The Meat of the Matter

Welcome to the State of Police - Population 300 Million

While many Americans were dedicated to supporting our troops, supporting our president, supporting the status quo, and trying to keep the conversation light ... a totalitarian regime has wormed its way in between our SUVs and our Big Macs. Each day that I look at what is happening to my beloved country, I find myself almost too stunned for words. The funny thing is, our vision of what a police state should be has been handed to us by Hollywood. And as prescient as Hollywood can be, I'm starting to realize they usually got it totally wrong. A police state does not look like what was depicted in "1984" or even "V for Vendetta." A police state would never succeed while ruling over huddled masses yearning to breathe free, like those movies suggest. No, a police state will most likely succeed in a country where the populace has been lulled into a state of complacency with vast wealth, unparallelled availability of resources, and an endless stream of amusements. (Note the word "amuse," when broken down, means to not think.) A police state will more likely succeed in a movie like "Gattaca" where everyone is perfect and the world is squeaky clean, or in a place like "United States, 2006." The Curmudgeon in Training presented this thought to me today: "We're not in danger of living in a police state, we ARE living in a police state." And the above article suggests compelling evidence. Our President does whatever he wants, with no regard to the law, the Constitution, or the welfare of US citizens. While even his erstwhile staunch allies in Congress are distancing themselves from him, their reasons are telling and effette. They are fleeing his side because he intends to make them powerless. In fact, he already has. They are very close to having no power against him. He calls his actions "lawful," and he defines "lawful" as anything he does. He can't break the law; he is the law. The President exercises almost total control over a major news network and skillfully manipulates other arms of the news. The President doesn't have to tell the truth; he defines the truth. And now the Federal Government is watching over us--listening to our phone calls. They assure us that, "We are not mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans." But when asked to prove this, they hide behind the veil of secrecy and fear, and play their trump card of the "War on Terror." It's hard to believe that an administration with a consistent history of silencing dissent won't abuse this power to further this goal in secret. I believe they will, and I believe they have. Welcome to a Police State, Americans. It snuck right up on us.