Decius wrote:

Valley Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) stood his ground on Friday during the second House bailout vote that passed. He, along with the majority, voted no on Monday and he once again voted no on Friday, although that time in the minority. During a session of congress on the night before Friday's vote, he said proponents of the bailout were apparently saying martial law be put in place if the vote didn't go through. "That's what I call fear mongering," Sherman said.

More strange rumblings about domestic military operations.

Saw that the other day, too bad he doesn't actually name names. I didn't initially interpret his statement in the secretive cabal sense, more of a generalization of the sentiment the proponents felt.

The original Army Times article has been updated with this blurb:

Correction:

A non-lethal crowd control package fielded to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, described in the original version of this story, is intended for use on deployments to the war zone, not in the U.S., as previously stated.

Naomi Wolf has an interesting take on what could possibly constitute a "war zone." If you think of the global war on terror including the United States, we are now part of the "war zone."

Note: I have not vetted Naomi Wolf, really only heard about her yesterday with this video. She has a book to sell about America becoming a police state. Fear will help it move. Still, interesting points raised in this 27 minute video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XgkeTanCGI (I tried < video url="URI" / > in preview mode, didn't seem to work.)

One more thread to add, article titled "The Myth of Posse Comitatus" written by an Army Reserve JAG attorney:

http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/articles/Trebilcock.htm

On the erosion of posse comitatus:

The weakness of the analysis of passive versus direct involvement in law enforcement was most graphically demonstrated in the tragic 1999 shooting of a shepherd by marines who had been assigned a mission to interdict smuggling and illegal immigration in the remote Southwest. An investigation revealed that for some inexplicable reason the 16-year-old shepherd fired his weapon in the direction of the marines. Return fire killed the boy. This tragedy demonstrates that when armed troops are placed in a position where they are being asked to counter potential criminal activity, it is a mere semantic exercise to argue that the military is being used in a passive support role. The fact that armed military troops were placed in a position w... [ Read More (0.1k in body) ]

Hijexx wrote:
Naomi Wolf has an interesting take on what could possibly constitute a "war zone." If you think of the global war on terror including the United States, we are now part of the "war zone."

Note: I have not vetted Naomi Wolf, really only heard about her yesterday with this video. She has a book to sell about America becoming a police state. Fear will help it move. Still, interesting points raised in this 27 minute video:

I've heard of her before. I don't have an impression of her one way or the other but I believe she is generally well regarded. A summary of her views on Wikipedia makes her sound interesting and controversial. Not sure what I think about all of it, but she is obviously not an authoritarian, so maybe I'd like her. Interesting for a feminist to have taken her thinking into this realm. Certainly outside the box.

I haven't heard the video (will do so tonight) but I read a summary of her ten points on Wikipedia. Let me address each:

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.

Yeah, but the GWOT is basically over. More in a minute.

2. Create secret prisons where torture takes place.

They certainly have demonstrated that they can detain US citizens without trial for years.

3. Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens.

OK. Blackwater. The Army deployment is, however, answerable to us.

4. Set up an internal surveillance system.

OK. Its not clear to what extent this is going on but the infrastructure and legal loopholes are there, at least for widespread monitoring of transactional data, which might be going on.

5. Harass citizens' groups.

This is not going on. Not systemically.

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release.

This is not going on.

7. Target key individuals.

This is not going on.

8. Control the press.

The Republicans have managed to convince a large swath of the population that the press is politically biased, which allows them to simply lie to their supporters. Their supporters will believe those lies no matter what contrary evidence is presented.

The proof is in the pudding with regard to Sarah Palin. They've been able to get away with presenting VP candidate who is not at all qualified to be president. They've tried to hide this fact by not making her available to the press in general, which is unprecedented in modern American history. The few times she has been interviewed have been disasters, but neither her refusal to hold a press conference nor her failure to perform well when she does take questions has deterred her supporters, as they don't believe anything the press tells them if it conflicts with the talking points of their political party.

This fact is extremely dangerous, but it does not amount to "control" of the press. People have the freedom to point out inconsistenci... [ Read More (0.3k in body) ]