Posted on 11/25/2001 9:23:43 PM PST by ouroboros
Bullied and herded by the leaders of both parties, our witless Solons in Washington passed the "USA PATRIOT Act" by a huge margin. Since the bill wasn't even printed before the vote, they couldn't possibly have read this 372-page document. But even if they had read it, it's doubtful they would have balked at passing the most draconian wartime measure since the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts. In the wake of 9/11, none but a few brave souls wanted to be seen as "soft on terrorism," and, in any case, the politicians' instinctive impulse to gather more power unto themselves was automatic, in this instance, as in any other. The big problem, however, is that a number of surprises are beginning to surface, as our congressional "patriots" realize that blindly playing follow-the-leader can often lead one over a cliff.
Much attention has been paid to the "civil libertarian" aspects of this hideous bill: it would permit indefinite detention of non-citizens; and give the authorities carte blanche to read email, open snail-mail, and eavesdrop on phone conversations – all without a warrant, and without having to answer to anyone. The Orwellian possibilities of a national chip-implanted ID card, and a national database to match, are pretty obvious, and these, too, are promised in the bill. But one key yet so far overlooked aspect of the "Patriot" Act is the draconian controls it imposes on American business, both large transnational mega-corporations and local mom-and-pop stores. Mr. and Mrs. Bourgeoisie tend to be GOP types, but what will these stolid Republican burghers say when they realize that they, too, are being "pressed into service on the home front in the war on terrorism," as the Boston Globe put it?
In the name of "patriotism" and the "war on terrorism," retailers are being conscripted into an army of informants whose job it is to spy on their customers. Under the terms of this legislation, all businesses must report "suspicious transactions" to the Treasury Department. What makes a transaction "suspicious"? You can bet there will be a 500-page manual to answer all your questions, and if you want to stay in business you had better commit it to memory – or find yourself accused of aiding and abetting terrorism.
According to the text of the Act, "any person engaged in trade or business" must report all transactions over $10,000 to Washington bureaucrats: failure to do so could result in punishment far worse than a mere fine. Here is a perfect example of how the principle of incrementalism works in favor of the expansion of state power.
Before the passage of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, this requirement previously applied only to pawnbrokers and car dealers, as a way to track down stolen goods. The Banking Secrecy Act, passed in the name of fighting the "war on drugs," extended the reporting system to banking institutions of one sort or another. The USA PATRIOT Act universalizes this surveillance, and, in the process, gives government officials a key weapon that may be utterly useless in fighting terrorism, but may prove invaluable in the government's perpetual battle to expropriate wealth and centralize power.
If I buy three $4,000 shipments of, say, tea imported from Japan, the fight against terrorism is not going to be helped one whit if I report it to the Economic Surveillance Unit of the Office of Homeland Security. Who may be helped, however, is my competitor in the tea trade who, perhaps, has a "friend" in the bureaucracy with access to this information. To know what the competition is buying, and how much they're paying – what business rival wouldn't pay through the nose to obtain this vital information? If you think corruption is already endemic, wait until you see what life in wartime is like….
Aside from the corruption angle, this little-known aspect of the "Patriot" Act practically fulfills one of the key demands in the old Marxist program: back in the old days, the Commies would always demand of "big business" that they "open the books" – that is, reveal the details of their business operations. The idea was that once the profit margins of the capitalists were exposed to public view, such a display of wealth and greed would seem so obviously obscene and exploitative that it would inevitably lead to a socialist revolution. What the Commies never managed to pull off, George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans have accomplished in a single day's session of Congress and the stroke of a presidential pen. The books of American business have been pried open, not by the proletariat, but by the leaders of the world's leading capitalist country.
Headlines proclaim the glorious "liberation" of Afghanistan, as the progress of our noble allies from one victory to another is breathlessly analyzed and celebrated. Has Kunduz fallen? Will the Northern Alliance keep Kabul? And what of Herat? The fate of cities half a world away is trumpeted from the rooftops, but news of another sort of sneak attack, this time against our free enterprise system, is barely heard above a whisper. "This is a big deal, and a big change, for the vast majority of American businesses," says Joe Rubin, chief lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce. "But I don't think anybody realizes it's happened."
Oh god, I can't wait until they find out! Let us anticipate the following scenario with unalloyed and unapologetic glee: pro-war blowhard Joe Everyman, who runs a small electronics business out of his home, is suddenly confronted with reams of paperwork before he can purchase or sell anything of consequence. As he encounters costly delays, and watches his small savings melt away against the backdrop of a general economic downturn, perhaps he'll stop railing against "ragheads" long enough to realize he's been had.
Or, then again, if he's a real dumbo, maybe he'll just scream all the louder that we have to start bombing Iraq, and perhaps Syria, funneling his inchoate anger at an acceptably "patriotic" target. This, at any rate, is what the War Party is hoping for, as they gear up for "phase two" of Operation Enduring Freedom – not to mention phases three through three-hundred-and-ten.
