The problem with America today.

Greetings ATS,

Anyone who has followed my comments and threads probably thinks that I identify as Republican and this could not be further from the truth. I despise Republicans for a multitude of issues and disagree with the large majority of what the "mainstream" Republicans push as their primary agenda. I want to establish this as a foreshadow because I don't want anyone to think I am embarking on a liberal witch hunt with this thread.

An argument can be made that America was in the clutches of crony corporatism and corrupt government as early as the implementation of the federal reserve act and you would certainly be right in saying so. With that said, a certain amount of "restraint" has traditionally been employed by the government and the corporate lobbyists that control it to not upset the general population too much in too little of any stretch of time as to make a big fuss over the loss of personal freedoms to bolster bigger profits for those "in charge".

Fast forward to 9/11/2001, George W. Bush implemented the most sinister law ever devised in the history of the United States. The Patriot Act, while advertised to fight "terrorism" would be used in the months and years that followed it's implementation to endeavor into a scope well beyond the outline that was defined to the citizens of the United States. This law, would be, is now and continues to be the law which allows the NSA to illegally collect massive amounts of raw data on U.S. citizens.

George W. Bush was a traitor to this country and should be tried as such under a court of law. The Constitution and the Supreme Court both uphold the concept and the legality that when a law is made that is unconstitutional it is null and void, not at the time of challenge but at inception. The Patriot Act, is unlawful and illegitimate in it's wording, it's scope and as we can all see.... Most certainly it's practice.

What does this mean for Obama? Well, President Obama promised that his administration was going to be the most "transparent" in history. A bold claim almost no president could conform to but that claim by itself gave many hope after such a horrible tyrant like Bush had left office. The problems that come after that are more than troubling, they become downright terrifying and here is why.......

The democratic party is supposed to be focused on personal freedom and liberty and yet they historically now run the most lawless executive (federal branch) of government in the history of the country. The head of the DoJ and the head of the IRS have BOTH been found in contempt of Congress with absolutely no repercussions. The president of the United States claims executive privilege to shield the treasonous actions of his administration with the executive branch and refuses to perform his Constitutional duty to faithfully execute laws.

The current American government funds radical Islamic terrorists in the form the of the Muslim Brotherhood and the "Moderate Syrian Rebels" (AKA ISIS, ISIL), they rage war with American weapons of war that were GIVEN to them by American government and would then rob you of personal liberty in the name of keeping you safe from the same people they have in the past and currently support and arm.

Our country in the short period of two decades has succeeded in a total militarization of the police force, through the absolute ridiculous notion that we needed a Department of Homeland Security. They exist for one reason and that reason is absolute control of the population inside of American borders and for nothing else. The DHS, NSA, ATF, NSA, FBI, CIA, BLM, IRS, DOA, FDA, DHS are not in place to catch terrorists because the simple fact is, there are none in the U.S. They are in place along with all local and federal law enforcement to enforce domestic policy from the top down.

If you still believe you live in "America" you are sadly mistaken. What you as an American live in now is exactly what the Germans lived in about 2-3 years before the rise of the Nazi party. Before you chastise me about Nazi references, I would ask you to think very hard on the state of affairs in country currently.

Do we invade, destroy and conquer other countries because of political and financial interests? Do we carry out raids that have nothing to do with integral security of our own sovereign nation that kill hundreds to thousands of innocent people every day? Do we spy on, encroach on and proactively degrade the personal freedoms of our own citizens within our own borders? Do we have constant infighting between branches of government because almost all of what we do as a matter of foreign policy is illegal and immoral so it must be kept secret in the interest of "national security"?

Many people in this administration should be in jail, many people in that last administration should be in jail. Never mind that they have sold our prisons out to private companies so there is an incentive to send citizens there, never mind that police in many states can now seize any and all of your assets without due process and never mind if you're a Democrat or Republican.

Our government has gone rogue, it is lawless in the very definition and spirit of the word and is enacting laws and policies to make sure that you and I can't do anything about it. It's happening now and now is the time to take notice. You must understand that America was not ever meant to be like this, to act in this way. The founders went through great lengths to ensure it could not but they never planned on a complacent society such as we have today. The paper means nothing if those with conscious will not stand up and defend it's merit.

a reply to: Helious At work on the fay the towers fell, knowing that I paid attention to world affairs, my friends asked me who I thought was responsible. My reply was that it did not matter who was responsible but rather who would take advantage of it. Wha laa, enter the founding of Homeland Security. When I first heard the title Homeland Security I nearly choked to death with laughter at the audaciousness of their bravado.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

I won't get into the complexities of 9/11 here but we must all note that the attack on American liberty, personal freedom and this never ending war on largely "absent" terrorism all started at that flashpoint.

