Posted on 09/24/2001 4:24:58 PM PDT by Rebeckie
Unfree Republic
by Jeff Elkins
Let the stench of Middle East flesh reach Paradise reassuring them that these filth have gone to hell permanently."
The quote above is representative of many posted on the FreeRepublic.com site in the wake of the WTC attack, and unfortunately its like is not uncommon elsewhere. Americans are angry, predictably and rightly so, but just as predictable are the side effects. As always, that righteous anger will be accepted as a beloved gift by the state and molded into tools of oppression.
It’s funny how that works. Every single state-sponsored war the US has become embroiled in has resulted in an inexorable increase in the power of the state.
It’s also funny that it’s always assumed that human behavior in the past has no relation to how we behave today. Why those people were old-fashioned, we’re modern, educated, etc.
The beginning of this repeating pattern has already become public with the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. It has an ominous sound, that name, almost Germanic. (I can’t wait to see the uniforms.)
On April 13, 1917, days after our entry into World War One, President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information to promote the war domestically while publicizing American war aims abroad. Bush has replicated that step, with this new cabinet-level department.
Under the leadership of journalistic muckraker George Creel, the CPI was a propaganda apparatus unparalleled at that point in world history. The CPI functioned as a de facto public censor, vetting nearly all published material about the war and helping to draft legislation such as the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. In the months prior to our entry into the war and especially after our entry when they were nearly criminal, antiwar viewpoints were rarely heard.
The same pattern emerges now: Penn. Gov. Tom Ridge will be President Bush’s George Creel, and just as in those dim days of yesteryear, he’ll have plenty of willing civilian accomplices. And after all, there’s so much more to censor -- Ridge will need all the help he can get. In seeking warriors for the front line of Internet censorship, Ridge needs look no farther than FreeRepublic.com. The atmosphere there is now poisonous.
Again, look back to Wilson's CPI. It encouraged businesses to spy on their employees, parents to spy on their children, children to spy on their parents, neighbors to spy on neighbors, and above all to report "disloyal," pro-German sentiments. State authorities banned the teaching of German in schools and changed German street names. As the madness mounted, those regarded as pro-German were hounded from their jobs, pressured to change their German names, beaten, and in a few cases lynched. Almost all cases of violence, while incited by the state, were carried out by "civilians" in the grip of war hysteria.
Along with this anti-German hysteria, Congress passed several measures designed to rigidly suppress criticism of the war. In particular, the Espionage Act, passed in June 1917, specified a fine of $10,000 or twenty years in prison for "whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag."
The Espionage Act was very popular in its day. It was cheered on by mindless lemmings under the influence of state propaganda. Their great grandchildren now inhabit FreeRepublic.com, viciously attacking anyone who questions the wisdom of the state.
Our Congress is considering similar measures under the rubric of "anti-terrorism," and as it was at the beginning of the 20th Century, the FreeRepublic lemmings of the 21st are cheering the morally corrupt politicians along.
It’s not just message posters on the site. The management of FreeRepublic has instituted a "loose lips sink ships" campaign, with new moderators patrolling the forum to delete posts that in their opinion are detrimental to the "war effort."
The FreeRepublic mission statement claims "We're working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America."
Sanctimonious hogwash. Everything old is new again – the keyboard warriors of FreeRepublic would be right at home in 1917 shilling for Wilson.
September 24, 2001
No innocent people will get hurt, only icky, bad men, who do not respect the rights of women, will be shot at and not to kill, only to injure (but not painfully). They also promise the bombs won't be overly loud or accidently land on fluffy things.
Truly it will be a war you can invite all your girlfriends to. Don't worry, Honey, there won't even be any swearing or sarcasm, they know how you hate that.
Now go to bed and let the big people take care of all the yucky stuff.
War , ALL WARS , have always managed to kill women and children. It is not what we want ; however, it is what happens. If presidents, kings, emperors , etc. fought in such a way that no civilians ever were hurt or killed, no war would have ever been fought. Good , you say ? Nope, because the " bad" guys NEVER follow the rules and DO kill and harm as many people as they can.
If our CIA and foreign aid programs would quit funding every enemy of the US, drug lord, terrorist and tin-pot munchkin around the globe, we would not have half the enemies we do. China is a case in point.