This war is oh so convenient for so many people that it is no wonder they're telling us it could last a whole generation. If we ask the key question – "Who benefits?" – the results are like doing a Google-search on the phrase "grassy knoll" – the results are too numerous to even list, let alone describe. One overlooked political benefit to the current administration is that the war is an excellent diversion from the bad economic news on the home front. An economic downturn that can always be blamed on Osama Bin Laden would have come, anyway: the "almost official" declaration that we are in a recession hardly comes as news to the markets, which have been in a radical downswing that shows no signs of abating anytime soon. And here we come to the economic uses of this war, as the real meaning of what our rulers have in store for us becomes all too apparent.
The War Party is fond of referring to what is essentially a police action against a ragtag band of fanatics as the moral and military equivalent of World War II: the propaganda purposes of this sort of hyperbole are manifold. Not only does it demonize the other side as the modern-day equivalent of Hitler and the Nazis – "Islamic fascism," you'll recall, is the source of the New Popular Front's ire – but it also gives a sense of scale to the struggle.
Clearly, in their minds, this is a gigantic battle that must not be confined to the wilds of Afghanistan, or Somalia, or wherever they decide to go next. It must permeate every aspect of American life: we must be perpetually "on alert," and not only against young Middle Eastern-looking men and their ubiquitous box-cutters. We must also be on guard against "suspicious transactions" – and those who fail to report them. Oh, what a field day politically-connected business interests are going to have against their less influential competitors! In addition to the toll-free "Report-a-Raghead" hotlines opened up by the FBI and Homeland Security, we'll have an economic saboteur hotline, where stool pigeons can rat on their rivals and the whole system of bribery and outright thievery that characterized the Clinton era can metastasize into a permanent condition.
The economic regulations enshrined in the "Patriot" Act have more to do with the government's war on American business than with any "war on terrorism." The war spirit, transferred to the economy, gives us – socialism, or something damn near it. Who can doubt that this information – encoded, of course, in a national database – will be put to other uses, such as "economic planning"? That the Sovietization of the American economy was accomplished, not by a Leninist vanguard party, but by two ostensibly capitalist parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, is an irony that few will note – until it is too late.
Oh, and don't let them tell you that these are only "emergency" measures, and will be repealed once the war is over. To begin with, if we take the overblown rhetoric of the War Party at face value, we may not live to see the end of this war. Secondly, since when has any government ever surrendered power voluntarily?: a government prerogative, once granted during wartime, tends to stay encoded in law. Look at New York City's rent control laws, enacted as an emergency wartime measure, still in force after all these years. No, the longer the "Patriot" Act is allowed to subvert the Constitution, and trample on our liberty, the more likely it is to become a permanent feature of American life. Congress must be forced – forced by a popular outcry – to take a second look. This onerous legislation, which lays the foundations for a Soviet socialist America, must be repealed.
As the first phase of a campaign to get rid of this Orwellian monstrosity, and warn our rulers that we won't put up with it, it is high time to turn the propaganda of the War Party on its head: that is, to use their own tactics against them. Our ruling elites are overjoyed, of course, that patriotism is "in," and do their best to ensure that any expression of dissent is angrily dismissed as disloyalty or worse. The popularity of displaying the American flag is being touted as proof of the blind loyalty of the masses to anything the government says or does, when, of course, it is nothing of the kind.
The red-white-and-blue hangs outside my door, and I am certainly not giving the US government a blank check to go on a rampage, either at home or abroad. People are literally waving the flag out of sheer defiance, and legitimate anger at the sheer unspeakable horror of the 9/11 attack, not out of knee-jerk support for any particular government policies. One way to visibly register dissent from the all-out assault on our civil liberties is to bring out another, older flag, the one that preceded Old Glory. A banner showing a coiled snake – the Gadsden flag – was popular during the American Revolution, because it was emblazoned with a message to King George and any potential oppressor or attacker: "Don't Tread on Me"!
This raises exactly the right slogan at exactly the right moment, to whomever may care to take heed. There's a shortage of American flags, due to the flag craze, and you can be the first on your block to show your colors by displaying the revolutionary flag right next to Old Glory. "Don't Tread on Me" – and that goes for you, too, John Ashcroft.
And the 'Patriot Bill', while only somewhat tyrannical now, has the potential to be used for that purpose.
Just imagine Clinton....with some of the powers included in the bill.
redrock
Most never will "get it",either. They would be screaming from the rooftops if Bubba bin Bombing has created a "Office of Reich Security",but everything is just "peachy-keen" when Bubba Bush does it. Just like many of the leftist Dims are now opposed to this because Bubba Bush is the one behind it would stay silent if it were "their boy" in office.
In short,we are being "played".
No,it's not.
If I were to visit a foreign country, would I have the same rights and privileges as the citizens there?
Yes,you would the same RIGHTS,but not the same privileges. For instance,you couldn't vote in their elections or hold office.
Why would it be neccessary to even bother with cancelling elections in a system where there are only two viable political parties,the Dim Party,and the Dim-Lite Party? They both have the same ultimate goal,and they are apparantely business partners. We gotta be "bi-partisan",don'tchaknow? Wouldn't want to investigate things like official corruption,voter fraud,treason,illegal use of stolen FBI files,money laundering using cattle futures,etc,etc,etc. "Wouldn't be prudent".