Terrorism is real, don't get me wrong, it just doesn't exist in the fashion that the U.S. government would like you to believe it does. We are not "AT WAR". with ISIS. They can not in any way make war with us, they don't have the means or the capability. We are only at war with them so we can destabilize the Syrian government.

Terrorism is not a threat within the US borders. You can take the actions at Fort Hood and the recent beheading into account and what you are left with statistically is bee stings killing more Americans in 1 year than terrorism has in the last decade. Numbers don't lie, people do.

The similarities between the neoconservative and nazi policy has been termed as the fourth Reich. There is a lot in the background and history that I do not understand about the Reich. What I do understand about it is that the third Reich was the political engine for WW2.

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
a reply to: Helious At work on the fay the towers fell, knowing that I paid attention to world affairs, my friends asked me who I thought was responsible. My reply was that it did not matter who was responsible but rather who would take advantage of it. Wha laa, enter the founding of Homeland Security. When I first heard the title Homeland Security I nearly choked to death with laughter at the audaciousness of their bravado.

The "Motherland" and the "Fatherland" had already been used. What else was left to people so lacking in imagination and integrity.

originally posted by: kwakakev
The similarities between the neoconservative and nazi policy has been termed as the fourth Reich. There is a lot in the background and history that I do not understand about the Reich. What I do understand about it is that the third Reich was the political engine for WW2.

The actual comparisons between the current state of America and the factions that run it at this point as compared to the Nazi party faction in 1938 are terrifying similar. We have no regard for sovereign nations, we relentlessly pursue foreign interests that are kept from the American people and the government invades, destroys and murders under the lock, key and morality of national security.

All of this in the name of keeping you and I safe although the numbers speak to you being 8x or more likely to be killed by an American police officer than a terrorist.

Great Thread. No partisan politics, just the facts.

Some will come to defend Bush or Obama, but corporate fascism thugs have the US Government by the balls. They all serve the mighty dollar, not the people.

The media whores follow the script as well, giving the willfully ignorant masses the cue on when to feel happy, sad, outraged or content.

With these soulless parasites in total control of the entire system - politics, employment, education, finance, law enforcement ect, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Great thread, bush seems to get the pass on the down fall of america now a days, barry sure didn't help stop it by any means but doesn't deserve all the credit for it.

I hope this isn't seen as partisan, but I knew little about the history of the Patriot act, so I went to Wiki using that as a search term.

On October 23, 2001, Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 3162 incorporating provisions from a previously sponsored House bill and a Senate bill also introduced earlier in the month. The next day on October 24, 2001, the Act passed the House 357 to 66, with Democrats comprising the overwhelming portion of dissent. The following day, on October 25, 2001, the Act passed the Senate by 98 to 1.

On May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, a four-year extension of three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act: roving wiretaps, searches of business records (the "library records provision"), and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves"—individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities not linked to terrorist groups.

I only looked it up because of the description given that this was the most sinister law in the history of the United States. (I would have gone with the Alien and Sedition Act, myself, just a difference of opinion.)

a reply to: kwakakev

The similarities between the neoconservative and nazi policy has been termed as the fourth Reich.

Seems all we ever get a chance to vote for in this country ... is one candidate from the Fourth Reich, or the other one from the 5th Column.

Nothing new I suppose, to think people's memories are so short. Hell, I'm still trying to grasp how we as a people justify let alone not giving it a second thought, to just drone striking a living being......randomly. Hell, I can't even hunt deer on my own land unless otherwise "permit"ed on the proper day(s) with and explicit outline of what can be used. All the while we have our military flying around in drones with real blow # up weapons using a glorified XBox without consequence whenever they damn well feel like and to whom.....man, woman or CHILD. What's stopping that from coming here? State of emergency anyone?

