Silencing Dissent in America

Silencing Dissent in America

Dees Illustration

Stephen Lendman, Contributor

Activist Post



Freedom in America is endangered. Bipartisan complicity plans destroying it altogether.



America is on a fast track toward tyranny and ruin. Police state laws threaten everyone.



Increasingly, dissent is marginalized. It's not tolerated. Resistance is called dangerous to National Security.



Federal authorities target activists. So do militarized local police. No-holds-barred tactics are employed.



In October 2010, the Center for Constitutional Rights said:

The growing threat to the right to dissent has
been demonstrated in the U.S. government's efforts to silence speech,
and criminalize and target peaceful movements.

These
efforts are becoming more aggressive, emboldened further by the Supreme
Court's increasingly conservative decisions, for instance regarding
material support in the form of humanitarian aid to so-called terrorist
organizations.

Howard Zinn called dissent "the highest form of patriotism." Michael Ratner and Margaret Ratner Kunstler's book Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in Twenty First Century America discusses what everyone needs to know.





It explores how activism and dissent are targeted. Demonstrations are
attacked and disrupted. Protesters are called terrorists. They're
arrested and jailed for expressing constitutionally guaranteed First
Amendment and other rights.



Authorities claim they give "material support" to perceived enemies. Hell No provides advice on dealing with a menu of police state practices.



American's First Amendment guarantees free expression, a free press, the
right to peacefully assemble, free exercise of religion, and right to
petition government for redress of grievances.



Without
these rights, all others are at risk. They've been fast eroding in
America for years en route to eliminating them altogether. Forgotten are
numerous Supreme Court decisions upholding free expression and assembly
rights.



In Edwards v. South Carolina (1963), the Court ruled against state
authorities for prohibiting protesters from marching for civil rights.



In Cox v. Louisiana (1965), the Court held that state government cannot
employ "breach of the peace" statutes against protesters engaging in
peaceful demonstrations by claiming they may incite violence.



In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Court ruled government can't punish
inflammatory speech unless it's "directed" to incite lawless action.



In Texas v. Johnson (1989), Justice William Brennan wrote the majority opinion, saying:

(I)f there is a bedrock principle underlying
the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the
expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or
disagreeable.

In Wooley v. Maynard (1977), the Court upheld
"the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the
majority" with respect to "idea(s) they find morally objectionable."



Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion
and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20(1) states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Article 29(2) states:

In the exercise of his rights and freedoms,
everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by
law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for
the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements
of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic
society.

Post-9/11, dissent has been increasingly marginalized.



In October 2008, so-called (Attorney General Michael) Mukasey/(FBI
Director Robert) Mueller Guidelines gave federal authorities
"flexibility (to) protect the Nation from terrorist threats."



Consolidated new rules include criminal and national security issues.
Surveillance restrictions were eased. Domestic spying became
institutionalized. Constitutional rights are ignored.



"War on terror" authority escalated FBI abuses. Intrusive surveillance
tools used against alleged spies now target ordinary Americans.
Mukasey/Mueller Guidelines underwent four separate changes. Each one
increased FBI surveillance powers.



Tactics include intrusive spying, commercial database data retrieval,
paid informants infiltrating groups or targeting individuals on false
pretenses, and letting covert unidentified agents conduct "pretext"
interviews for information.



Mukasey/Mueller Guidelines left ordinary Americans increasingly
vulnerable to abuse. Anyone may be investigated for any reason or none
at all.



Authorization permits surveillance and infiltration of anti-war and
other social justice groups. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) activists are
targeted. Any organization or individual is vulnerable. Anything goes is
now policy. Obama is more repressive than Bush.



Data
mining collects vast amounts of information on ordinary Americans. How
it's used, who knows. Against targeted individuals and groups, it's used
abusively.



Everything is fair game. Personal records of all kinds are obtained.
Activities are closely monitored. So-called "suspicious activity
reports" allege possible criminal activity.



The USA PATRIOT Act authorized so-called National Security Letters
(NSLs). They expanded the FBI's authority to obtain personal customer
records from ISPs, financial institutions, credit companies, and other
sources without prior court approval.



Innocent people are targeted. Virtually anything in public or private
records can be gotten. "Gag" orders prevent targeted individuals or
groups from revealing the information demanded. NSL use continues
increasing exponentially.



Lawful rights are violated in numerous ways. Classic police state
tactics are used. No one's safe when authorities act this way. Freedom
is perilously close to vanishing. Mueller has virtual carte blanche
authority.



Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters have been targeted and criminalized.
Constitutional rights are violated. Beatings and other forms of
excessive force are used. Nonviolent protests are called terrorism.



PATRIOT Act provisions criminalized dissent. Innocent people are
arrested, indicted and imprisoned. "Terrorist profiles" let FBI and
local police investigate anyone for any reason. Obama and congressional
allies sold out constituents for Wall Street and other monied interests.



Obama escalated repressive Bush practices. The Oregorian newspaper
reported that heavily armed FBI units raided homes of OWS protesters in
Seattle and Olympia, WA and Portland, OR over the last month.



Actions have been ongoing since early July. Authorities claim violent
crimes are being investigated. Eyewitnesses report dozens of FBI agents
in body armor and military fatigues armed with assault rifles involved.



One witness said:

I just heard lots of pounding at 6 o'clock,
and I got up and I saw the whole thing. I saw them screaming to get in.
They were using the battering ram, and then finally the door just
opened.

FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele told the Oregonian"

The warrants are sealed, and I anticipate they will remain sealed.

Authorities
alleged searches were for "anti-government or anarchist literature or
materials," as well as "documentation and communications related to the
offenses, including but not limited to notes, diagrams, letters, diary
and journal entries, address books, and other documentation in written
or electronic form."



In fact, nonviolent activists were targeted, terrorized, and
criminalized. At issue is engaging in constitutionally protected
protests. Militarized FBI agents used stun grenades and battering rams.
Victims were pulled out of bed at gunpoint.



Personal possessions were seized. They included computers, suspect
literature and other materials in written or electronic form, cell
phones, thumb drives, and clothing with political slogans.



False charges remain sealed. Fundamental rights are criminalized.
Post-9/11, similar raids were conducted. At issue is political dissent
as well as America's ongoing war on Islam.



Disproportionate force is used. Victims were handcuffed while homes were
searched. Arrests weren't made, but about six protesters were
subpoenaed to appear before grand juries.



On August 1, Dennison Williams and Leah Plante read a statement outside a Portland, OR courthouse, saying:

This grand jury is a tool of political
repression. It is attempting to turn individuals against each other by
coercing those subpoenaed to testify against their communities.

The
secret nature of grand jury proceedings creates mistrust and can
undermine solidarity. And imprisoning us takes us from our loved ones
and our responsibilities.

Williams and Plante said they'll invoke the Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to answer grand jury questions.



America's Grand Jury System





Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
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