"In the "War on Terror," I am amazed how every time our enemy takes action, it sets into motion a scramble by our government to take away the individual rights of Americans. Will we reach a point at which we will be completely stripped of our civil liberties in the name of eliminating danger from external threats?" Count on it! That is precisely why the shadow government of Neocons and Zionists created and staged the "enemy actions," from the false flag 9/11 "attack" right through the patently obvious CIA "underwear" bomber and the pathetically incompetent Times Square operative. Right now they are working on plans to attack Iran. Keep in mind that the Patriot Act was written well before 9/11. Your civil liberties and constitutional rights are history my friend, and it is about to get worse -- a lot worse. All that you see purporting to be our "government," from the president on down is nothing but a sham puppet show to keep you distracted while the Madmen of Empire roll on to the inevitable collapse that awaits all empires. Whether or not they manage to destroy the planet in the process remains to be seen.

Thank you.

Thank you for your essay. That Guantanamo exists has been a horror since the first day, a symbol of something dreadfully amiss with the US. And that "we" have not been able to do anything about it...any more than stop the bank bail-out and related financial peccadilloes or intervene in the Gulf against BP's crimes against the earth. As Tony Judt's book title reminds us, *Ill Fares the Land.*

James Madison Quotes

“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”

"It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad."

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."

"The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse."

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny"

He, as a founding father, certainly saw the dangers.

...They already have the countless prisons and internment camps built all over the U.S., just for that very purpose; and, as in 1930s and '40s Germany, they want us to live in fear that we can be taken away at any time, at any whim of the government without trial, to expressly get us to "shut up" and not continue to excercise our rights, AND DUTIES, to dissent against all of this madness. That is what H.G. Wells, who was in favor of all of this government tyranny, despotism and insanity, meant when he said in his 1939 book The New World Order, "Countless people will hate the New World Order and will die protesting against it". So, again, you see we are already there.

But, of course, standing up against evil will be called a "hate crime", and will get one "disappeared" into indefinite detention, in more and more cases to never be seen or heard from again, as quickly as anything else done in protest against the despotism and tyranny now flooding this "land of the (slaves), and home of the (cowards)". So what do you think most "Americans" will do as they become more and more aware of this serious threat? They will sell their souls to the devil, and will shut their mouths in order to avoid the fate of the true heroes who stand up against it. I can already feel it happening when you inform them of what is really going on...

...Look at the level of denial. Just stating that last sentence of my previous paragraph is enough to get most "Americans" to refuse to face that history repeats itself over and over again; that such tyranny and despotism CAN happen here in the U.S.; and that the symptoms of that madness, such as neighbors being turned against innocent neighbors, can AND ARE being repeated right here, right now, in "la-la land". Thus, it begs the question, Is it scarry? Yes, it is. But we better face our fears head on and overcome them, and stand up en masse against all of this repeating insanity, or we might as well roll over and die right now; because there are no other options...

...Therefore, please don't be cowards; but be true heroes, and true national and international patriots.

"It is written, thus says the Lord [God in and through Jesus the Christ, the Word(s) of God, and the Maker / Creator or all things except evil]...": "...Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression(s)..."! [Isaiah 58:1; etc.; emphasis and/or clarification(s) added by me.]

Excellent rant Wolf, let's discuss nano-thermite and the Cheney remote-pull operation, with a side order of acid and speed. them! us! Kaput!

Col. Wingard,

The situation is worse than you describe it. Our rights don't just get taken away when our "enemies" attack. If you recognize that most "terror" attacks have been false-flag operations, then it is our own government and the agencies that carry out its wishes who are responsible for "terrorist" attacks.

You then are enabled to see that the erosion of civil rights was the aim of the false-flag attacks all along. You simply have to see how the two Patriot Acts were both ready to go before the attacks on the Murrah Building and World Trade Centers.

