Black Hawk helicopters over Las Vegas, snipers in Times Square

[RBHam]

2004 begins with massive military mobilization in US cities
By David Walsh, wsws.org
3 January 2004

snippet:
The military and police mobilization over New Year’s failed to produce any arrests or evidence of a terrorist plot. Yet this far-flung operation did not provoke the slightest skepticism or criticism from within the media and political establishment. Not a single voice—least of all from the Democratic Party—suggested that the government should be required to substantiate its claims or justify its extraordinary measures.

This posture of unquestioning faith in the good word of the Bush administration follows the thorough exposure of its pre-war statements in support of war against Iraq—from lurid tales of WMD stockpiles to allegations of Iraqi links to Al Qaeda—as a tissue of lies. No one on the public airwaves so much as suggests that a government that lies in order to drag its population into war should not be given a carte blanche to militarize all aspects of daily life within the US.

Are you all that scared? And if so, what are you REALLY afraid of?

another snippet...

The recent actions are directly linked as well to the Republicans’ 2004 electoral strategy. Black Hawk helicopters overhead, snipers on rooftops—this is an essential component of the Bush team’s election campaign. They intend to intimidate as much of the population as they can. They intend to keep the people off guard and on the defensive, hesitant about opposing a president “in war-time.”

Real or fabricated terrorist plots will be used to rationalize the most extreme attacks on democratic rights, up to and including the calling off of the national election itself.

more...<./b>

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jan2004/2004-j03.shtml

[Unknown Known]

1. Like "Maple Street"

the Twilight Zone episode where the aliens (BFEE) manipulate the power to scare the people and they end up destroying each other. Look what they just did with the airlines over the holidays - mass chaos.

Yes, this is the * electoral strategy for 2004, and besides that - what the hell are they going to do with Saddam? There's no way they can let this guy go to trial.

Martial law, anyone? New Year's Eve was just a trial run.

[RBHam]

2. The list of problems that could go away for BushCo...

Is endless if they could somehow enact martial law.

[slaveplanet]

4. I remember how scared

I was as a child, when my family visited northern Ireland. Troops in the the streets with automatic weapons.Even at 7 years old I could remember how glad i was i was an American and live in the USA.I had a hard time as a seven year old putting things in perspective,after all we had just gotten back from a week long tour in COMMIE Yugoslavia. I saw no troops there, just sunny skies, white sand beaches,and the beautiful blue/green waters of the Adriatic. Wasn;t NI supposed to be a free nation like the USA. I was always taught that guys in Black ski masks were the bad guy. Fast forward 2004. Guy's in black ski masks , holding loaded submachine guns, black(hawk) helicopters patrol the skys.

We are under Martial law. They just haven't officially announced it yet. These are just conditioning excersizes to make the public feel (this ain't so bad)I think a corporate/Military dictatorship is just groovy. Hell as long as the TV's on, the stores are open , and food is available...what's the big deal. Who cares if the dollar plunges to oblivion, Jobs go overseas, and the borders stay wide open to illegal infiltration.

people won't say a word till the food is cut off...or the bad news that is hitting their neighbor right now hits their own homes.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. What really sucks about this..

is that the voice of complaint is coming from the World Socialist Website.

Where the hell is everyone else?

There is something to this "sheeple" business.

Fuck "popular opinion." We need a LEADER with some common sense.