Posted on 07/24/2002 8:09:58 PM PDT by Sir Gawain
Stay on the newspaper when piddling or you get no treat.
Not yet...but it well on the way to becoming such a place.
..most of the systems that are needed to create a 'Police State' exist now.
redrock
The Patriot Act along with several measures passed as part of the Contract on -- woops -- with America, perhaps do not so much explicitly institute a police state so much as make it socially acceptable to discuss the concepts central to such a state. All of Rand's criteria, and probably more, can now be "justified" in certain contexts at the cocktail party level as being necessary to wage the war against terrorism, which we are constantly reminded will never end and which does not stop within national borders. This is surely a stage that Germany arrived at in prior to electing Hitler Chancellor in the early 1930's. The Patriot Act and so on just serve to blur the principles that at one time used to keep the country safe from destruction from within.
Communism -- woops -- fascism is really driven by corporate profit motivation and economies of scale. With the fundamental principles of liberty blurred, government is free to overrun the boundaries without firm check. It may not any longer be a matter of if, but only when.
If the conservatives and libertarians had the concept of a "doomsday clock" to fascism, I would guess that it would show something like 11:25PM. Perhaps a few minutes earlier or later. The frightening thing is that I can hardly imagine such a clock ever moving backwards given American history of the past century or so. The pessimistic view is that someday the existence of a sufficient common threat will coincide with the ascendance of some charismatic but coldblooded leader, and the America of principles and liberty will join other great but ultimately failed civilizations as just another dusty chapter of world history.
I'm sorry, but it has been reported to BOPPOB (the Bureau of Proper Positions of Blinds) that your blinds were left in the incorrect position.
Please report to the nearest Gulag or Concentration Camp of your choice within 72 hours. Depending on your skills and training, you will need to pack nothing except a shower cap for your stay (as it will be, regrettably, extremely short) or you will need to pack everything you own (as you will be remaining as our guest on a permanent basis).
However, we won't know which one is applicable for you until you arrive at your destination camp and are screened. So, you either need to pack nothing except a shower cap or everything you own. Be warned, though, that, in the event that your itinerary is of the shortened variety, the State will be charging you for an eternity of storage for your belongings if you bring them and they are left behind upon your "departure".
Have a nice day.
Ima Worrywort
Elite Møøsenspåånkengruppen OberKømmååndø (EMØØK)
Actually, Hillary will use them to haul them off. And you will whine like a baby. I hope she has you hauled away first.
Holy crap, you do have a clue and you are able to add something useful to the conversation.
Because that hasn't been necessary.
-- dighton's cat
Sorry you're on your own. However, I'm flat-out getting BlueLancer to feed me anything other than canned artichokes and gummi bears.
Let me know where you live and I'll drag BlueLancer over there and we can both work HIM over, and eat HIM when we're done.
BlueLancer's cat
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