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HomePoliticsThe Bush Administration and the politics of fear.

The Bush Administration and the politics of fear.

The Logo of the Republican PartyWhile we want to believe that we can trust everything our government tells us, recent history has shown that in this Rovian age that we are likely to be mislead.


If you looked behind the grandiose press conferences of the cases against Abu Ali, Jose Padilla’s, and others like theirs, you find the flimsiest of facts – Counter punch

So, take these new claims of Terrorist plots with a grain of salt.

Much like that in the terrorism conspiracy claims made against 7 men from Miami, Florida recently.

“As been reported, seven men were arrested yesterday in Miami on charges of conspiring to support the al Qaeda terrorist organization by planning attacks on numerous targets, including bombing the Sears Tower in Chicago, the FBI building in North Miami Beach, Florida, and other government buildings in Miami-Date County.” – U.S. Department of Justice Press Release

But in reality the men were not linked to any terrorist groups, attempted no terrorist actions other than reportedly swearing oaths to a terrorist organization which they had never any contact with.

Our own government privately dismissed the risk of these so called conspirators, while at the same time making sensational claims to the contrary to the press.

Buzz Flash a online progressive news organization compiled a list of quotes:

The Chicago Police told the NY Daily News that There was “No credible threat… They had no capability to (destroy the Sears tower). They never got to that point – or could have.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a Sears Tower executive informed them that “Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions.”

A Senior federal law-enforcement source was quite clear that the group had “No means” to attack Sears Tower or other buildings. “There was no threat at all.” according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Executive Director of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication said “The plan developed in Florida was never an actual plan, and therefore, nobody was in danger” so says a CBS News report.

Buzzflash also released a report that in June, Karl Rove ratcheted his much vaunted fear machine up again.

I am sure we all remember this the quote from Fahrenheit 9/11:

“You can make people do anything when they’re afraid.” – Jim McDermott (D-WA)

I feel that George Bush needs a dictionary. In a press conference he recently held, Bush said:

The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to — to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.

The Wikipedia defines fascism as “a radical totalitarian political philosophy that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism.”

Sure sounds like the George W. Bush’s vision of his ideal government. Could this be a classic example of projection?

Projection is a defense mechanism where an individual attributes to other people impulses and traits that he himself has, but cannot accept.

He also made claims that our nation is safer since 9/11

The — this country is safer than it was prior to 9/11. We’ve taken a lot of measures to protect the American people. But obviously we’re still not completely safe, because there are people that still plot and people who want to harm us for what we believe in. It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America.

And that is why we have given our officials the tools they need to protect our people.

He doesn’t care that he’s had to trash the laws of this nation and the Constitution that he swore to protect and defend, in order to do it either.

A quote that some attribute to Benjamin Franklin says it quite well:

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Our nation may be safer, but we have lost too much of the freedoms we used to take for granted in exchange. The goal of terrorism is to make the targeted society change. In this, we have given victory to the terrorists.

We nibble away at the liberties which made America the envy of the world, all in the name of protecting our citizens. Yes steps should be taken to protect our nation from terrorist attacks, but not at the cost of our personal, civil, and constitutionally protected liberties.

We have had The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War, and Illegal Domestic Surveillance, a recent report released by the minority members of Congress which details some of the constitutional issues created by the use of these Bush Administration tactics.

Bush also said:

It — travelers are going to be inconvenienced as a result of the steps we’ve taken. I urge their patience and ask them to be vigilant. The inconveniences occurs because we will take the steps necessary to protect the American people.

…The American people need to know we live in a dangerous world, but our government will do everything we can to protect our people from those dangers.

We lived in a dangerous world long before 2001, the only thing that changed was the people and the party in charge, and how badly they over reacted to it.

It is past time that we show the Republicans, the Bush Administration, and their enablers, that our freedoms are not something that we are willing to surrender, that they are accountable to the people of the United States, and to the rule of law. No one in our nation is above the law, and our president and his administration should not be held to a lesser standard, but to a higher one.

Here’s someone who says why this is necessary, much better than I ever could:

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Bill Larson
Bill Larson
Bill Larson is  is politically and socially active in the community. Bill is a member of the Friends of Dunbar Cave. You can reach him via telephone at 931-249-0043 or via the email address below.
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