I have to say, this resonates, particularly the part about corporate lobbyists being protected from competition by the criminalization of recreational drugs and the use of surveillance to enforce that criminalization.

1. Misuse the concept of a Top Secret government document (say, the date of D-Day) and extend classification to trillions of mundane documents a year.

2. Classify all government crimes and violations of the Constitution as secret

3. Create a class of 4.5 million privileged individuals, many of them corporate employees, with access to classified documents but allege it is illegal for public to see leaked classified documents

4. Spy on the public in violation of the Constitution

5. Classify environmental activists as terrorists while allowing Big Coal and Big Oil to pollute and destroy the planet

6. Share info gained from NSA spying on public with DEA, FBI, local law enforcement to protect pharmaceuticals & liquor industry from competition from pot, or to protect polluters from activists

7. Falsify to judges and defense attorneys how allegedly incriminating info was discovered

8. Lie and deny to Congress you are spying on the public.

9. Criminalize the revelation of government crimes and spying as Espionage

10. Further criminalize whistleblowing as “Terrorism”, have compradors arrest innocent people, detain them, and confiscate personal effects with no cause or warrant (i.e. David Miranda, partner of Glenn Greenwald)

Greenwald Partner falsely detained as Terrorist: How to Create a Dictatorship | Informed Comment

Aside from the outrage over the treatment of a partner of a British newspaper’s employee, consider what it means that the UK used their terrorism law to detain Miranda (had he been transiting the US, they wouldn’t have needed to use the transparently false claim of terrorism — they can and do subject people to this treatment for no reason all the time).

America’s Closest Ally Declares Glenn Greenwald’s Partner a Terrorist | emptywheel

I have seen nothing anywhere that could even connect his spouse to such nefarious contacts. Unless Glenn is some kind of super-al-Qaeda mole, he has none to my knowledge and to suspect him of any is so close to unreasonable it qualifies as absurd. The idea that David may fomenting terrorism is even more ludicrous.

It begins to dawn on more people that there is, in fact, a very serious problem here.

Cameron Proves Greenwald Right « The Dish

The British authorities seized all of his electronic media — including video games, DVDs and data storage devices — and did not return them, Mr. Greenwald said.

Another inappropriate seizure of electronics by a western government at a border crossing.

Britain Detains the Partner of a Reporter Tied to Leaks - NYTimes.com

We have previously said that the violations of these laws and rules were more serious than had been acknowledged, and we believe Americans should know that this confirmation is just the tip of a larger iceberg.  

Wyden, Udall Statement on Reports of Compliance Violations Made Under NSA Collection Programs | Press Releases | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden

“The FISC is forced to rely upon the accuracy of the information that is provided to the Court,” its chief, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, said in a written statement to The Washington Post. “The FISC does not have the capacity to investigate issues of noncompliance, and in that respect the FISC is in the same position as any other court when it comes to enforcing [government] compliance with its orders.”

Court: Ability to police U.S. spying program limited - The Washington Post

THIS:

Insulting the opposition will do very little to rebuild trust. This is how the intelligence agencies view those concerned about their privacy and constitutional rights: as social misfits prone to conspiracy theories and wild exaggerations about these agencies' capabilities. All this indicates is that those running these agencies have very little interest in addressing the public's concerns. In their minds, these people should be marginalized and mocked, rather than taken seriously.

CIA Veteran: Snowden Did Everything Wrong And The Government Respects Your Privacy | Techdirt

The Obama administration’s 22-page White paper setting out the supposed legal basis for NSA surveillance demonstrates that the Obama administration, by contrast, is not relying on legal defenses that are too clever. Rather, it's relying on defenses that are too flimsy and weak. Many of these are warmed over versions of arguments that principled judges and officials rejected during the Bush administration, and that the Supreme Court is now being asked to reject once and for all.

Obama surveillance comments: Dishonesty isn't the only problem. | New Republic

The price of attending a public four-year college has risen 27 percent beyond inflation over the past five years, according to the College Board. The costs have also gone up 24 percent at community colleges and 13 percent at private universities.

The Cost Of Public Four-Year College Has Risen 27 Percent Over Five Years | ThinkProgress

Yesterday, Jim Harper of the Cato Institute and I filed an amicus brief in support of The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)’s challenge to the constitutionality of the NSA’s blanket seizures of private phone records.

The Volokh Conspiracy » My Cato Brief in Support of The Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Challenge to NSA Data Seizures