Weather Report
By Chris Floyd
11/10/2001"Moscow
Times" -- -- It won't come with jackboots and
book-burnings, with mass rallies and fevered harangues. It won't
come with "black helicopters" or tanks on the street. It won't
come like a storm, but like a break in the weather, that sudden
change of season you might feel when the wind shifts on an
October evening: everything is the same, but everything has
changed. Something has gone, departed from the world, and a new
reality has taken its place.
As in Rome, all the old forms will still be there: legislatures,
elections, campaigns - plenty of bread and circuses for the
folks. But the "consent of the governed" will no longer apply;
actual control of the state will have passed to a small group of
nobles who rule largely for the benefit of their wealthy peers
and corporate patrons.
To be sure, there will be factional conflicts among this elite,
and a degree of free debate will be permitted, within limits;
but no one outside the privileged circle will be allowed to
govern or influence state policy. Dissidents will be
marginalized - usually by "the people" themselves. Deprived of
historical knowledge by an impoverished educational system
designed to produce complacent consumers, not thoughtful
citizens, and left ignorant of current events by a media devoted
solely to profit, many will internalize the force-fed values of
the ruling elite, and act accordingly. There will be little need
for overt methods of control.
The rulers will often act in secret. For reasons of "national
security," the people will not be permitted to know what goes on
in their name. Actions once unthinkable will be accepted as
routine: government by executive fiat, the murder of "enemies"
selected by the leader, undeclared war, torture, mass detentions
without charge, the looting of the national treasury, the
creation of huge new "security structures" targeted at the
populace. In time, all this will come to seem "normal," as the
chill of autumn feels normal when summer is gone.
It Will All Seem Normal
President George W. Bush signed an executive order about ten
days ago overturning a law requiring the release of presidential
papers 12 years after the end of an administration, The
Associated Press reports. Bush officials say the president has
"reinterpreted" the law - ordinarily the job of the Supreme
Court under the old Republic - to mean that no papers can be
released unless both the current president and the former
president in question agree to it.
Historians, journalists or ordinary citizens seeking information
about the actions of past administrations will have to file suit
to show a "demonstrated, specific" need for access to the
blocked material. The mere assertion of a "right to know" about
governmental affairs will not be sufficient. Such a right no
longer exists.
A Bush spokesperson acknowledged that anyone requesting to see
such documents would be tied up in expensive court battles for
years. However, the use of executive fiat to abrogate the
function of the Supreme Court and overturn a law passed by the
people's representatives was necessary in order to protect
"national security," the spokesperson said.
Of course, a sitting president already has the authority to
withhold any past documents that might endanger national
security. But Bush's new edict will allow the quashing of
presidential papers that might be politically embarrassing or
reveal criminal behavior by past administrations.
Seem Normal
Former special prosecutor Kenneth Starr predicts that the
curtailment of civil liberties, including admitting the use of
torture, will be approved by "at least five Supreme Court
Justices," the Washington Post reports. (No points for guessing
which five.) The Quiescent Quintet will gladly give "heightened
deference to the judgments of the political branches with
respect to matters of national security," says Starr.
Indeed, the Bush administration is now openly considering the
use of torture to compel testimony from suspected terrorists -
or anyone designated as a suspected terrorist, Slate.com
reports. True, a few girlie-men are still fretting about
"constitutional rights," but the clever dicks in the Oval Office
have that one sussed: recalcitrant prisoners can always be
exported to friendly regimes, like Egypt or Kenya, where they
don't bother with such prissy concerns. Information "extracted"
there can then be used in U.S. trials.
Wouldn't evidence acquired by such heinous and unconstitutional
methods be thrown out by the courts? Ordinarily, yes - under the
old Republic. But in America's new weather, the judiciary will
no doubt "give heightened deference to the judgments of the
political branches," etc. And if all else fails, a handy
executive order can always "reinterpret" the Constitution to
accommodate the needs of "national security."
Normal
Armed with the sweeping new powers of the "USA Patriot Act"
passed late last month, the Bush administration is acting to
"shift the primary mission of the FBI from solving crimes to
gathering domestic intelligence," the Washington Post reports.
In other words, the feds will move from protecting the people to
spying on them. The CIA has also been given authority to take
part in domestic surveillance and investigation for the first
time. These domestic "black ops" will be overseen by a secret
court appointed by the Chief Justice - William "Top Quint"
Rehnquist.
Like the Chill of Autumn
Last week, President Bush demanded that Congress pass his
"economic stimulus" bill by the end of the month, the New York
Times reports. The bill would give $25 billion in federal money
directly to the nation's wealthiest corporations, including IBM,
Genereal Mototrs and General Electric, refunding taxes they paid
over the last 15 years. In all, the bill will give $112 billion
in tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations
over the next two years.
It won't come like a storm. It will all seem normal. Like a
break in the weather, a shift in the wind.
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