Civil Liberties under the Obama administration

punditman says...
I think it is safe to say that there was not only the hope—but also the assumption—that Obama would go about overturning eight years of Bush administration illegality.

Yet as Glen Greenwald, American Constitutional and civil rights litigator and Salon.com columnist says, the Obama Department of Justice is:

...not merely trying desperately to keep the Bush administration's spying activities secret, and not merely devoting itself with full force to preventing disclosure of relevant documents concerning this illegal program, but far worse, doing everything in its power even to prevent any judicial adjudication as to whether the Bush administration broke the law by spying on Americans without warrants.

Indeed, it is starting to very much to look like business as usual in Washington on the Constitutional front.

Greenwald spoke recently at the annual conference of the ACLU of Massachusetts regarding impediments to the restoration of civil liberties under the Obama administration. When you have half an hour, take the time to listen. It may change some of your assumptions:

MP3 here

Interview with Naomi Wolf: The End of America

punditman says:

The evidence of the drift towards a distinct and dangerous form of 21st authoritarianism is everywhere folks, and--not for a millisecond to let Bush and company off the hook--its' tentacles are global in scope.

I keep harping on this drift towards fascism and nobody even bats an eyelash--much less drops by with a comment. Is this the state of fear (or indifference) in which we are now ensnared? Or, is this blog just a load of paranoid and derivative parrot droppings?

Now, listen to Naomi. She speaketh the truth (I recommend taking the time to listen to this interview. You may want to nurse it along with your bevy of choice).

Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps - by Naomi Wolf

From Hitler to Pinochet and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all.

punditman says:
You may think this headline to be a tad alarmist. That is, until you read the article and reflect on how far down the road to tyranny the Bushies have gone. (NOTE: The above link is an excerpt from a book, so it is a bit long but well worth the read). The trend is not restricted to America because the so-called war on terror is global in scope and timeless in length. This leaves citizens roughly two choices:
1) Continue to live in denial of encroaching fascism.
2) Work together to halt it before it is too late.