Moreover, if you see that the scenarios like terrorism, rogue states, etc., were mapped out in the 1970s by elements of the military-industrial complex, as you can see by watching "Carol Rosin" (google) on Youtube, then you discover that the various scenarios that have been played out more recently have all been in the works for decades.

WE are our enemy. We have attacked ourselves. We actually owe the Muslim world an apology for having cast it as the stand-in enemy when the real culprits sit in the CIA, FBI, State Department, Pentagon, etc.

There is so much information on this on the Internet today, not in the controlled mainstream media, that it should not take much effort to reveal it to yourself if you have the desire to follow it up.

.

Both Ra-Be and Anonymous Madison quoter have voiced what a mojority has expressed or are making clear to the elites and their representatives. They do not represent us.  They have perpetrated a wide range of injustices and possibly criminal events (like 911 by Cheney and his cabal, attested to here by an Mechanical Engineer with 30 years in Construction that points to a hopelessly inept and fraudulent investigation by Zelikow) to justify a series of oft-tauted measures to save us from terror.  Cheney is a terrorist by his own admission.  He violates international law at his pleasure and (has operated prisons at home and abroad) that are protected by State-Secrets Priviledge?  He is a disgrace along with the contingent operating from the CIA, NSA and "Homeland [just change it to Fatherland for true effect] Security." that have taken political positions that are subvesive to the Constitution, as well as international law and agreements that we claim to operate under.
The refusal to investigate and prosecute these individuals and others for these travesties is equally culpable.  Just more of the same and the guarantee that justice is a bribe, a kick back from the Prisons for Profit to fill their cells at $140/Day for anyone, without charges, without a limit to time and without representation from an actually concerned lawyer.  The Magna Carta - where a nobleman finally was forced to admit his rule was bound by law - has been repealed by international criminals - openly alleged - Cheney and Bush Co. (including Agencies openly in conflict over their loyalties to Bush).  Forcing them to sign a new Magna Carta is not a good idea. But, history has a strange way of repeating itself.
 

Real grassroots activism has to take place on the local level. Peace & justice groups of all kinds need to make their presence visible in every little village & town. Only thus are people really informed. We have seen too often that the efforts to mobilize huge marches on Washington, NYC, &c., are given short shrift by corporate media. The same energy spread around the country would communicate directly to the public & result in wider participation (& leave a smaller carbon footprint!) & growth in pressure on the Congress.

What the author fears is already happening.  As a recent example a woman Valerie Carlton was released on June 30th by Harford County (Maryland) after 13 months in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, without a single Court appearance with a $12 million bond, on 28 charges. All 28 charges have been dropped for more details of this horrible case see: www.thehostagechild.com A key problem is the media, they report the arrest in the most prejudicial terms, but not the release. As I wrote to 2BalTV recently  (without reply):

Investigative Reporters:

1.  In June 2009, your station reported the arrest of Valerie Carlton on “28 charges ranging from sexual child abuse of the two girls to  attempted kidnapping and extortion.”  You can easily refresh your memory at http://www.wbaltv.com/news/19640644/detail.html .

2.  Among the very emotive comments reported was “’(We're) hurt, furious, revengeful, that's about all I can say,’ the parent said. The parent's name is being withheld to protect the victim.”

3.  Now Harford County has dropped all 28 charges, and set Valerie free. This does not smell right.  Not least Valerie was in prison over a year, on $12 million (sic) bond, much of it in solitary confinement. This does not smell right.

4.  If interested,  www.thehostagechild.com has more on this case.

5.   What the H*** is going on?  A couple of unprovable charges  could be explained by absent-mindedness or bad luck, but 28?  I mean I get one speeding ticket and I get a warning, two tickets and I pay a fine, 3 tickets and I lose my license,… but 28?

 Just trying to be helpful,,

To clarify: My comment was a reply to the first comment, ""In the "War on Terror," I by "EDGEOFNOWHERE".

I also want to thank Lt. Col. Wingard for the article, and laud him for speaking up along with Glenn Greenwald over at Salon.