The HORRORS! Who the hell do these people think they are that they should be allowed to keep their OWN money that they EARNED,Americans? This type of thinking should be immediately stomped out and never allowed to flourish! We ALL know that ALL money rightfully belongs to the feral gooberment,and that THEY are the ones who should rightfully decide how much of it you get to keep. "From each according to their ability,to each according to their needs",right? Anybody who isn't willing to share their wealth with unknown strangers rather than their own families must be some sort of "commie",right?
BTW,Spanky,jealousy isn't very pretty.
Now *I* don't understand you. You will NEVER accomplish anything towards changing the system from the outside. If all the people who vote for fringe candidates would instead work within the Republican Party to try and change the direction something MIGHT be accomplished.
Either that or just go ahead and vote for ever far-left idiot the Dims run,hoping to push forward the starting date of the American Revolution,part-2. I personally plan on voting for whatever communist the Dim Party runs against Giddy Dole. If I'm going to have a incompetent leftist airhead for a Senator anyhow,I want a real one. Giddy is neither fish nor fowl,although I personally find her to be pretty foul. She is a Republican Buh-Bette!.
That never stopped any Mexicans or Haitians,waddaya,a slow learner?
Not very hard to imagine. This is the very role Chelsea Clinton is being groomed for. This would effectively put mom and pop back in the White House,and back on the FBI file distribution list.
There is no anti-war right wing.
I beg to differ. Though "right wing" itself is a pretty silly term.
These people may not have a permanent home, but they are part of the group that influences the winner of many presidential races. Without the votes of these people, the Republicans will not win any race for president in the near future.
I voted every election, for the person instead of the party, for 18+ years, until I was convinced that the Republicans had a plan, and an answer to many problems endemic to our system. They may have had some answers, but they were/are more interested in enlarging the role of the feds in the business of each individual, and have compromised nearly all of the points that attracted me to their side. We never hear of the unconstitutionality of the Depts of Education, HEW, NEA etc, except from these so-called fringe groups. The Republicans may have given lip service to these causes once, or once in a while, but they have long since given in to the Democrats in order to get along, and get elected.
Rush is famous for saying, that the purpose of elections is to win, and you can't have an effect if you don't win. Winning elections, by compromising your principles, will have only the effect of putting known compromisers and liars into office. It is quite clear to me that the Republican party has literally joined hands with the Democrats, and are working towards the same goal, a socialist state, with a safety net for all that don't want to work, or can't.
The problem with the southern border is solved by erasing it. The numbers of illegals that are here and draining the funds of California and Texas, will be diminished by making them citizens. Our failed schools will be fixed by more Federal interference, and the tax system will be made "more fair", with a little tweaking. All past or present Democratic positions, adopted by the R's, and now called their own.
You, and many others just like you politically, may be comfortable in your new home, but just 2 years ago you fought against this same cause. I and many others just like me, thought we were political brothers, only to find out that you were more like the Clinton supporters, willing to go along with many compromises, as long as "your guy" is in command.
The members and believers in the fringe groups your reply mentions, are still fighting for the causes you said you once believed in, but were/are unwilling to fight for. I may be on the outside of power, and have no seeming influence, but at least I am trying. You and others like you, have already given yourselves over to a cause, and that cause is socialism. Whether you agree with this or not, the ones you support believe in it. They are striving towards the day when the hand of Mommy govt, will steady all that stumble, and level all the playing fields. The new "compassionate conservative", believes so little in the ideals of the past, they embrace the gay agenda, and have pointedly pushed the pro-lifers to the back of the bus. They call for a war against terror abroad, while conducting a war against traditional conservative ideals at home.
I hope your yoke weighs heavy, for you and others like you have surely put your necks in it.
Heck, you gotta little sense.
{^_^}
I guess the truth makes bad thread copy!
Yes,you would the same RIGHTS,but not the same privileges. For instance,you couldn't vote in their elections or hold office.
Isn't this argument incredible? If anything, it displays just how provincial the vast majority of Americans are with regard to the rest of the world. Do these people really mean to argue that an American tourist in France has absolutely no rights under the French legal system? Or the German, or others from democratic countries that operate under rule of law? Do they really believe it is normal for the Dutch, for example, to hold foreigners without telling them their crime, hold a secret trial, and quietly execute them? I have seen this "our legal system doesn't apply to foreigners" so many times here it almost is not worth refuting. It is like a brush fire in a windstorm. But it is completely absurd.
The dolts at anti-war.com sound JUST like the ultra leftist....the propaganda that comes out of the Communist Party USA is almost identitical to the crap that flows from this silly bunch.
Actually, it is you and your armchair warriors who sound like the communists of old. Have you ever read Lenin and Stalin? They are the ones who continually railed on about the need to continue the war, that enemies are closer and closer, that the closer they get to victory the more their enemies will assert themselves -- war and struggle all the time. Your rhetoric is much more like that of the Communist Party of the Societ Union and its former client states.
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