Gone rogue is an understatement. Our government has identified us as the real enemy combatant. Why else the police state, imprisonment, capital punishment AND THE ARMING OF THOSE WHO SEEK TO DO US HARM.

originally posted by: Helious
Fast forward to 9/11/2001, George W. Bush implemented the most sinister law ever devised in the history of the United States. The Patriot Act...

And I do not see one word in this thread regarding the tools who passed it. Congress, they are just, if not more, complicit.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Helious
Fast forward to 9/11/2001, George W. Bush implemented the most sinister law ever devised in the history of the United States. The Patriot Act...

And I do not see one word in this thread regarding the tools who passed it. Congress, they are just, if not more, complicit.

Congress is a collection of tools all with dulled or chipped edges.....a hole saw only capable of burning through the wood. They are the true lemmings, doesn't take much to manipulate the lot of them, especially when there are many movers and shakers themselves in congress.

Originally came in to see how you picked just one problem, but good OP.

There's still a small, faint glimmer of hope. Vote out all incumbents and mess them up for a while.

P.S. You forgot the NCS

The Patriot Act is nothing compared to the days of Sedition Laws, rounding up people in camps because of their former nationality, The House Committee on Un-American Activities etc. Amercian history is filled with these sorts of things. These things come and go.

originally posted by: MrSpad
The Patriot Act is nothing compared to the days of Sedition Laws, rounding up people in camps because of their former nationality, The House Committee on Un-American Activities etc. Amercian history is filled with these sorts of things. These things come and go.

Heck, it goes all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials. It's human nature. We may start out with good intentions, but we always take it too far.

a reply to: Helious

Great thread.

I made a similar one a few years ago, I think, regarding American being a rogue state by it's own definition of the term.

Sad that we've had to sink this low in the name of patriotism and 'safety'.

~Tenth

a reply to: Helious

This country has been involved in crony corporatism since its foundation. Just look up the creation of the first transcontinental railroad. No wait, I'll do it for you.

By the way, the period after the civil war is largely considered one of the most corrupt in American history, with Grant's presidency being one of the if not the worst. Just read up on those presidencies to see how this stuff goes down.

a reply to: Helious

Interesting thread title... At first I thought you just forgot to add an S on the end of problem, but quickly realized that a thread discussing americas problems would be endless...haha

a reply to: Helious

I couldn't agree with you more!!

Although I'd like to point out that the UK and from what I read I believe australia also are just as fcuked up.

With an over bearing government involved in the invasion of several countries over the last several years for financial and political gain under the deceitful disguise of fighting a "war on terror". All the while implementing laws and restrictions on the people back home to monitor their every move both online or in the real world.

The Guardian revealed on Friday that GCHQ has placed more than 200 probes on transatlantic cables and is processing 600m "telephone events" a day as well as up to 39m gigabytes of internet traffic. Using a programme codenamed Tempora, it can store and analyse voice recordings, the content of emails, entries on Facebook, the use of websites as well as the "metadata" which records who has contacted who. The programme is shared with GCHQ's American partner, the National Security Agency.

Using the police as their own personal body guards while putting very little effort into solving real crimes or helping victims.

Almost 10,000 police officers drafted in to protect 67 politicians from around the world.

Nearly 10,000 police officers are being drafted in to cover next month's Nato summit in Wales, an event described by the officer in charge of the security operation as "completely uncharted territory" for UK policing. The number of police officers involved in protecting the two-day event, based at the Celtic Manor resort outside Newport and attended by 67 heads of state and government, who will discuss crises ranging from Ukraine to Iraq, equates to almost 8% of the police strength in England and Wales.

Lining their pockets with money and handing themselves more and more powers while taking from the people and letting us struggle to get by.

David Cameron and Ed Miliband will face embarrassment this week when it is announced that MPs will be paid an annual salary of £74,000 from 2015 despite their calls for "cheaper politics". The independent parliamentary standards authority, Ipsa, is to reveal its decision to increase politician salaries by 11%

while receiving pay rises they think we should be happy that they will raise the tax free income allowance from 10,000 to 12,500 by 2020.

2020!!! They get an 11% pay rise every couple of years and I have to wait 6 years to get an extra £2500 a year on my salary.

Financial inequality at its best!

At the same time pulling the wool over everyone's eyes so we keep voting and propping the system up.

The list goes on and on but my point is that the corruption of country leaders is a global problem. At least for now you still have your guns. We lost those a long time ago.