Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The Patriot Act, 10 Years Later

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Patriot Act, 10 Years Later

Click here to access article from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Not only was the 9/11 incident used to launch never-ending wars of aggression, they have also installed in the US all the necessary infrastructure of a police state just in case Americans start getting in the way of the imperial project.

Pushed through Congress without debate, the massive surveillance bill was hastily passed just 45 days after 9/11, and was the first of many changes to surveillance laws over the past decade that made it easier for the government to spy on innocent Americans.