A high school in Maine was taken over by the National Guard this past Thursday to train Guardsmen to deal with unruly citizens begging for swine flu vaccines.
Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris, Maine, has been chosen as a distribution site for the H1N1 flu vaccine by state officials.
Thursdays drill involved a riot scenario after Gov. John Baldacci and Gen. John Libby, adjutant general of the Maine National Guard, agreed that measures should be in place to deal with a possible public rush for inoculations against swine flu.
"On Thursday morning four or five National Guard Humvees traveled from Augusta to Paris with vials of fake serum." reported the Maine Sun Journal.
"The National Guardsmen took on the roles of panicked citizens and military police and practiced what they would do, such as using tear gas, in the case of a riot." The article continues.
Local police will also liaise with the National Guard on the school grounds. The school itself will remain open according to the report.
Center for Disease Control figures state that there are 323 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Maine. One man has died from the disease, though he was said to have "underlying health conditions" that were worsened by the flu.
The story dovetails with reports from late July indicating that the U.S. military is gearing up to get involved in the H1N1 swine flu outbreak promised to strike in the fall.
"The U.S. military wants to establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak of H1N1 this fall, according to Defense Department officials," a proposal that is currently on the desk of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, according to a CNN report.
The report indicates that troops could be drawn from either active duty forces or National Guard and Reserve forces, or both.
"As a first step, Gates is being asked to sign a so-called 'execution order' that would authorize the military to begin to conduct the detailed planning to execute the proposed plan." The report states.
Gates' overtures to usurp control of the Guard in a national emergency, and even to eventually merge the Guard and the Army Reserves into a "Total Force" of the U.S. military, under management of the DoD, has angered state authorities.
Last week The National Governors Association wrote to the Pentagon condemning the military's open plans to effectively seize domestic control of National Guard and federal forces deployed in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
The NGA noted that the military's agenda amounted to a dilution of governors' constitutional responsibilities.
In addition to these ongoing proposals, the Pentagon has announced that at least 20,000 more active duty soldiers will be placed inside the United States under NorthCom to "help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe."
According to NorthCom itself, the move also includes "civil unrest and crowd control".
The ACLU has warned that the deployment represents an expansion of presidential and military authority and a militarization of homeland security.
The trend hasn't gone unnoticed on Capitol Hill either. Georgia Congressman Paul Broun warned attendees of a town hall event Tuesday that the Obama administration is planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States, in the wake of increased political unrest and plunging approval ratings.
The use of the National Guard for law enforcement duties and confrontation of American citizens is becoming increasingly common throughout the U.S.
National Guard troops were used to control the public during the Boston Marathon, the Kentucky Derby, and during New Year celebrations in Times Square last year.
The sheriff of Alabama's most populous county has announced he will probably have to bring in National Guard troops to perform law enforcement duties due to budget cuts.
Such a move has been replicated in other parts of the country, including in Schenectady, New York, where budget constraints were not even cited as a reason for the changeover.
In April of this year, the Maryland National Guard was put on alert under an anti-terrorism program in anticipation of nationwide Tea Party protests. A "Force Protection Advisory" document stated that Guardsmen and Guard facilities might become "targets of opportunity".
In March, the United States Army Reserve Command published a Force Protection Advisory recommending "situational awareness" and "mitigation measures" in response to End the Fed protests.
Other National Guard units have recently undergone training to engage in combat with "militia" groups and held door to door gun confiscation drills.
Meanwhile the Army National Guard is advertising for qualified personnel to work as "Corrections Officers and Internment/Resettlement Specialists.
The use of military assets in civilian law enforcement is still illegal under Posse Comitatus, unless a clear state of emergency exists.
It's time to wake up people! The day will come when we have to decide if we are going to lose all our rights to our dictatorial government, or are we going to stand up and fight back?
I hope that the men and women in our military remember the oath they took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. If they do, then they will not follow orders to take up arms against innocent American citizens.
