Something to Think About

The Human Stain blog reported a few days ago on a speech by Jim Marcinkowski, who is running for Congress in Michigan's 8th Congressional District. Here is the speech, National Security: The Attack on the Constitution,
but it contains a portion I am going to paraphrase & edit slightly:

State of the Union, America in 2006:

-Our government is always right and never apologizes.

-Dissent is suppressed, ridiculed or banned.

-The torture of captives is openly condoned.

-State incarceration is, in some cases, not subject to the checks and balances of the courts.

-Economic plans, such as for oil, are established in closed sessions between politicians and industry, far outside public view.

-Government agents have access to your medical records, your library records, your telephone, and your e-mail.

-The Constitution is a mere facade, ignored by the nation's leader.

-Dissent, debate and protest are called "unpatriotic".

-The public media serves as a lackey to the government.

-Wrong is declared right.

-Tapping a phone is like tapping a pencil.

-Lying is considered a patriotic skill.

-The extraction of natural resources overrides any concern for the environment and the impact on the health of people.

-Anything embarrasing to the government is hidden away as an item of “national security”.

-"Secrecy" and "national security" are used to control debate.

-The "legislators" are simply mouthpieces and rubberstamps for the President.

-Foreign policy is more important than domestic concerns.

-Fear is used as a political weapon and an acceptable means of control.

-The best medical care is reserved for the influential.

-Wealth is concentrated in the top 5%.


Sound like America 2006? I thought so too; any thinking, knowledgable American (even Republicans) would recognize these as accurately representing America in 2006. Even the President has admitted, or proudly trumpeted, many of these thngs as acomplishments. Marcinkowski, a 30-year veteran of the FBI and CIA, is actually describing the Soviet Union of the 1950s and 60s.

Oh well...