America has Fallen

(9 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Below is the letter I have sent to every newspaper, every cable show host, every politician, that I can…

Today, America has fallen.  

America is no longer a nation that depends on the rule of law in order to survive.  America is no longer a nation that guides itself in a moral or ethical nature.  America is no longer a nation that believes in our Constitution, or, our unalienable rights as citizens.

George W. Bush realized his desire to be a “war president”, invading a country on false pretenses.  He was able to kill hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s, imprison tens of thousands and authorize the torture of prisoners.  His actions costed America as a nation in many ways; the lives of our service members and our moral standing as a nation.  He blackmailed, bribed, and threaten nations around the world, and, put our nation into a perpetual state of fear in order to do these deeds.  Yet, he will continue to live in his plush mansion without a care in the world.  Dick Cheney realized his desire to be a force unto himself in government, without restriction, without rules, and without fear of prosecution.  As the Vice President under George W. Bush, he holds equal responsibility for all that occurred, yet, he too will continue to live in his plush mansion without a care in the world.

The CIA got its wish — “legal” cover to do what it has a history of doing; torturing people.  The CIA tortured people in the Vietnam War.  The CIA tortured people in Central America.  And, because of the sheer scope, the CIA knew that they could never torture prisoners secretly, they went to George W. Bush’s corrupt Department of Justice and got some twistedly worded memos written so they could torture prisoners without fear of prosecution.  The torture the CIA used didn’t get any actionable intelligence even though some prisoners died under that torture.  We know that people died because there are photos of U.S. service members posing for a “trophy” picture over one of the corpses.

Yet, President Obama has decided that he will no seek prosecution for these crimes.  Nobody will be held accountable for these crimes.  As a citizen of the United States, if you run a traffic light, you will get far more punishment than those who authorized these crimes.  As a citizen of the United States, if you get caught with a small amount of dope, you will get far more jail time than those who murdered people while torturing them.

Banks, Oil companies, Pharmacutical companies, Telecom companies and any other company who has the money can get whatever legislation passed through Congress they want, that says whatever they want, that gives them whatever immunity they want, for anything.  They can buy their tax breaks, their immunity from any prosecution, and all they have to give up is a few million dollars in the form of campaign contributions to get it.  Politicians, from both political Parties, get pay raises whenever they vote themselves one.  They get the best health care.  They get the best pensions.  They take the money of the lobbyist’s and write whatever laws the companies want written.  

The FBI has abused its powers.  The NSA has abused its powers.  The CIA has abused its powers.  When political hacks get appointed into government agencies, there isn’t a one of them that hasn’t abused its power from FEMA, the Treasury, the Interior.  And, that trickles downward, until you have state law enforcement abusing its power on who it spies upon and calls terrorist.

Today, America has fallen.

There are few today in journalism who actually expose the light to these abuses.  Yet, even when these abuses are brought to light, to the public, there is nothing done.  We know that American citizens were spied upon by the NSA, yet, nothing was done.  We know that the Army had a team called Tiger Force that went on a seven-month killing spree in Vietnam, yet, nothing was done.  We know that the CIA tortured prisoners, yet, nothing is being done.  And, this is even when those few journalist’s actually do their job.

We know now that the citizenry is powerless and, in the eyes of those who exploit us, that we are only good for the taxes we pay.  Even when we go to the polls and we throw out the people who committed these abuses that the next politician will look the other way.  It will be business as usual for the next four years.  When the President does it, it isn’t illegal.  When the CIA gets twisted legal cover, it is not torture.  When the banks want degregulation, they can collapse our economy with impunity.  When telecoms spy on Americans, they get immunity.  When pharmacutical companies make bad vaccines, they get immunity.  But, when a citizen breaks a traffic law, or any law, the full weight of our justice system falls on that citizen.

We know that when our military is ordered to invade a country that there will be casualties, even when that invasion is ordered under false pretense.  We know that our service members will be given the worst treatment in the worst facilities.  We know that our veterans will be shunned, forgotten, and abandoned.  We know that their applications for help will be shredded by the VA.  We know that doctors will purposefully misdiagnose them so that they do not get the benefits they are due.  

Today, America has fallen.

America’s service men and women take an oath to defend our country.  It is an oath to defend our Constitution and the rights that it gives to our citizens.  It is an oath I took when I enlisted.  Today we learned that there are those that don’t care about our Constitution, about our liberties, or about our rights.

If you want to protest, you have to do it in a “free speech zone”.  If you want to protest on a sidewalk, you get arrested for blocking the sidewalk or trespass after notice.  If you are part of an organization, the government spies on you and raids your home before you ever even go to an organized protest, then, they charge you as being a terrorist.  You are considered a terrorist by your own government even if you are an old lady with the Quakers who is against a war started by our own government.  With todays proclamation, President Obama spelled it out for all to see — yes, there ARE people above the law — but us lowly citizens aren’t part of that group.  

Our tax dollars can bail out banks that were allowed to collapse our economy, but, we cannot challenge how our tax dollars are spent.  Our labor can enrich a company, and, the CEO’s can give themselves millions in bonuses, even if they drive the company into the ground, but, the worker who made the company gets a pink slip.  Our government is too big, it spends too much money, but, when it comes to helping the people support our nation, the programs designed to help them are the first to get cut.

Today, America has fallen.

There was a time when, as a veteran, I wanted to be buried in Arlington Cemetary.  For a veteran, that is the ultimate place of honor for us.  Thanks to George W. Bush and his desire to be a “war president”, because he invaded a country that never attacked us, Arlington Cemetary is full.  But, because President Obama has decided that there ARE people who are above the law, that there are people who can operate outside the law, that the NSA can spy on American’s without reprisal, that the FBI can abuse its power, that the only people who are subject to the rule of law are the lowly citizens, I am glad that I now have the ability to chose my final resting place.  This is the not the America I fought for, the America I sacrificed for, nor, the ideals of right and wrong that I helped ensure.  

Because today, in the immortal words of The Who — we won’t get fooled again.  If the CIA can openly torture and get away with it.  If the NSA can openly spy on American’s and get away with it.  Then America I fought for has truly fallen.  There is no reason for me to believe in our system, in our government, or our processes to rectify abuses — they have all failed.