It's our right and duty as American citizens to engage in civil disobedience. Don't be afraid to fight for the rights our Founding Fathers gave their lives for.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Nazi-America Is Here!
A privately-run informant program operating nationwide encourages Americans to anonymously turn each other in to the authorities for cash rewards eerily similar to the Nazi "denunciations"of 1930 Germany, where neighbors would give their neighbors up to the local Gestapo over petty issues.
The WeTip organization takes anonymous tips online or via toll-free phone lines and carries the creepy slogan "For A Safer America" on its website(www.wetip.com) beneath an American flag.
The group forwards tips given by the public to law enforcement authorities across the country, with no jurisdictional borders.
An Orwellian poster being plastered up across American towns and cities as part of a campaign run by the organization reads,"ILLEGAL ACTIVITY IS NOT TOLERATED" and advises citizens to "turn them in" and receive a reward of up to $1000. Things to "turn them in" for include drug dealing and theft, but more vague examples "threats and intimidation" as well as "weapons" and "gang activity" are listed, as is "child abuse".
Is the presence of a "weapon" in and of itself evidence of a crime in a country where citizens have a legal right to own firearms? Will your neighbor be turning you in if he sees you loading your vehicle with a rifle on your way to participate in legal and licensed hunting activities? What about "child abuse"? Will your friendly local spy be informing the authorities when he sees you disciplining your child?
What else constitutes suspicious activity? According to law enforcement and Homeland Security guidelines suspicious behavior includes owning guns, being politically active, and having bumper stickers on your car, seriously, bumper stickers.
The WeTip organization also offers a training institute for schools, businesses and government employees, presumably providing skills courses on how to become an expert domestic spy, just like in Communist East Germany.
WeTip also claims in its promotion material that it has been endorsed by both Bush presidents, as well as Bill Clinton, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
What's really ironic is that Schwarzenegger starred in the movie The Running Man, a futuristic portrayal of a wacky dictatorship where citizens are reminded by huge TV screens placed on street corners that they can "earn a double bonus for reporting on a family member"
As America sinks into a military police state, it begins to parallel more and more aspects of Nazi Germany, especially in the context of citizens being turned against each other, which in turn creates a climate of fear and the sense that we are always being watched.
One common misconception about Nazi Germany was that the police state was solely a creation of the authorities and that the citizens were merely victims. On the contrary, Gestapo files show that 80% of all Gestapo investigations were started in response to information provided by denunciations by "ordinary" Germans.
People who informed on their neighbors were motivated primarily by greed, jealousy, and petty differences. NOT by a genuine concern about crime or insecurity.
Partners in business turned in associates to gain full ownership. Jealous boyfriends informed on rival suitors. Neighbors betrayed entire families who left shared bathrooms unclean or who occupied desirable apartments. And then there were those who informed because for the first time someone in authority would listen to them and value what they had to say.
Germans who sicked the authorities on their neighbors knew very well what the consequences would be for the victims-families torn apart, torture, and internment in concentration camps, and ultimately in many cases death. But they still did it with few qualms because the financial rewards and convenience were more important to them.
Last year a New York Times feature article celebrated the fact that an increasing number of Americans are becoming informants and turning in their neighbors and family members to the authorities in return for cash rewards. In a piece about a new program run by Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers, citing gas prices, foreclosure rates, and runaway food inflation, The Times lauds the fact that citizens are reporting on each other ensuring "a substantial increase in Crime Stopper-related arrests and recovered property, as callers turn in neighbors, grandchildren, or former boyfriends, in exchange for a little cash.
The WeTip program and its offer of $1000 for turning people in, in an environment of recession and unemployment, the temptation to inform on people for minor indiscretions would be too tempting for many to resist, creating a backlog of petty offences reported by people with no criminal detective skills whatsoever, leading to harassment of innocent people and ensuring that more real crimes go unsolved.
