporations.

Intrusive pat-downs, virtual strip searches and screening stations. Under the direction of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), American travelers have been subjected to all manner of searches ranging from whole-body scanners and enhanced patdowns at airports to bag searches in train stations. Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) task forces, comprised of federal air marshals, surface transportation security inspectors, transportation security officers, behavior detection officers and explosive detection canine teams laid the groundwork for the government’s effort to secure so-called “soft” targets such as malls, stadiums, bridges, etc. Some security experts predict that checkpoints and screening stations will eventually be established at all soft targets, such as department stores, restaurants, and schools. Given the virtually limitless number of potential soft targets vulnerable to terrorist attack, subjection to intrusive pat-downs and full-body imaging will become an integral component of everyday life in the United States.

More powers for the FBI. As detailed in the FBI’s operations manual, rules were relaxed in order to permit the agency’s 14,000 agents to search law enforcement and private databases, go through household trash, and deploy surveillance teams, with even fewer checks against abuse. FBI agents were also given the go-ahead to investigate individuals using highly intrusive monitoring techniques, including infiltrating suspect organizations with confidential informants and photographing and tailing suspect individuals, without having any factual basis for suspecting them of wrongdoing. These new powers extend the agency’s reach into the lives of average Americans and effectively transform the citizenry into a nation of suspects, reversing the burden of proof so that we are now all guilty until proven innocent. Thus, no longer do agents need evidence of possible criminal or terrorist activity in order to launch an investigation. Now, they can “proactively” look into people and groups, searching databases without making a record about it, conducting lie detector tests and searching people’s trash.

Patriot Act redux. Congress pushed through a four-year extension of three controversial provisions in the USA Patriot Act that authorize the government to use aggressive surveillance tactics in the so-called war against terror. Since being enacted in 2001, the Patriot Act has driven a stake through the heart of the Bill of Rights, violating at least six of the ten original amendments – the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments – and possibly the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well. The Patriot Act has also redefined terrorism so broadly that many non-terrorist political activities such as protest marches, demonstrations and civil disobedience are considered potential terrorist acts, thereby rendering anyone desiring to engage in protected First Amendment expressive activities as suspects of the surveillance state.

Drones over America. Attached as an amendment to the "Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Act" (S.223), the legislation allowing drones – pilotless, remote-controlled aircraft that have been used extensively in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan – to fly in general American airspace cleared Congress, thanks to support from military contractors and a lack of opposition from those who should know better, including an American populace preoccupied with rising gas prices, a dismal economy and endless wars abroad. However, police agencies across the nation are already beginning to use spy drones, and some officials are considering outfitting them with “nonlethal” weapons. Just recently, police in North Dakota working with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested a family of farmers using information acquired by a spy drone. The FBI and DEA also use spy drones in their domestic police work.

Increased arrests for recording encounters with police. Thanks to ubiquitous cell phone technology, more Americans are recording police encounters. Consequently, police have begun arresting those who attempt to record them, citing wiretap laws as justification for the arrests. While many of those wrongly arrested for recording police activity were acquitted, the courts have not been consistent in affirming the First Amendment right of citizens to record police activity.

Terrorism Liaison Officers. In another attempt to control and intimidate the population, the government has introduced Terrorism Liaison Officers (TLOs) into our midst. TLOs are firefighters, police officers, and even corporate employees who have received training to spy on and report back to government entities on the day-to-day activities of their fellow citizens. These individuals are authorized to report “suspicious activity” which can include such innocuous activities as taking pictures with no apparent aesthetic value, making measurements and drawings, taking notes, conversing in code, espousing radical beliefs, and buying items in bulk. With the Director of National Intelligence now pushing for a nationwide program, you may soon see these government-corporate agents in a town near you.

Fusion centers. TLOs report back to so-called “fusion centers” – data collecting agencies spread throughout the country, aided by the National Security Agency – which constantly monitor our communications, everything from our internet activity and web searches to text messages, phone calls and emails. This data is then fed to government agencies, which are now interconnected – the CIA to the FBI, the FBI to local police – a relationship which will make a transition to martial law that much easier. As of 2009, the government admitted to having at least 72 fusion centers. A map released by the ACLU indicates that every state except Idaho has a fusion center in operation or formation.

Merger of the government and the police, and the establishment of a standing army. At all levels (federal, local and state), through the use of fusion centers, information sharing with the national intelligence agencies, and monetary grants for weapons and training, the government and the police have joined forces. In the process, the police have become a “standing” or permanent army, one composed of full-time professional soldiers who do not disband. In appearance, weapons and attitude, local law enforcement agencies are increasingly being transformed into civilian branches of the military. Indeed, the average citizen is helpless in the face of police equipped with an array of weapons, including tasers, etc. The increasing militarization of the police, the use of sophisticated weaponry against Americans, and the government’s increasing tendency to employ military personnel domestically have us teetering on the edge of a police state.

Court rulings affirming the right of police to invade our homes without warrants. In Barnes v. State, the Indiana Supreme Court broadly ruled that citizens don’t have the right to resist police officers who enter their homes illegally, which is the law in most states. Yet consider how many individuals have been killed simply for instinctively reaching for any kind of weapon, loaded or not, during the initial trauma of a SWAT team raid. In Kentucky v. King, the U.S. Supreme Court gave police carte blanche authority to break into homes or apartments without a warrant. Specifically, the court ruled that if a SWAT team arrives at the wrong address but for whatever reason suspects the citizen inside the home may possess drugs, these armed warriors can break down the door and invade your home – all without possessing a warrant.

Bringing the war home. America became the new battleground in the war on terror. A perfect example of this is the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which was passed by the Senate with a vote of 93–7. Contained within this massive defense bill are several provisions which, taken collectively, re-orient our legal landscape in such a way as to ensure that martial law, rather than the rule of law – our U.S. Constitution, becomes the map by which we navigate life in the United States. In short, this defense bill not only decimates the due process of law and habeas corpus for anyone perceived to be an enemy of the United States, but it radically expands the definition of who may be considered the legitimate target of military action.

What does 2012 hold for us? Only time will tell. But as Jane Addams, the first U.S. woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize advised, “America’s future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.” If we want to avert certain disaster in the form of authoritarianism, then we’d do well to start teaching the principles of freedom to our young people right away and hope the lesson sticks.