Son you were doing 65 in a 40 mph zone, and homeland security calls that terrorism

You'll notice that Homeland Security begins its rehearsal for martial law in smaller media markets where the word doesn't reach the networks as quickly. They obviously haven't considered the Google or the internets.

So, you make ask yourself, why are local law enforcement agencies handing out traffic citations during a "terrorist roundup?"

Operation Sudden Impact, eh? Glad we got those leadfooted terrorists off the highway, at least for a few minutes. They will not find traffic court in Guantanamo a day at the beach.

H/T to SF Hansen, again.

Extending the reach of Big Brother

As if there's a single reason to trust the Bush administration or the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff just announced that his department will begin to use high-tech spying options on US citizens despite congressional objections.

The implications of the Homeland Security and Terrorism industry, or did the FBI frame Briana Waters?

You have to look no further than the local "security" presence at any nearby corporation to understand that what began as a friendly guard at the reception desk ten years ago has grown to include scanners, id checks, electronic gates, holding pens and security armies. And that's just at the corporate level.

The attacks of 9/11 and the ensuing hysteria have created a homeland securities industry which has grown in much the same way as the military industrial complex Eisenhower warned about after World War II. In the "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" mode, security firms (you know some by name, like Blackwater) have seen opportunities to blossom and grow into dark armies of the night.

In the federal bureaucracy, the growth has been abetted by congressional acts which have redefined terrorism, and given intelligence organizations frightening new tools.

In a recent trial in Washington State, Briana Waters was convicted of eco-terrorism and faces up to 30 years in prison. However, she maintains her innocence in the face of evidence that the FBI coerced testimony and withheld evidence that may have proven her innocence to the jury (the FBI has demonstrated a considerable lack of restraint in using the new anti-terror tools provided to them - here in Connecticut they went after librarians). Waters, a mother, and a talented fiddler, has had her life torn apart as a result of associations with eco-protest groups in her college years.

InfraGard, an ominous logo, a snappy slogan and a literal license to kill

A few years ago, political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt wrote an op-ed which listed his findings about the characteristics of a fascist state. He found fourteen similarities between all of the fascist governments he studied, from Mussolini to Pinochet.

It's frightening to read the list and to see how many of these fourteen items are evidenced in the Bush presidency. And with Halliburton and Blackwater, the intermingling of corporate power and government authority is an affirmation of Britt's ninth item on the list:

9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of “have-not” citizens.

Now, there's even more reason to fear. Consider InfraGard, a quasi-public organization which links corporate entities to the FBI and the Homeland Securities, enlisting these entities as junior G-men in the "war on terror."

InfraGard is a bit of a private country club, where new members must be referred for membership by existing members, and where corporations receive alerts on potential threats even before state and municipal authorities. There's a chapter in your state. Here's the Connecticut website, but don't hope to find out too much, because you need to be a member to get the secure info. I did find out, to my dismay, that my bank is a sponsor. The next (and First Quarterly) meeting of Connecticut's InfraGard is February 28th at the New Haven Fire Academy. They're looking for a sponsor for their Continental Breakfast. If the Hartford Courant volunteers, does that mean they can attend and send a reporter?

I've walked my share of corporate corridors of power, and I can assure you that rampaging egos, ruthless sycophants, and power mad private security forces combine to create a potent and volatile mix which will only become more unstable when adding national security connections as an ingredient.

This is not good news for those of us who hoped our individual desire for freedom and liberty would eventually allow us to drive a wedge between corporations and government. But when politicians are funded by corporations, and when corporations are enlisted as part of a secret army, what hope do we have that we will hear the eventual knock on the door when the Blackwater chickens come home to roost.

It can't happen here? It is happening here.

But don't worry, they're only able to shoot on sight during a period of martial law.

Ridding the world of terrorist librarians

Kevin O'Connor's infamy in Connecticut stems from his prosecution of a civil liberties case against librarians in a case defending the Patriot Act.

In the end, he lost, because judges decided that the case voided the Constitutional rights of the librarians. So O'Connor decided to appeal. And lost again.

A bit further down the road, it appeared that the FBI was issuing security letters like junk mail in pursuit of boogeymen in trumped-up Patriot Act cases.

Today, the Hartford Courant, in another hard-to-fathom endorsement by their editorial board, is asking the Senate to confirm O'Connor for a high-ranking position in the Bush justice department.

Let's see, that's endorsements of George Bush (twice), John Rowland (several times), Creepy Joe™ Lieberman (often), Hillary Clinton (for today's vote), and now Kevin O'Connor. What next, an endorsement for Bill Belichick as NFL coach of the year?

The Mexican border, or a Mexican meal?

Homeland Security apparatchick Michael Chertoff, has got a feeling that things could get bad. I have a feeling it's a case of too much information, but watch out if he asks you to pull his finger.

Glad to see that Chertoff is no longer relying on what has proven to be bad intelligence, and instead is getting in touch with his inner feelings.

We have reports that the boogie man will jump out of the closet....tonite!

It was a big day for twisting the truth on ABC News as George Stephanopolous hosted Creepy Joe Lieberman and Homeland Security commandant Michael Chertoff.

Chertoff claims that the United States received a secret report indicating that al Qaida was planning a "spectacular" summer of terror with attacks on airports in Prague and Glasgow.

Strangely, though totally in character, Homeland Security never shared that report with the folks in Glasgow who were just attacked. Shades of 9-11.

By the way, Chertoff also reported that his department does not have "have any specific credible evidence that there's an attack focused on the United States at this point." He just thought a nice scare would send a chill down your spine during the hot summer months.