America's Devolution Into Dictatorship

America's Devolution Into Dictatorship

Licensed to Kill

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

November 11, 2010

http://www.counterpunch.org/


The United States Department of Justice (sic) routinely charges and convicts innocents with bogus and concocted crimes that are not even on the statutes book. The distinguished defense attorney and civil libertarian, Harvey A. Silverglate, published a book last year, “Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent,” which conclusively proves that today in “freedom and democracy” America we have punishment without crime.

This same Justice (sic) Department, which routinely frames and railroads the innocent, argued in Federal Court on November 8 that the US government, if approved by the president, could murder anyone it wishes, citizens or noncitizens, at will. All that is required is that the government declare, without evidence, charges, trial, jury conviction or any of the due process required by the US Constitution, that the government suspects the murdered person or persons to be a “threat.”

The US Justice (sic) Department even told US Federal District Court Judge John Bates that the US judiciary, formerly a co-equal branch of government, has absolutely no legal authority whatsoever to stick its nose into President “Change” Obama’s decision to assassinate Americans. The unaccountability of the president’s decision to murder people is, the US Justice (sic) Department declared, one of “the very core powers of the president as commander in chief.”

The argument by the Justice (sic) Department that the executive branch has unreviewable authority to kill Americans, whom the executive branch has unilaterally, without presenting evidence, determined to pose a threat, was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center For Constitutional Rights.

The outcome of the case will determine whether president George W. Bush, was correct when he said that the US Constitution was nothing but a “scrap of paper.”

It is my opinion that the American people and the US Constitution haven’t much chance of winning this case. The Republican Federalist Society has succeeded in appointing many federal district, appeals and supreme court judges, who believe that the powers of the executive branch are superior to the powers of the legislature and judiciary. The Founding Fathers of our country declared unequivocally that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches were co-equal, However, the Republican brownshirts who comprise the Federalist Society have implanted the society’s demonic ideology in the federal bench and Justice (sic) Department. Today the erroneous belief is widespread that the executive branch is supreme and that the other branches of government are less than equal.

If Americans have a greater enemy than neoconservatives, that enemy is the Federalist Society.

Disagree with me as you will, but now let’s look at this development from another perspective. I am old enough to remember the Nixon years, and I was a presidential appointee, confirmed by the US senate, in the Reagan administration. For those of you too young to know and those who are to old to remember, President Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment simply because Nixon lied about when he learned about the burglary of the Watergate office of the Democratic party.

Nixon lied about when he learned of the burglary, because he knew that the Washington Post would make an issue of the burglary, if he launched an investigation, to defeat his re-election. The military/security complex and the black ops groups in the US government were angry at Nixon for smoothing US-China relations. The Washington Post, long regarded as a CIA asset, hid behind its “liberal” image to bring Nixon down. Woodward and Bernstein wrote thriller-type reports of midnight meetings with “Deep Throat” in parking garages to get the scoop on the date of Nixon’s knowledge of the meaningless burglary.

Let’s assume that I have it all wrong. The fact remains that Nixon was driven from office because of the Watergate burglary. No one was harmed. Nixon did not kill anyone or claim the right to kill, without proof or accountability, American citizens. If the dastardly President Nixon had a Justice (sic) Department like the present one, he simply would have declared Woodward, Bernstein, and the Washington Post to be a threat and murdered them by merely exercising the power that the Obama administration is claiming.

Nixon might be too far in the past for most Americans, so let’s look at Ronald Reagan.

The neoconservatives’ Iran/Contra scandal almost brought down President Reagan. It is unclear whether President Reagan knew about the neocon operation and, if he did, whether he was kept in the loop. But all of this aside, what do you think would have been President Reagan’s fate if he, or his Justice (sic) Department, had declared that Reagan had the power as commander in chief to murder anyone he considered to be a threat?

Instantly, the media would have been in an uproar, law schools and university faculties would have been in an uproar, the Democrats would have been demanding Reagan’s impeachment, and his impeachment would have occurred with the speed of light.

Today in Amerika, approximately 25 years later, the ACLU has to go to federal court in order to attempt to affirm that “if the Constitution means anything, it surely means that the president does not have unreviewable authority to summarily execute any American whom he concludes is an enemy of the state.”

In reply, the Justice (sic) Department told the court that murdering American citizens is a “political question” that is not subject to judicial review. The “freedom and democracy” government then invoked the “state secrets privilege” and declared that the case against the government’s power to commit murder must be dismissed in order to avoid “the disclosure of sensitive information”

If the Obama Regime wins this case, the US will have become a dictatorship.

As far as I can tell, the “liberal media” and most Americans do not care. Indeed, conservative Republicans are cheering it on.






......"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus

......“Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor.
I'll piss on 'em.
That's what the Statue of Bigotry says.
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death,
And get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard.”
Lou Reed

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USEFUL EXPRESSIONS WITH PREPOSITIONS

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS WITH PREPOSITIONS

to accuse sb. of doing sth.

They accused him of stealing the chickens.

to be accustomed to doing sth.

She isn't accustomed to having a lot of money.

to advise sb. to do sth.

I advise you to work harder in future.

to advise sb. against doing sth.

He advised his son against studying abroad.

to agree to do sth.

He has agreed to help us.

to agree with sb. about sth.

I agree with you about the new decisions.

to allow sb. to do sth.

My father doesn't allow me to go out at night.

to be angry / annoyed with sb. for doing sth.

He was annoyed with me for not coming to the meeting yesterday.

to be anxious about sb. / sth.

I'm very anxious about her health. She looks so tired these days.

to be anxious to do something

He is anxious to meet you

to apologize to sb. for doing sth.

I must apologize to them for not answering their letter.

to appeal to sb. for / against sth.

