Posted on 04/16/2015 7:55:32 AM PDT by B4Ranch
"What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else." –Author Tom Clancy
The American people remain eager to be persuaded that a new president in the White House can solve the problems that plague us. Yet no matter who wins this next presidential election, you can rest assured that the new boss will be the same as the old boss, and we—the permanent underclass in America—will continue to be forced to march in lockstep with the police state in all matters, public and private.
Indeed, as I point out in my new book, Battlefield America: The War on the American People, it really doesn't matter what you call them—the 1%, the elite, the controllers, the masterminds, the shadow government, the police state, the surveillance state, the military-industrial complex—so long as you understand that no matter which party occupies the White House in 2017, the unelected bureaucracy that actually calls the shots will continue to do so.
Consider the following a much-needed reality check, an antidote if you will, against an overdose of overhyped campaign announcements, lofty electoral promises and meaningless patriotic sentiments that land us right back in the same prison cell.
FACT: For the first time in history, Congress is dominated by a majority of millionaires who are, on average, fourteen times wealthier than the average American. According to a scientific study by Princeton researchers, the United States of America is not the democracy that it purports to be, but rather an oligarchy, in which "economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy."
FACT: "Today, 17,000 local police forces are equipped with such military equipment as Blackhawk helicopters, machine guns, grenade launchers, battering rams, explosives, chemical sprays, body armor, night vision, rappelling gear and armored vehicles," reports Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. "Some have tanks."
FACT: Thanks to an overabundance of 4,500-plus federal crimes and 400,000-plus rules and regulations, it is estimated that the average American actually commits three felonies a day without knowing it. In fact, according to law professor John Baker, "There is no one in the United States over the age of 18 who cannot be indicted for some federal crime. That is not an exaggeration."
FACT: The number of violent crimes in the country is down substantially, the lowest rate in forty years, while the number of Americans being jailed for nonviolent crimes such as driving with a suspended license is skyrocketing.
FACT: Despite the fact that women only make up 8 percent of the prison population, they are more likely to be strip searched, though not more likely to carry contraband.
FACT: Despite the fact that we have 46 million Americans living at or below the poverty line, 16 million children living in households without adequate access to food, and at least 900,000 veterans relying on food stamps, enormous sums continue to be doled out for presidential vacations ($16 million for trips to Africa and Hawaii), overtime fraud at the Department of Homeland Security (nearly $9 million in improper overtime claims, and that's just in six of the DHS' many offices)HurricaHur, and Hollywood movie productions ($10 million was spent by the Army National Guard on Superman movie tie-ins aimed at increasing awareness about the National Guard).
FACT: Since 2001 Americans have spent $10.5 million every hour for numerous foreign military occupations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's also the $2.2 million spent every hour on maintaining the United States' nuclear stockpile, and the $35,000 spent every hour to produce and maintain our collection of Tomahawk missiles. And then there's the money the government exports to other countries to support their arsenals, at the cost of $1.61 million every hour for the American taxpayers.
FACT: It is estimated that 2.7 million children in the United States have at least one parent in prison, whether it be a local jail or a state or federal penitentiary, due to a wide range of factors ranging from overcriminalization and surprise raids at family homes to roadside traffic stops.
FACT: At least 400 to 500 innocent people are killed by police officers every year. Indeed, Americans are now eight times more likely to die in a police confrontation than they are to be killed by a terrorist. Americans are 110 times more likely to die of foodborne illness than in a terrorist attack.
FACT: Police officers are more likely to be struck by lightning than be made financially liable for their wrongdoing.
FACT: On an average day in America, over 100 Americans have their homes raided by SWAT teams.There has been a notable buildup in recent years of SWAT teams within non-security-related federal agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Education Department.
FACT: The FBI's Next Generation Identification (NGI) facial recognition system, which is set to hold data on millions of Americans, will include a variety of biometric data, including palm prints, iris scans, and face recognition data. The FBI hopes to have 52 million images by 2015. NGI will be capable of uploading 55,000 images a day, and conducting tens of thousands of photo searches a day.
FACT: Comprising an $82 billion industry, at least 30,000 drones are expected to occupy U.S. airspace by 2020.
FACT: Devices are now being developed that would allow police to stop a car remotely, ostensibly to end police chases.
FACT: Everything we do will eventually be connected to the Internet. By 2030 it is estimated there will be 100 trillion sensor devices connecting human electronic devices (cell phones, laptops, etc.) to the Internet. Much, if not all, of our electronic devices will be connected to Google, which openly works with government intelligence agencies.
FACT: In 2015 mega-food corporations will begin rolling out high-tech shelving outfitted with cameras in order to track the shopping behavior of customers, as well as information like the age and sex of shoppers.
FACT: If knowledge is power, it's no wonder Americans are in hot water. According to a study by the National Constitution Center, 41 percent of Americans "are not aware that there are three branches of government, and 62 percent couldn't name them; 33 percent couldn't even name one."
FACT: The United States is one of the highest TV viewing nations. According to a Nielsen report, the average American over the age of two "spends more than thirty-four hours a week watching live television . . . plus another three to six hours watching taped programs."
FACT: Only six out of every one hundred Americans know that they actually have a constitutional right to hold the government accountable for wrongdoing, as guaranteed by the right to petition clause of the First Amendment.
FACT: According to a Gallup poll, Americans place greater faith in the military and the police than in any of the three branches of government. However, when asked to name the greatest problem facing the nation, Americans of all political stripes ranked the government as the number one concern. In fact, almost eight out of ten Americans believe that government corruption is widespread.
Perhaps the most troubling fact of all is this: we have handed over control of our government and our lives to faceless bureaucrats who view us as little more than cattle to be bred, branded, butchered and sold for profit.
