Friday, September 26, 2008

More About Fascism

I realize it's old news at this point, but after viewing this video, I thought it deserves another look. (thanks to Patrick) Amy Goodman talks about her arrest at the 2008 Republican National Convention. It's a frightening and ominous picture she draws.

The L.A. Times reports that the charges have been dropped.

Goodman was charged with obstruction of a legal process and interference with a peace officer after, she said, she inquired about the status of two of her colleagues, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, following their arrest. The pair, like most journalists arrested, were [sic] held on rioting charges.

St. Paul City Attorney John Choi, in a release issued last Friday, asserted that the arrests of the journalists were not improper. But the decision to not press ahead with prosecutions "reflects the values we have in St. Paul to protect and promote our 1st Amendment rights to freedom of the press," he said.


I think the City Attorney must have had one of those Bill O'Reilly smirks on his face when he said that. This episode makes me seriously concerned for the future of the US of A. Fortunately, there's a good chance of changing the direction we've been heading in for far too long.

What do you think about the direction of America? Can we become the land of the free and the home of the brave once again?

20 comments:

  1. You could have easily done the same story on any one of the wrongheaded arrests at the DNC in Denver.

    Fascism knows no party as both parties are party to using authoritarian tactics to get what they want and prevent what they don't.

    This might be a good time to tangentially point out that the drug war grew much more under CLINTON than it did under either BUSH.

    Go chew on this and some of the follow-on stories before you give in to "Republican hate" propaganda.

    Does your "Fortunately, there's a good chance of changing the direction we've been heading in for far too long." reference Obama the miracle worker and his nebulous plans for "change"?

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  2. Mike,

    Tom is right, here is a video about the ABC reporter in Denver. The hotel later said they don't own the sidewalk, didn't complain to the police; it was simply the police taking action on their own.

    1st amendment rights going out the window. How much longer will we be able to say anything controversial with Politcal Correct language being forced on everyone, campus "hate speech" codes.

    4th amendment rights- forget it. Gone for the most part. David Codrea's War on Gun website talks about the militarization of the police; read how many times "SWAT" is used to serve basic warrants.
    Things as seemingly innocuous as Automatic License Plate Recognition software to catch "stolen cars" but can be used to track every car's movement, without a warrant.

    And the list goes on, including 2nd amendment issues.

    Here is a good example on the 2nd amendment. In Pennsylvania, Open Carry of firearms is legal. Keep that in mind, it is perfectly legal to openly carry a firearm.

    LEBANON, Pa. — A woman’s concealed-weapons permit was revoked after other parents complained about seeing her carrying a loaded handgun at her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer game.

    Meleanie Hain wears her weapon, a loaded Glock 26, in a holster to her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer game Tuesday in Lebanon, Pa.

    AP PHOTO

    Times Leader Photo Store

    Meleanie Hain, of Lebanon, said she takes her holstered Glock 26 everywhere for personal security and is fighting the revocation by the Lebanon County sheriff.

    “I’m just a soccer mom who has always openly carried (a firearm), and I’ve never had a problem before,” Hain said in Wednesday’s editions of the Lebanon Daily News. “I don’t understand why this is happening to me.”

    She declined a request by The Associated Press for comment through her attorney, Robert Magee, of Allentown.

    Youth soccer coach Charlie Jones said he approached Hain at the Sept. 11 game and asked her to move to the other side of the field, away from the sideline where the children were standing, after hearing that some parents were upset at seeing her gun.

    “More than one parent was upset,” he told the newspaper.

    Hain later received a notice that her permit was being revoked by Sheriff Michael DeLeo.

    DeLeo cited a section of state law that bars the issuance of concealed-weapons permits to people who are deemed a danger to public safety based on their character and reputation. Hain showed poor judgment by wearing her gun at the game, he said.


    The woman didn't wave her firearm around, didn't point it at anyone, didn't threaten anyone, didn't break a single law and because some people were upset she lost her concealed carry permit.

    I get upset at Barack Obama, heck just about any politician, can we revoke their right to free speech?


    Yes, it's been heading in the wrong direction for a while and I don't see either of the major candidates making much of a change.

    McCain - NATIONAL socialism
    Obama - national SOCIALISM

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  3. Palin is a life Member NRA.
    Obama is a life member of gun control USA as is Biden.

    I prefer to have my arsenal if I'm gonna have to deal with a police state. =]

    Some of my finer pieces were crafted at the US Army Radford and Aberdeen Proving Grounds . Tree of liberty, feeds on blood, etc...

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  4. Straight from the Whores' mouths regarding Obama/Biden:

    Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

    A vote for Obama is a vote for my probable death by LEOs because I'm not registering or turning in a motherfucking thing.

    Ain't no words about registering or confiscation in the Second Amendment.

    You can take that to the bank and my ass WILL cash the check my mouth just wrote if it becomes necessary. I'm on their radar anyway so I am not shy about saying so with my name attached to it in a public forum.

