10 Steps to shutting down a democracy

naomi wolf, writing in the guardian...

From Hitler to Pinochet and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy [islam, war on terror, al qaeda]

2. Create a gulag [Guantánamo, CIA black sites, military tribunals, Military Commissions Act, suspension of habeas]

3. Develop a thug caste [Blackwater, security contractors who are immune from prosecution in Iraq]

4. Set up an internal surveillance system [the Patriot Act, warrantless domestic wiretapping]

5. Harass citizens' groups [conduct surveillance on environmental, anti-war, animal rights, and other activist groups]

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release ["no-fly" list, "terrorist watch" list]

7. Target key individuals [Sibel Edmonds, Richard Clarke, Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean]

8. Control the press [criminal complaint against Greg Palast, attacking al Jazeera, firing on unembedded reporters in Iraq, Fox News, O'Reilly, Limbaugh]

9. Dissent equals treason [accusations against Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, the New York Times, open-ended definition of "enemy combatant"]

10. Suspend the rule of law [John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007, violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, possibility of the declaration of federal martial law]

this is an extraordinary article which, unfortunately, comes to us from across the pond... it's the kind of in-depth journalism that we are so desperately lacking here in the united states...

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