If there is to be any hope of restoring our freedoms and reclaiming control over our government, it will rest not with the politicians but with the people themselves. When all is said and done, each American will have to decide for themselves whether they prefer dangerous freedom to peaceful slavery.
This article provided courtesy of The Rutherford Institute. Please click here for original commentary with full link
Its a good thing the patriots at Lexington and Concord didn't know that.
A defeatist point of view, like saying we might as well vote for Adolf Hitler, or Barack Obama.
Most will settle for peaceful slavery. They already have done so.
I’m on page 550 of Atlas Shrugged and it feels like I am reading contemporary news. Amazing how well she predicted this.
And it's high time for modern day patriots to step forward en mass. If we don't stand now, America will breathe her last gasps.
His agenda is showing.
I'll keep sending money to Cruz during the primary. That's one thing I've never done before. FR yes. Politician, no. The 'conventional wisdom' has changed.
/johnny
Right. Reagan was Carter. Cruz will be 0bama.
But Bush will be 0bama. No more RINOs!
When I look at who has been elected to elective office there is not much room for error. We can count on one hand the number of people with the mindset of constitutional patriots. Ted Cruz will not be elected unless there is a monstrous awakening of political awareness in the minds of the American voters.
We have more Communists in office today than we have patriots.
We are allowing Saudi Arabia to infiltrate every facet of our society and government. Most politicians are eager to reach for the money they contribute to their reelections.
Tell me where you see the reeducation of American society coming from and who will sustain it? Look at the treatment our veterans receive from the feds and you’ll see why I don’t have faith in the phrase “Tomorrow will be a better day”.
“Only six out of every one hundred Americans know that they actually have a constitutional right to hold the government accountable for wrongdoing, as guaranteed by the right to petition clause of the First Amendment.”
I’ve always FELT that I knew this... But in the past 20 years, I’ve seen government do BLATANTLY illegal things and NEVER be held accountable..
- after all, it is THEY who seem to have the job of holding THEMSELVES accountable... Which NONE of them are honorable enough to do any more.
two peas from the same pod.
Unless Cruz wins.
He cites facts that point toward a class issue. While there is a "government class" and everyone else, the core issue is:
Rampant Lawlessness, starting at the very top of our institutions and trickling down to every street corner in America.
Only when the American People have the will to storm DC, Try and Hang every government employee and elected official found there, will this republic be restored.
Unless that, no hope.
[[you can rest assured that the new boss will be the same as the old boss]]
BS- we saw MASSIVE changes take place when carter took office, Clinton, and now this president who took the ball and ran even further than ever with his ideological crap- this president was NOT the same as the last- he was a radical change from last president, and the next president, if republican, if Ted, WILL be radically different as well- repealing most of the crap this president has done
The intent is probably to depress voters with Conservative values into staying home next November.
Something the GOP is fully capable of achieving without their help.
Republicans CONTROL BOTH HOUSES and nothing is changing! They are still bowing to Obama as if he is the king. The Saudi MONEY IS THE KING TODAY. Tomorrow it will be the same unless these low information voters suddenly awaken.
Either special interests will pick the next Democrat President or the media will select the next Republican President.
After watching the Republican in-fighting destroy any chance of a decent candidate time and time again, I have little faith that this time will be different.
Wait a while and you will see it happen here on FreeRepublic - one issue voters attack anyone who isn’t.
My prediction - the media will select the scapegoat who will take the blame for the coming economic collapse while letting Obama et al off scott free.
Chris Christie seems to be a suitable patsy.
BUMP
and this is probably true too....
” FACT: Thanks to an overabundance of 4,500-plus federal crimes and 400,000-plus rules and regulations, it is estimated that the average American actually commits three felonies a day without knowing it.”
Good quote by Tom Clancy.didn’t know he was conservative. I will read some of his novels now.
America is supposed to be government of the people and by the people. what a joke . This Obama is a dictator like Stalin or Chaves and the FCC, DHS, EPA, FDA, IRS etc are his state police.
Most Americans don’t even know that Obama gave 500,000 social security numbers to illegals and that he doesn’t have the authority to do this.
Same as when Obama ordered the FCC to regulate the Internet with Soros researched regulations.
The media hides all these illegal acts by Obama
This shows that government is unaccountable and should be abolished. Obama is just using these government agencies like the IRS, FCC, DHS, Social security administration, EPA , FDA, etc. as his gestapo or personal state police . All of these government agencies are shutting down freedom , opportunity and even the ability to make a living for Americans
All of these government agencies must be abolished and Obama jailed for his crimes
This country was set up to follow the Constitution and the rule of law not rule by dictate of one person like Barack Obama is doing. I don’t see anyone not even the so called conservative darlings putting all this together and all of Obama’s crimes together and calling for impeachment. Furthermore the States created a weak federal government. the Constitution reserves all powers not explicit given to the federal gov to the States and the people. this should be government by the people but the people don’t even know what the dictator Obama is doing with the FCC,EPA, IRS and how he is destroying freedom with those
[[Republicans CONTROL BOTH HOUSES and nothing is changing!]]
They would be absolutely crucified by the msm IF they tried to oppose the ‘first black president’-
Lidsten, I’m with you on the idea that the GOP are spineless- however, let’s wait till after the3 next election IF a republican like Ted gets elected before passing final judgment- it’s very likely heads will roll if He takes office because the msm will have lost their teeth somewhat after this president now leaves office-
IF ted takes office, and nothing changes- then I will agree with you fully- I’ve just about had it with GOP as well- but I’m reserving judgment for after the next election of a republican- time will tell- but the point is- NOONE has been as evil and nation destroying as this current one in office- and it’s a real battle for republicans to remain in office should they decide to try to stand up against him, and it’s possible they are just biding their time, waiting for their day o n the court to show what they are capable of
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