    Exercising my FULL BILL OF RIGHTS SHOULDN'T BE MADE INTO A FELONY.

    And, ONCE AGAIN, there is no such thing as an "assault weapon" in the lexicon of firearms terms other than the one bandied about by gun controllers who think some things look scary. "Assault weapon" apparently = "scary looking to idiots".

    I own this and this and with five to ten minutes with a screwdriver one becomes the other...22LR for those who don't know guns...rabbit/squirrel/paper punchers.

    More people than you imagine think like I do. When the Davidians decided to be reasonable, especially since the BATF could have picked up Koresh out jogging or hanging out playing guitar at the local (instead of starting a gun battle that got their own agents massacred), as he was want to do...anyway, the Davidians let the BATF collect their dead and go home and re-arm and re-load and get new people.

    Randy Weaver himself never fired ROUND ONE at a federal agent, yet they sniped his wife and son, as well as his son's best friend. His son only shot the US Marshall because the Marshall was trespassing, didn't identify himself as a Marshall, and had just shot one of the family dogs.

    If it happens again, everybody is shooting back and considering it an Alamo / Masada scenario.

    If the rule of law no longer applies to members of the US public it no longer protects the Law Endorsement Agents either. It is now Mercenaries vs Patriots. Perhaps Blackwater USA and Halliburton will play the Mercenaries as I don't think many LEOs and US Military would have the stomach to massacre their own people, though I could be wrong.

    I dearly wish it does not come to this but I will not go gentle into the arms of tyranny.

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  5. I might add, as one with many friends in the retail end of the gun trade, Obama/Biden ticket has done more for sales of CRATES of miltary ammunition and Evil Black Rifles and AKs than Bill Clinton did in 92 and he's only a candidate, not a president.

    Under Clinton it ended up, when he signed the assault weapons ban, that more JUST CALIFORNIANS bought more military rifles in the few months leading up to the ban taking effect than had been bought for civilian ownership by ALL AMERICANS since WW II.

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  6. From today's inbox from Peaceable Texans for Firearms Ownership mail list:

    Beware Charismatic Men Who Preach 'Change'
    Editor, Times-Dispatch:

    Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day and on July 4 I celebrate America's. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

    On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba and a few months later I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

    I've thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, and they were right. So when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

    When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said "Praise the Lord." And when the young leader said, "I will be for change and I'll bring you change," everyone yelled, "Viva Fidel!"

    But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner's guns went silent the people's guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I'm back to the beginning of my story.

    Luckily, we would never fall in America for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America?

    Would we?

    Manuel Alvarez Jr.

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  7. As for swapping around 22LR stocks to make one a scary assault weapon or even change the barrels or trigger groups in five to ten minutes, watch this video, mike.

    Cheers,
    Thomas

    I'm off to the backyard to get another 500 rounds in since it's a nice day.

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  8. Quiet around here...

    Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the world that a free man, contending for his liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.---George Washington, July 2, 1776

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  9. Tom, I hear what your saying about both parties, but still I think the general over(goose)stepping that I and I believe you yourself oppose is more associated with the Republicans than with the Democrats. It's more than gun legislation or the lack thereof. It's the wiretapping and the domestic surveillance. It's the power to arrest and confine without due cause or warrants. It's the Republican direction of the last few years since 9/11. That's what I'm hoping changes under Obama.

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  10. "It's the power to arrest and confine without due cause or warrants. It's the Republican direction of the last few years since 9/11."

    Still what I've been seeing is detention of forign nationals who were engaging in acts of war and operating outside of the Geneva Conventions.

    Its not a pritty issue, but it doesn't rank very high on my issues I'm concerned with.

    Of course as soon as this starts happening to US citizens (even engaging in acts of war) that's serious shit, and I hope at that point effective arms aren't banned!

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  11. More Grist
    http://www.thebitchgirls.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/obama.pdf

    Obama has never found a gun-control law he didn't want to support, and openly supports a revamp of the Clinton "Assault Weapons Ban" that was a total failure. His only "Support" for the 2nd Amendment has been him lieing about being in favor of the Heller case only AFTER the ruling was read (before the trial he supported DC's violation of the US Consitution...as he still doesn't with Chicago's same violations)

    The NRA is calling him on it. His responce...claim the ad is falce...without evedence. And threaten legal action against stations that give it air time.

    So he's against the 1st Amendment, and the 2nd...He'll likely gut the military so the 3rd isn't an issue, but I suspect the 4th is next.

    "That's what I'm hoping changes under Obama."

    Not so much, in my opinion.

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  12. Make sure you don't miss the follow on article as it's IMPORTANT TOO.

    Two of my friends were deputies before this militarization took place and both are Ex-Military, they just didn't want to act as soldiers against US citizens, so have resigned. The ones that stayed rejoice in their new "powers".

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  13. Tom, Do all Libertarians own guns? Is there a Libertarian faction that also espouses pacifism?

