A Police State?, by Ron Beatty

L. Neil Smith's
THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE
Number 319, May 15, 2005
"The End of America"

A Police State?
by Ron Beatty
bearfreeliberty@yahoo.com

Exclusive to TLE

I have a feeling that I'm going to get a lot of negative reaction on this article, since so much of it is conjecture, based on a scant few facts available to the general public.

One of the hallmarks of a police state is a restriction on travel. You know you live in a police state when you can't travel without some form of government restriction. Many of us have made that "our line in the sand", the event that will trigger us to active resistance of governmental policies.

It is my opinion that the backers of those in power in Washington right now, those who are actually pulling the strings, so to speak, know this, and are attempting to camouflage their attempts to actually institute travel restrictions. Can I prove it? Nope. What I can do is point to some disturbing events, trends and facts, and leave you to see if it leads you to the same conclusion I've reached.

2000—George Bush is elected in a disputed election which polarizes the country to an extent not seen since the War of Northern Aggression.

2001—Economy not doing as well as projected, strong dis-satisfaction on several levels with political leadership

9/11/2001—Attack on WTC and Pentagon, 3000 Americans killed. Within three weeks, the so called "Patriot Act" is passed, incorporating many provisions and police powers that had been soundly defeated as individual measures in previous years. (Most congresscrooks did not read the act, since it was supplied to them in its entirety less than 48 hours before it came up for a vote)

October 2001—Invasion of Afghanistan, ostensibly for the purpose of killing or capturing Osama bin Laden. As a consequence of this, it was necessary to overthrow the Taliban government, a radical, extremist government, which refused to work with US corporations. A more compliant government was installed, which has rubberstamped US actions in the region ever since. (Anyone remember the proposed pipeline?)

At the same time, a concerted effort is made to demonize Saddam Hussein, a convenient scapegoat who has already been the focus of of negative attention since the first Persian Gulf war. (The only reason I don't include that event in this timeline is that it occured before the current occupant of the Oval Office came into power, and it's inclusion would smack even more of some kind of long term conspiracy theory.) Conclusive proof recently surfaced of deliberate lying to the public in order to justify actions already decided upon.

My personal opinion on this is that there were two major purposes, neither of which is the reason ostensibly given for military action: 1. To justify a defacto seizure of Iraqi oil, under the guise of "war reparations", and; 2. To attempt to use an outside enemy to unify the country and justify measures taken to secure a strong power base for those in power. The first of these has completely failed, not only reducing oil reserves, in terms of actual availability, since so much is necessary to operate military equipment, but also requiring a larger national reserve, in case of further actions, but in not making available Iraqi reserves, due to terrorist actions and other factors. In addition, other oil producing countries in the region are more reluctant to increase production, which has had the effect of increasing prices at the pump in the US by 25-50% or more, in some areas. The second aim, that of unifying the country, is partially successful, at least at first, but also causes increased factionalism, protest, and resentment not seen since the Vietnam War.

Late 2001, early 2002—Increased 'security measures' at US airports lead to increased costs for airline operators, and a slight downturn in US potential air travelers. This is due to a combination of factors, not least of which is the so-called 'no-fly' list, which, totally unconstitutionally, prohibits some Americans from flying, with no justification other than unsubstantiated allegations or suspicions.

2002 - present—Foreign tourism is down, in real terms, due to the perception of America as a paranoid police state. Most major airlines undergoe severe financial problems, with several applying for bankruptcy protection. Many civil rights advocates refuse to travel on airlines, not willing to undergo the possible humiliation of personal searches, security goon over-reaction horror stories abound.

"No-fly list" stories continue, with one two-year old on the list! Constant stories in the news about children being arrested in school, one recently because he had some nails in his pocket. Other stories about children, pregnant women, and even one old lady, over 80 years old, being "tasered" by over-zealous cops.

May 2005— REAL ID act passes, requiring a defacto national ID card, an item which has been soundly defeated every time it has come up for passage. Proposals to add computers and GPS systems to all cars manufactured since 1996, in order to facilitate a 'mileage tax'. This would mean that there would be an exact record of everyplace you go, every time you cross state lines, all obtainable on demand by federal or state officials. To me, this looks like they are trying to justify 'travel documents', the same as the Soviet Union did!

Looking at the above, we don't have to fear a police state. We already live in one!

I can't help but think back to Tappan on Survival, written over 20 years ago. Though Mr. Tappan was wrong on details, the general outline of events is exactly what he predicted would happen as a result of government attempting to forestall an economic collapse! (http://www.thedisease.net/arcana/survival/Tappan.htm for an online edition).

Sometimes I feel like I'm screaming into the wind, like Cassandra of Troy, but then I remember Sam Adams and the Committees of Correspdondence, and I find a faint glimmer of hope

Ladies and gentlemen, please, do some research, find out what is going on in our country. It might already be too late to save what was once the greatest hope for freedom in the world. That is up to each and everyone of us. Decide what you are going to do to restore freedom, if anything.