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The Terrorists Are Running the U.S. Government
By David Swanson
The Alien and Sedition Acts were laws created in 1798 to carve out exceptions to the 1791 Bill of Rights, by banning statements against the government, making it harder to become a citizen, allowing the imprisonment and deportation of non-citizens, and — the bit that is still on the books (albeit, I think, pretty clearly unconstitutionally) — allowing the imprisonment of non-citizens during wars or “invasions” or “predatory incursions.” Be prepared for the rest of it to be brought back.
The intent was supposedly to be able to urgently halt the malicious work of foreigners working for mass-killing, mass-destruction, or the undemocratic overthrow of the government. Of course, from the start that was not the actual function, and new laws were not needed for such purposes. Anyone guilty of such crimes could always have been arrested and charged with the protections of the Bill of Rights respected. Instead people’s rights have been abused, most famously by imprisoning Japanese-Americans during WWII, an act that the U.S. government declared in 1988 to have been based on race prejudice and war hysteria. A monument within sight of the U.S. Capitol promises not to repeat such horrors.
The next level is the blatant illegality of wartime, were there wartime. The problem is not the familiar objection that Congress has not declared war since 1941, so the wars are not real/legal. The problem is that the Constitution makes treaties the law of the land, and the U.S. is party to treaties that ban war. Countries don’t get to do illegal things by having the proper branch of government authorize them. Obviously, the United States has not been made subject to a war or invasion or predatory incursion, and that wouldn’t get you a justification for lawless thuggery if it had been.
Is there a poll of the U.S. public finding that people feel more secure with government kidnappings? Is it more people than those who believe Trump is God’s Messenger? Many feel far less secure, knowing that they might be kidnapped and sent to a foreign prison. Many say they feel terrorized. Once President Trump started talking about going after citizens, and not just non-citizens, within days there were reports of a citizen having been snatched. It matters little what the law says, when the essence of this law is to violate the Constitution and remove Congress and the judiciary from the process. Already someone grabbed and imprisoned “by mistake” was simply labeled a “criminal” and kept imprisoned.
There seems to be a push for tearing down the 9 out of 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights that haven’t been rewritten by the gun industry. The terrorists now violating the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Amendments are also dragging down the First Amendment, by claiming the right to engage in these abuses based on what someone has supposedly said (even though in every known case the evidence suggests that they have not said the things they are accused of having said). The Tenth Amendment covers the right of states to push back, and that is clearly under threat. The Third Amendment will be left standing until the government starts putting troops in your house. This seems unlikely, as the government can simply go on defunding housing and jobs while building military bases, but it could be pursued as a matter of principle.
Trump seems like a random spasmodic imbecile, but what we are seeing is an extension of the ongoing, centuries-long shifting of power from Congress (and courts) to the executive. The latest burst of acceleration began with President George W. Bush, and has been augmented and made more firmly established by Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden. While Trump may now be held in contempt by a court, presidents have not been held accountable, and the impeachment process has been rendered useless. Obama’s looking forward was always a backwards-looking threat. Congress could still choose to act. It’s just become hard to even imagine it actually doing so. Roughly half of Congress pretty strictly obeys whoever is president, based on political party, and the other half generally — and especially when it is the Democrats — openly advocates inaction or feigns opposition.
While Republican followers go full fascist, Democratic followers still worship at the temple of militarism and treat xenophobia as the last remaining acceptable form of bigotry. The organizers’ plans for rallies to protest Trump with chants of “Hands off” this and that other useful public service, also demanded “hands off” NATO while making no mention of Palestine or Ukraine or Greenland or Panama. The “controversial” arrests of people by mistake, or people who are citizens, or people who don’t have tattoos, are serving to render all the other terrorizing disappearances uncontroversial. Deportation is a bipartisan, multi-regime offense. Challenging it would require a mass movement not led by either of the two parties but united against terrorism regardless of donkey or elephant branding.
That seems scary and unheard of. But it doesn’t seem worse than living at constant risk of being disappeared by government thugs working for a narcissistic jackass television personality. Pretty much anything has to be better than that.
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The Terrorists Are Running the U.S. Government
https://davidswanson.org/the-terrorists-are-running-the-u-s-government
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org. He hosts Talk World Radio.
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