41 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 33 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 6/12/11

Police State Much?

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   6 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Cindy Sheehan
Cindy Sheehan's oldest child Casey was killed in Iraq on April 4th, 2004. Since then she has been on a mission to end the wars and hold George W. Bush accountable.



"Totalitarianism is patriotism institutionalized."~~Steve Allen

"Patriotic" Americans are still berating me for "demeaning" my son's "sacrifice." A typical message goes something like this:

"Your son died to give you the right to spew your filth against this country. If it wasn't for the military and people like your son, you wouldn't have the freedom to protest."

Oh, really? If I have the "freedom to protest" then why have I been arrested so many times and why did I have a four-month restraining order from protesting near the White House last year that would have landed my buns in jail for six-months if I violated it? Why are activists still be arrested for solely exercising what used to be our fundamental rights?

In fact, attorney, Bill Quigley has documented that more than 2600 activists have been arrested since Obama was sworn in 2009.

The Constitutional Lawyer turned POTUS is committing atrocities against peace, justice and human rights at a pace that Bush and Cheney only dreamed possible. If Obama can't have one of us arrested or executed on his orders, then he will gladly diagnose our principled questioning as a mental disorder. Obama even told Steve Pelley of 60 Minutes that if any American dare question his obvious lies around the re-death of Osama bin Laden, then he/she should have "their heads examined."

I find it extremely interesting that the fundamental values of peace, truth, and justice have been turned into a mental disorder by the POTUS who, as I have pointed out before, has committed innumerable atrocities against these values. However, what I am finding increasingly alarming is the USA's rapid descent into a police state.

On June 7th, my sister and I were driving from Sacramento to Los Angeles on I-5 -- this is a trip that both she and I have made dozens of times since my family moved near Sacramento in 1993. We almost immediately noticed the elevated presence of cop 'copters hovering over the interstate and over nearby communities. Neither of us had ever witnessed so many military convoys and such a police presence in any of the previous times we made the trip. We speculated what it could be all about and I even had to come to a complete stop on I-105 when it looked like a Los Angeles Sheriff's 'copter was about to land on the roof of my car. Hmm, there is definitely a shift happening, but it's often hard to pin things down.

Well, the very next day, I learned about two events that shocked even me --I thought the Empire couldn't shock me, but I was wrong.

The very day that my sister and I were traveling the length of our gorgeous state, a Stockton, California man was having his door broken down by what he thought was a S.W.A.T. Goon Squad.

According to Kenneth Wright, a single father of three young children ages, 3, 7 and 11; he heard some commotion outside his Stockton home, so he looked out his upstairs window and saw 15 cops that looked like members of S.W.A.T. Before he could get downstairs to the door, they had battered it down and entered his home. Wright spent the next six hours handcuffed in the back of a cop car with his three frightened children.

Is Kenneth Wright the alleged murderer of thousands of brown people in the Middle East and North Africa? Has this scoundrel cheated millions of people out of their retirement/life savings? Did Mr. Wright authorize the use of torture, or even invade one country illegally?

No, of course not. It turns out that the cops who broke down Mr. Wright's door, brutalizing him and traumatizing his children weren't local or state law enforcement, but an Education Goon Squad that had been granted some kind of vicious police state authority because Mr. Wright's ex-wife allegedly committed "fraud" on her student loans. How many of us have student loans that are in danger of being defaulted on because we can't find a job? The primary question is, though, why do most of us have to commit ourselves to years of debt to get a University education which should be free in the wealthiest country in the world?

The scandal of the rising cost and increasing inaccessibility of higher education can be directly related to the oppression and exploitation of the people who handle Obama like the Marionette that he is.

If the above story doesn't terrify you, then what about this one:

In the wee hours of Memorial Day, cops in Miami were involved in a high-speed chase that ended with the injuries of four innocent bystanders and the shooting execution of the SUSPECT. Witnesses to the crimes of the P.D. videotaped the entire incident and were then, themselves subjected to police brutality as the Miami cops held guns to their heads and smashed their cell phones. Luckily, one of the victims had the presence of mind to secure the sim card of his phone in his mouth.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 10   Well Said 5   News 5  
Rate It | View Ratings

Cindy Sheehan Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, who was KIA in Iraq on 04/04/04. She is a co-founder and President of Gold Star Families for Peace and the author of two books: Not One More Mother's Child and Dear President Bush.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Open Memo To: Nancy Pelosi From Cindy Sheehan

"Tell me what a Police State Looks Like" by Cindy Sheehan

You Get What you Vote For!

Impeach Obama?

Tax Revolt

Capitalism: An Apathy Story by Cindy Sheehan

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend