We're Not in Kansas Anymore
The dominant news narrative of the past few weeks has been "it's the
economy, stupid," where the only things trickling down are retirement
savings, stocks and gas prices - not the
rising-tide-that-lifts-all-boats promised by supply-side economics.
As the Fed tries to shore up the levees against the derivative deluge
- and as politicians seek to redistribute wealth upward - other
equally important things are happening in the world, which is why I
have a problem with bumper-sticker phrases like "it's the economy,
stupid." It reduces politics to economic
The dominant news narrative of the past few weeks has been "it's the
economy, stupid," where the only things trickling down are retirement
savings, stocks and gas prices - not the
rising-tide-that-lifts-all-boats promised by supply-side economics.
As the Fed tries to shore up the levees against the derivative deluge
- and as politicians seek to redistribute wealth upward - other
equally important things are happening in the world, which is why I
have a problem with bumper-sticker phrases like "it's the economy,
stupid." It reduces politics to economics, as if political behavior
can be explained by economic self-interest. If "it's the economy,
stupid," then "What's The Matter With Kansas?"
But we're not in Kansas anymore. And we're not in Oz either, where you
can click your heels three-times and everything will be 401-OK. This
is the land of "secretocracy," where the "living document" of the
Constitution is on life-support.
Here in Secretville, the buzz is all about fusion and financial
markets ain't the only thing melting down. The Justice Department
recently finalized new - and more lenient - investigative tactics FBI
agents can now use. The new rules fuse together the FBI's General
Crimes Guidelines, National Security Investigative Guidelines and
Foreign Intelligence Guidelines.
In a joint statement before the Select Committee on Intelligence
(https://www.usdoj.gov/olp/pdf/ag-domestic-intel-guidelines.pdf) on
Sept. 23, the assistant AG and the FBI's general counsel testified
that the FBI was no longer primarily concerned with investigating
crimes after they are committed. It has become "an intelligence-driven
agency capable of anticipating and preventing" crime.
When you're in prevention mode, you have to do assessments. And that's
what has civil liberty watchdogs nervous - how the Justice Department
defines "assessment."
The Electronic Privacy Information Center warns: the FBI's new powers "pose
serious threats to the right of individuals to speak and assemble
freely without the spectre of government monitoring. The policies also
threaten Fourth Amendment rights, as (agents have been permitted to)
engage in prospective searches without possessing any evidence of
suspicious behavior."
The new rules also present a practical problem. "At a time when it is
clear that the FBI has been awash in data and unable to process leads
effectively," the new guidelines enable "the agency to obtain even
more information that is less likely to result in solid leads."
Not only do the new guidelines allow the FBI to conduct surveillance
without a court order, it also allows them to "collect information
relating to demonstration activities," without a single iota of
evidence that a national security threat exists.
Recall the mid-1970s, when it came to public light, the FBI was
working to actively undermine peace groups and leaders like Dr. King
(which included an officially-sanctioned effort to persuade King to
kill himself), guidelines were put in place to prevent such abuses of
authority. The new guidelines unravel those safeguards and fuse it
back together again in the name of fighting terrorism, as if terrorism
posed an existential threat to America.
Beyond the new FBI guidelines, another area of "secretocracy" has
experienced fusion.
Over 40 "fusion centers" have sprouted up across the country,
according to the ACLU's report, What's Wrong With Fusion Centers.
Fusion centers are these post-9/11 institutions where local, state and
federal law enforcement officials meet with business leaders to share
- not just criminal intelligence - but also private sector data, with
the hopes of mining that information to determine possible patterns of
possible future crime. Kinda like that movie "Minority Report" where
officers of the Department of Pre-Crime arrest people before any law
is broken, except without the gift of "pre-cognition."
"There's nothing wrong with the government seeking to do a better job
of properly sharing legitimately acquired information about law
enforcement investigations...But in a democracy, the collection and
sharing of intelligence information," especially info about American
citizens, "need to be carried out with the utmost care...because
security agencies are moving toward using such portraits to profile
how 'suspicious' we look," the ACLU notes.
"New institutions like fusion centers must be planned in a public,
open manner, and their implications for privacy and other key values
carefully thought out and debated. And like any powerful institution
in a democracy, they must be constructed in a carefully bounded and
limited manner with sufficient checks and balances to prevent abuse.
Unfortunately, the new fusion centers have not conformed to these
vital requirements."
We've seen the fusion of political power in a "unitary executive," the
fusion of the Fed and financial markets and now we've got Fusion
Centers. How many fusions equal full-fledged fascism?
As I was saying, we're not in Kansas anymore.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
The dominant news narrative of the past few weeks has been "it's the
economy, stupid," where the only things trickling down are retirement
savings, stocks and gas prices - not the
rising-tide-that-lifts-all-boats promised by supply-side economics.
As the Fed tries to shore up the levees against the derivative deluge
- and as politicians seek to redistribute wealth upward - other
equally important things are happening in the world, which is why I
have a problem with bumper-sticker phrases like "it's the economy,
stupid." It reduces politics to economics, as if political behavior
can be explained by economic self-interest. If "it's the economy,
stupid," then "What's The Matter With Kansas?"
But we're not in Kansas anymore. And we're not in Oz either, where you
can click your heels three-times and everything will be 401-OK. This
is the land of "secretocracy," where the "living document" of the
Constitution is on life-support.
Here in Secretville, the buzz is all about fusion and financial
markets ain't the only thing melting down. The Justice Department
recently finalized new - and more lenient - investigative tactics FBI
agents can now use. The new rules fuse together the FBI's General
Crimes Guidelines, National Security Investigative Guidelines and
Foreign Intelligence Guidelines.
In a joint statement before the Select Committee on Intelligence
(https://www.usdoj.gov/olp/pdf/ag-domestic-intel-guidelines.pdf) on
Sept. 23, the assistant AG and the FBI's general counsel testified
that the FBI was no longer primarily concerned with investigating
crimes after they are committed. It has become "an intelligence-driven
agency capable of anticipating and preventing" crime.
When you're in prevention mode, you have to do assessments. And that's
what has civil liberty watchdogs nervous - how the Justice Department
defines "assessment."
The Electronic Privacy Information Center warns: the FBI's new powers "pose
serious threats to the right of individuals to speak and assemble
freely without the spectre of government monitoring. The policies also
threaten Fourth Amendment rights, as (agents have been permitted to)
engage in prospective searches without possessing any evidence of
suspicious behavior."
The new rules also present a practical problem. "At a time when it is
clear that the FBI has been awash in data and unable to process leads
effectively," the new guidelines enable "the agency to obtain even
more information that is less likely to result in solid leads."
Not only do the new guidelines allow the FBI to conduct surveillance
without a court order, it also allows them to "collect information
relating to demonstration activities," without a single iota of
evidence that a national security threat exists.
Recall the mid-1970s, when it came to public light, the FBI was
working to actively undermine peace groups and leaders like Dr. King
(which included an officially-sanctioned effort to persuade King to
kill himself), guidelines were put in place to prevent such abuses of
authority. The new guidelines unravel those safeguards and fuse it
back together again in the name of fighting terrorism, as if terrorism
posed an existential threat to America.
Beyond the new FBI guidelines, another area of "secretocracy" has
experienced fusion.
Over 40 "fusion centers" have sprouted up across the country,
according to the ACLU's report, What's Wrong With Fusion Centers.
Fusion centers are these post-9/11 institutions where local, state and
federal law enforcement officials meet with business leaders to share
- not just criminal intelligence - but also private sector data, with
the hopes of mining that information to determine possible patterns of
possible future crime. Kinda like that movie "Minority Report" where
officers of the Department of Pre-Crime arrest people before any law
is broken, except without the gift of "pre-cognition."
"There's nothing wrong with the government seeking to do a better job
of properly sharing legitimately acquired information about law
enforcement investigations...But in a democracy, the collection and
sharing of intelligence information," especially info about American
citizens, "need to be carried out with the utmost care...because
security agencies are moving toward using such portraits to profile
how 'suspicious' we look," the ACLU notes.
"New institutions like fusion centers must be planned in a public,
open manner, and their implications for privacy and other key values
carefully thought out and debated. And like any powerful institution
in a democracy, they must be constructed in a carefully bounded and
limited manner with sufficient checks and balances to prevent abuse.
Unfortunately, the new fusion centers have not conformed to these
vital requirements."
We've seen the fusion of political power in a "unitary executive," the
fusion of the Fed and financial markets and now we've got Fusion
Centers. How many fusions equal full-fledged fascism?
As I was saying, we're not in Kansas anymore.
The dominant news narrative of the past few weeks has been "it's the
economy, stupid," where the only things trickling down are retirement
savings, stocks and gas prices - not the
rising-tide-that-lifts-all-boats promised by supply-side economics.
As the Fed tries to shore up the levees against the derivative deluge
- and as politicians seek to redistribute wealth upward - other
equally important things are happening in the world, which is why I
have a problem with bumper-sticker phrases like "it's the economy,
stupid." It reduces politics to economics, as if political behavior
can be explained by economic self-interest. If "it's the economy,
stupid," then "What's The Matter With Kansas?"
But we're not in Kansas anymore. And we're not in Oz either, where you
can click your heels three-times and everything will be 401-OK. This
is the land of "secretocracy," where the "living document" of the
Constitution is on life-support.
Here in Secretville, the buzz is all about fusion and financial
markets ain't the only thing melting down. The Justice Department
recently finalized new - and more lenient - investigative tactics FBI
agents can now use. The new rules fuse together the FBI's General
Crimes Guidelines, National Security Investigative Guidelines and
Foreign Intelligence Guidelines.
In a joint statement before the Select Committee on Intelligence
(https://www.usdoj.gov/olp/pdf/ag-domestic-intel-guidelines.pdf) on
Sept. 23, the assistant AG and the FBI's general counsel testified
that the FBI was no longer primarily concerned with investigating
crimes after they are committed. It has become "an intelligence-driven
agency capable of anticipating and preventing" crime.
When you're in prevention mode, you have to do assessments. And that's
what has civil liberty watchdogs nervous - how the Justice Department
defines "assessment."
The Electronic Privacy Information Center warns: the FBI's new powers "pose
serious threats to the right of individuals to speak and assemble
freely without the spectre of government monitoring. The policies also
threaten Fourth Amendment rights, as (agents have been permitted to)
engage in prospective searches without possessing any evidence of
suspicious behavior."
The new rules also present a practical problem. "At a time when it is
clear that the FBI has been awash in data and unable to process leads
effectively," the new guidelines enable "the agency to obtain even
more information that is less likely to result in solid leads."
Not only do the new guidelines allow the FBI to conduct surveillance
without a court order, it also allows them to "collect information
relating to demonstration activities," without a single iota of
evidence that a national security threat exists.
Recall the mid-1970s, when it came to public light, the FBI was
working to actively undermine peace groups and leaders like Dr. King
(which included an officially-sanctioned effort to persuade King to
kill himself), guidelines were put in place to prevent such abuses of
authority. The new guidelines unravel those safeguards and fuse it
back together again in the name of fighting terrorism, as if terrorism
posed an existential threat to America.
Beyond the new FBI guidelines, another area of "secretocracy" has
experienced fusion.
Over 40 "fusion centers" have sprouted up across the country,
according to the ACLU's report, What's Wrong With Fusion Centers.
Fusion centers are these post-9/11 institutions where local, state and
federal law enforcement officials meet with business leaders to share
- not just criminal intelligence - but also private sector data, with
the hopes of mining that information to determine possible patterns of
possible future crime. Kinda like that movie "Minority Report" where
officers of the Department of Pre-Crime arrest people before any law
is broken, except without the gift of "pre-cognition."
"There's nothing wrong with the government seeking to do a better job
of properly sharing legitimately acquired information about law
enforcement investigations...But in a democracy, the collection and
sharing of intelligence information," especially info about American
citizens, "need to be carried out with the utmost care...because
security agencies are moving toward using such portraits to profile
how 'suspicious' we look," the ACLU notes.
"New institutions like fusion centers must be planned in a public,
open manner, and their implications for privacy and other key values
carefully thought out and debated. And like any powerful institution
in a democracy, they must be constructed in a carefully bounded and
limited manner with sufficient checks and balances to prevent abuse.
Unfortunately, the new fusion centers have not conformed to these
vital requirements."
We've seen the fusion of political power in a "unitary executive," the
fusion of the Fed and financial markets and now we've got Fusion
Centers. How many fusions equal full-fledged fascism?
As I was saying, we're not in Kansas anymore.