I encourage you to do what I have done. Use the WeTip "Submit a Tip" form to remind the crypto-Nazis behind this program that this is America, not Germany in the 1930's. Building strong communities is about establishing strong bonds and friendships with your neighbors, not giving them up to the authorities for a quick buck!
The WeTip organization takes anonymous tips online or via toll-free phone lines and carries the creepy slogan "For A Safer America" on its website(www.wetip.com) beneath an American flag.
The group forwards tips given by the public to law enforcement authorities across the country, with no jurisdictional borders.
An Orwellian poster being plastered up across American towns and cities as part of a campaign run by the organization reads,"ILLEGAL ACTIVITY IS NOT TOLERATED" and advises citizens to "turn them in" and receive a reward of up to $1000. Things to "turn them in" for include drug dealing and theft, but more vague examples "threats and intimidation" as well as "weapons" and "gang activity" are listed, as is "child abuse".
Is the presence of a "weapon" in and of itself evidence of a crime in a country where citizens have a legal right to own firearms? Will your neighbor be turning you in if he sees you loading your vehicle with a rifle on your way to participate in legal and licensed hunting activities? What about "child abuse"? Will your friendly local spy be informing the authorities when he sees you disciplining your child?
What else constitutes suspicious activity? According to law enforcement and Homeland Security guidelines suspicious behavior includes owning guns, being politically active, and having bumper stickers on your car, seriously, bumper stickers.
The WeTip organization also offers a training institute for schools, businesses and government employees, presumably providing skills courses on how to become an expert domestic spy, just like in Communist East Germany.
WeTip also claims in its promotion material that it has been endorsed by both Bush presidents, as well as Bill Clinton, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
What's really ironic is that Schwarzenegger starred in the movie The Running Man, a futuristic portrayal of a wacky dictatorship where citizens are reminded by huge TV screens placed on street corners that they can "earn a double bonus for reporting on a family member"
As America sinks into a military police state, it begins to parallel more and more aspects of Nazi Germany, especially in the context of citizens being turned against each other, which in turn creates a climate of fear and the sense that we are always being watched.
One common misconception about Nazi Germany was that the police state was solely a creation of the authorities and that the citizens were merely victims. On the contrary, Gestapo files show that 80% of all Gestapo investigations were started in response to information provided by denunciations by "ordinary" Germans.
People who informed on their neighbors were motivated primarily by greed, jealousy, and petty differences. NOT by a genuine concern about crime or insecurity.
Partners in business turned in associates to gain full ownership. Jealous boyfriends informed on rival suitors. Neighbors betrayed entire families who left shared bathrooms unclean or who occupied desirable apartments. And then there were those who informed because for the first time someone in authority would listen to them and value what they had to say.
Germans who sicked the authorities on their neighbors knew very well what the consequences would be for the victims-families torn apart, torture, and internment in concentration camps, and ultimately in many cases death. But they still did it with few qualms because the financial rewards and convenience were more important to them.
Last year a New York Times feature article celebrated the fact that an increasing number of Americans are becoming informants and turning in their neighbors and family members to the authorities in return for cash rewards. In a piece about a new program run by Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers, citing gas prices, foreclosure rates, and runaway food inflation, The Times lauds the fact that citizens are reporting on each other ensuring "a substantial increase in Crime Stopper-related arrests and recovered property, as callers turn in neighbors, grandchildren, or former boyfriends, in exchange for a little cash.
The WeTip program and its offer of $1000 for turning people in, in an environment of recession and unemployment, the temptation to inform on people for minor indiscretions would be too tempting for many to resist, creating a backlog of petty offences reported by people with no criminal detective skills whatsoever, leading to harassment of innocent people and ensuring that more real crimes go unsolved.
I encourage you to do what I have done. Use the WeTip "Submit a Tip" form to remind the crypto-Nazis behind this program that this is America, not Germany in the 1930's. Building strong communities is about establishing strong bonds and friendships with your neighbors, not giving them up to the authorities for a quick buck!
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