    About the arrests at the DNC, it's the same Republican conservative (fascist) government that's responsible for abuses there as it was in St. Paul. Don't you think?

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  14. Libertarianism is about being able to make choices for yourself so long as the choices do not harm others. There is no rule that a Libertarian has to be pro or anti-anything except pro-Liberty.

    The state takes care, with the oversight and agreement of the people, of roads and bridges and basic infrastructure and the people look after the rest themselves, as they see fit.

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  15. You are still making the mistake of seeing Republicans and Democrats rather than Republicrats, a ruling oligarchy of elitists. As long as you hold to your belief that there is any difference tween the two except on some single issue stuff, and even there they are not apart much, you are going to miss the big picture. Forest, trees...

    Ruby Ridge happened under Bush, Waco-Clinton, Un-needed foreign wars-Both. Economic mismanagement-Both. I could go on or you could just take an honest look back at the last 150 years or more.

    Government grows to want more power so there can be more government. Armed individualists stand in their way. Therefore, the government has it's Kent States and Wacos like the Chinese have their Tianamen Squares and the Russians have their Georgias...remind people who the real bosses are.

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  16. Lysander Spooner--
    (The Federal government believes)That men may rightfully be compelled to submit to, and support, a government that they do not want; and that resistance, on their part, makes them traitors and criminals.

    Libertarianism would be the opposite of that.

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  17. Hell, you like to read, you may as well read the whole thing, or at least the introductory pages.

    There's a reason I said go back further than just the past few administrations.

    Text HERE.

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  18. From Mount Vernon - Police will begin staging gun checkpoints at the city's borders tonight as a way to curb violence in the city, officials said yesterday.

    Notice there is no check for knives, baseball bats, frying pans, drugs, drug dealers; just firearms.

    Teams of mobile police units will set up checkpoints at various city borders in areas where police have dealt with incidents involving guns and violence, Mayor Clinton Young and Police Commissioner David Chong said yesterday.

    So, we have the police deciding where to set up, when to set up, who to stop and ask "Papers, Please" in their best totalitarian voice...what another way to describe totalitarianism - fascism ?



    "I am very seriously concerned about the gun violence here in Mount Vernon," said Young as he announced the police action. "I am not satisfied with what has been happening so far this year."

    Not concerned about the violence level in general or the drug problems that cause the violence, just "gun violence". And then some wonder why people get a little skittish about the government denying their rights.

    This year in Mount Vernon, a city of 4 square miles with a population of about 70,000, has had seven homicides - the most of any city in Westchester County.

    And do they mention why those murders happened, how many have been solved, other facts about the cases, nope....just focus on the "evil guns"

    Young said the gun checkpoint program is a "bold move" aimed at curbing violence.

    Yes, violating the constitution is a bold move.

    "I want people to know they cannot come to Mount Vernon for the purpose of committing crimes," the mayor said
    Young said he knows many of the offenses in the city are from residents and gang-related, but he added that many outsiders are involved in the violence.


    Aren't his statements a little contradictory? But any justification should work, after all the government doesn't really have to answer to the people, does it?

    With the support of the county police, the county probation department, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority police, Yonkers police and the New York City police, officers will stop cars and talk to drivers about antiviolence, the Mount Vernon and county gun programs

    So they will stop people without any evidence of wrongdoing, force people to listen to an indoctrination speech using at least 5 different law enforcement agencies.

    Again, most gun crimes are related to what activity? Drug use, but let's not talk about that.

    the Mount Vernon and county gun programs and even ask if people are carrying illegal firearms, Chong said. He added that the checkpoints will be similar to DWI checkpoints.

    This is brilliant, "Excuse me, Mr or Ms Criminal, would you mind admitting to breaking the law?"
    I'm sure the criminals will be falling all over themselves to turn in their dreaded illegal firearms after hearing the indoctrination speech.

    "We are not going to violate anyone's civil rights, but there has to be a very strong and clear message. Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear," Young said.

    What was that legal thing again, it wasn't really a right was it:
    The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    Mount Vernon police stepped up the pressure on the south side of the city during the summer because of the spike in homicides. The police mobile command unit has been set up on the south side on weekends and more patrols assigned there.

    Mike, do you think we have to be concerned about fascism coming or fighting what is already here?

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  19. For what it's worth, a warrantless search you consent to is invalid in a court of law. Fourth amendment says you have to have a warrant after having probable cause. Cases have been decided agaisnt the state on this.

    I learned this from one of my good guy, Ex-LEO when they went fascist, friends.

    Never submit to a search without a warrant. It isn't admissable in court for the prosecution if you challenge it anyway. 99% of the time they won't bother trying to get a warrant unless they really think you did something they can pin on you because they know this. But they'll happily search and arrest you if you let them, and if you get a public defender or lame lawyer, you'll likely lose to the state in court.

    Just something to think about.

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