On to the "hate America" thing. I don't hate America, you know that as does everyone else. I simply look thru these cynical glasses at a people that WANTS to be enslaved as long as they're "safe" from harm. How fortunate for would be dictators! I'm as outraged by this attack on our soil and our people as the next guy, just a little suspicious of all the people that want to "help" and their ultimate goals. That's all.
Regards,
Callahan
I like Harry, and hope he comes on board. I think he will eventually. However, I do feel he should retract his charge against Gov. Ridge. That's over the line, just as people here wanting to carpet bomb Afghanistan, which he bitches about. Yet he does the same thing in essence. Go figure. He'll come on board. He's a patriot. Just a little zealous right now.
It has been so satisfying lately to savor all the different horrors our President is not -- not Al, not Bill, not Hill, not Pat, and yes, not Woodrow!
As always, you are a voice of reason, principle and freedom for our generation.
That's your problem, you keep pretending. You keep pretending it's September 10th, it isn't. Then you pretend the war is over and the democrats are in office. The war isn't over and the democrats aren't in office. Stop pretending and get real. It is September 24th 2001, we are at war and President Bush is our national leader.
"On to the "hate America" thing. I don't hate America, you know that as does everyone else."
I said you hate all things "government", there is a big difference.
"I simply look thru these cynical glasses at a people that WANTS to be enslaved as long as they're "safe" from harm."
You are the one who is enslaved. You are enslaved by your utter and complete hatred of all things government. So much so that you would completely ignore the threats that face this nation.
"How fortunate for would be dictators!"
See...look at this. Junior, nazis, would be dictators. Man you need to drop this paranoid act of seek some professional help.
"I'm as outraged by this attack on our soil and our people as the next guy, just a little suspicious of all the people that want to "help" and their ultimate goals. That's all."
You are really ate up with it.
LOL! Yes, Wilson was a Ph.D. and the former President of Princeton University. To the liberals in academia, he is one of their own, so all his wickedness, racism, tyranny and folly are happily overlooked.
I am amazed that few understand what is required in time of war. Thanks for the flag!
As real as it sounds it is far less likely than a chem/bio threat to our population. We are currently in a lockdown for crop dusters and they are on a heightened alert. And even if they do achieve a laydown on a portion of our very large counrty it's likely it wouldn't affect a great segment of the population. Not to mention that infecting crops is long term attack and one that would take at least one season to affect.
Mad cow, hoof and mouth.
Stay away from the countryside (Foot and Mouth - the management of a pseudo-crisis.)
A checmial agent into a major water supply.
Cholera would be a good choice but you would need tons of the stuff to make it worth it and needless to say the days of Arab looking guys driving dump trucks in to headwaters or resevoirs is unlikely. Fish and Wildlife and BLM have been tasked to deal with it as we speak. And by the time it made it to your tap it would have been filtered and treated away.
How about Small Pox introducted into the air filtration system of a major airport...how quickly would that spread across the nation.
Hard to tell. While highly contagious it does have a lengthy incubation period. Be more afraid of chimera or recombinant agents which are combinations or cocktails of differant viruses like rhinovirus/smallpox/filovirus which would have a fast affect and stealthy symptoms which would set back diagnosis and thus affect health workers. Not to mention any combination being weaponized and as such no vaccine would work. The big question is how would these agents get introduced in to an airport these days?
I'm not saying it's possible but it's getting less possible with each passing day. And that has nothing to do with legislation but more to do with the awareness of the American people.
And by the way did you threaten Demidog in an email when you asked him his home address?
Ridge is a good administrator and will do well at this job. But I have seen some of the most horrendous posts against him because he is not pro-life!
As for bombing, we have even had "so-called" conservative Congressmen calling for nukes. I for one am very thankful that our President is using diplomacy as his first weapon. I've been watching people slam him for not bombing someone...anyone...back to the stone age, and others complaining about him doing just that.
Should we censor the outlandish opinions? I think it is far more sensible to provide reasoned argument against them.
Granted, we are learning a lot and very quickly concerning the recent airliner attacks. But considering how bin Laden isolates one cell from the next, it is very reasonable to suspect that other avenues of attack would be completely independent of those we currently know of. We have no idea how long and what is already in this country.
However, we do know that they use electronic media for communications and the government is asking for the authority to be able to effectively intercept and monitor such communications.
"And by the way did you threaten Demidog in an email when you asked him his home address?"
I've never sent an e-mail to demidog.
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