The hospital appealed to the local population for financial help.

The players appealed against the referee's decision.

to apply to sb. for sth.

She has applied to the bank for a job as cashier.

to approve of sb. / sth.

He doesn't approve of their marriage.

to argue with sb. about sth.

You're always arguing with me about what I should wear.

to be aware / unaware of sth.

Are you aware of the dangers of smoking?

to beg for sth.

They were so poor that they had to beg for all their food.

to beg sb. to do sth.

They begged me to help them.

to believe in sb. / sth.

He believes in God.

to blame sb. for sth.

They blamed the child for breaking the clock.

to boast about sth.

They're always boasting about their children's successes.

to borrow sth. from sb.

I borrowed this jacket from my uncle,

to cheer sb. up

I was feeling very sad, but your visit has cheered me up.

to complain to sb. about / of sth.

He has complained to me about your bad behaviour.

I'll give her an aspirin. She's complaining of a headache.

to concentrate on (doing) sth.

Let's concentrate on finding a solution.

to congratulate sb. on (doing) sth.

We congratulated her on her success.

to convince sb. of sth.

He has convinced me of his honesty.

to be cruel to sb.

Young children are often cruel to animals.

to differ from

How does Arabic differ from French?

to be disappointed at sth / in / with sb / sth.


I was disappointed at not finding you at home.

He is disappointed in / with his new car.

to discourage sb. from doing sth.

Some people have discouraged me from studying law.

to be doubtful about sth.

I'm very doubtful about what I should do next year.

to dream of doing sth.

I've always dreamt of living on a desert island.

to dream about sb. / sth.

I dreamt about you last night.

to be eager to do sth.

She's always eager to help.

to encourage sb. in sth. / to do sth.

Teachers should encourage their pupils in their studies / to work hard.

to excuse sb. for doing sth.

Please excuse me for being late.

to excuse sb. from doing sth.

I'll excuse you from playing tennis today if you don't feel well enough.

to expect sb. to do sth.

We expect him to write next week.

to be famous for sth.

Khemisset is famous for its « brochettes ».

to feed sb. on sth.

We feed our dog on raw meat.

to be fond of sb / sth / (doing) sth.

Little girls are fond of playing with dolls.

to forgive sb. for doing sth.

Please forgive me for not doing my homework.

to be good at sth.

He's very good at languages.

to be grateful to sb. for sth.

I'm very grateful to them for helping us.

to haggle with sb. about / over sth.

Some tourists enjoy haggling with shopkeepers about prices.

to inquire about sth.

I must inquire about trains to Fes.

to inquire after sb.

Bill wasn't at work today. I must inquire after him.

to be interested in sb. / sth.

I'm very interested in music.

to introduce sb. to sb.

May I introduce you to my wife?

to insist on sth.

They insist on coming with us.

to be jealous of sb.

The little boy is very jealous of his baby sister.

to be kind to sb.

We should be kind to animals.

to be kind of sb. to do sth,

It was very kind of you to help us.

to laugh at sb. / sth.

You shouldn't laugh at people who are in trouble.

to laugh over sb. / sth.

We laughed over the funny letter we received from you.

to lend sth. to sb. / sb. sth.

I've only a few books. I can't lend one to everybody.

to long for sth. / to do sth.

I'm longing for next year to come.

I'm longing to leave school.

to manage to do sth.

Although it was dark, he managed to find his way.

to operate on sb. (for sth.)

The surgeon has operated on her for appendicitis.

to be overjoyed at sth.

I was overjoyed at the good news.

to pay sb. for sth.

We paid them 2.000 DH for this old car.

to be pleased with sb. / sth.

She's very pleased with your progress.

to praise sb, for sth.

They praised him for his courage.

to prevent sb. from doing sth.

Bad weather prevented us from visiting the whole region.

to promise sb. sth. / to do sth.

I promise you a present if you win.

I promise to be there on time.

to protest against sth.

The children protested against going to bed early.

to be proud of sb. / sth.

She's proud of her husband's success.

to provide sb. with sth.

Parents provide their children with food and clothes.

to punish sb. for (doing) sth.

We must punish them for getting such low marks.

to quarrel with sb. about sth.

Her son often quarrels with his sister about silly things.

to rely on sb.

He is very conscientious. You can rely on him to do the job well.

to remember sb. to sb.

Please remember me to your parents when you write.

to remind sb. of sb.

That woman reminds me of my aunt.

to remind sb. to d© sth.

Please remind me to buy some milk; otherwise I might forget,

to be responsible for sth.

Who is responsible for that noise?

to reward sb. for sth.

We shall reward you for your good work.

to rob sb. of sth.

They robbed him of his watch.

to be rude to sb.

Children mustn't be rude to their parents.

to scold sb. for (doing) sth.

She scolded her son for being lazy.

to send for sb. / sth.

I feel ill. You'd better send for the doctor.

to smell / to taste of sth.

This meat smells of garlic.

This cake tastes of lemon.

to. be sorry about sth.

I'm very sorry about that mistake.

to be / to feel sorry for sb.

I feel sorry for people who have to work in the hot sun.

to stop sb. from doing sth.

They stopped us from going near the blazing hut.

to steal sth. from sb.

Somebody stole my wallet from me yesterday.

to succeed in doing sth.

They have succeeded in finding a nice house.

to suffer from sth.

He is suffering from shock.

to suspect sb. of (doing) sth.

We suspected him of telling lies.

to thank sb. for (doing) sth.

Please thank your father for lending me his hammer.

to translate from x into y

We must translate this letter from Spanish into English.

to be used for sth.

Wood is used for making furniture.

to be used to doing sth.

He is used to working hard. He has done it all his life.

to worry about sb. / sth.

Don't worry about your future.

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