Unpacking the Constitution with Naomi Wolff1) Bill of Rights
2) U.S. Constitution Here are a few recent articles about violations to our constitutional rights. After watching the film "The End of America" explain how 3 of the 10 tactics named by Wolff relate to the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the constitution. Give three examples of how you see the tactics being used in the United States and what amendment they affirm or negate. Requirements for BLOG POSTS
43 Comments
Gloria Olea-Bailon
4/13/2015 09:57:30 am
Out of the ten tactics there are three that stuck out the most from Wolff's video speech. The first tactic that stood out was the invoke of an internal and external threat. This has to do how the president at that time, George W. Bush signed off the patriot act. This act was signed in October of 2001 in which gave the government access to six things; wiretapping, electronic surveillance, medical records, bank records, credit car statements, and even the library book records. This tactic negates the U.S. constitution by accessing personal information without a probable cause. An example, of this being used is by inducing fear to citizens and therefore the probability of being falsely accused. Meanwhile, the tactic is the secret prisons where torture takes place. This is a secret prison system out of law as Wolff points out that tortures civilians who are a "terrorist threat".This is an actual law signed by the president that passed November 13, 2001. According to the U.S. constitution, it states that the U.S. Constitution does not torture. Although, it has now come to reveal that the U.S. is torturing innocent civilians.This tactic of the secret prisons allowed the president commander and chief to pick any citizen who he thinks is a terrorist or is involved with terrorism to be arrested and tortured. This act also allows for military to torture false prisoner with severe pain and inflicted with specific intent. An example of this act can be seen in the Iraq war because it was based on invading a country. This act violates the U.S. Constitutional right of cruel and unusual punishment. The third tactic also relates to the bill of rights because it has to do with the U.S. violating the fourth amendment. The develop of a paramilitary force is the third tactic violates the fourth amendment. Paramilitary violate civilians rights to secure their homes, paper, and people against unreasonable researches. An example of this is the Blackwater paramilitary who during Katrina hurricane pulled up with their vehicles and started to shoot at innocent New Orleans Civilians. As you can see the paramilitary force is already operating the U.S. This tactic negates the fourth amendment which results in innocent human civilian deaths. In addition, many of the tactics throughout the video negate the U.S. Constitution and the bill of rights and result in the violation of the people's rights. Thus even the president has enforced these violations who have caused many of the current economic and social problems that civilians face today.
Kimberly Lopez
4/15/2015 06:26:50 am
While watching the video I remembered when the whole “Big Brother” event came out and how people were freaking out major that the government could access our privacy. It might not seem like a big deal now but the fact of the matter is we are being invaded from the people who are supposed to protect our civil rights and we are allowing it to happen before our eyes.
Karina Vences
5/29/2015 06:49:14 am
Gloria,
Marisa Lerma
4/14/2015 03:10:26 pm
Out of the ten tactics that Naomi Wolff talked about, the three that stood out to me that relate to the amendments of the constitution were the secret prisons where torture takes place, invoke an internal and external threat, and target key individuals. The secret prison tactic are prisons that are outside the rule of law, meaning they are unaccountable. The president signed a law on November 13, 2001 basically saying that he could, at any time, pick up any non-citizen anywhere in the world and put them in prison if he feels they are a terrorist or involved with any form of terrorism. This tactic violates amendment of the constitution which is cruel and unusual punishment. The second tactic is to invoke internal and external threats. After 9/11 the Bush administration used this crime against us to launch the, “war on terror”. The Bush team raised America’s fear levels as high as possible. By October 2011, the Patriot Act gave the government access to wiretapping, electronic surveillance, medical records, bank records, credit card statements, and even library book records. The government was allowed to do all of this with a warrant or probable clause. An example of this could be the lawsuit against the National Security Agency and their surveillance of millions of Verizon customers. This violates the first and fourth amendment of the constitution. The third tactic is the target of key individuals. An example of this is the Dixie Chicks, because they said, “And we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” their popularity came spiraling down. The president made sure that radio stations wouldn’t play the Dixie Chicks. They went from number one to nothing and a pro-war song took their place on the music charts. I think this violates the first amendment, freedom of speech.
Luis Lockhart
4/17/2015 02:57:36 pm
Hi Marisa. I agree with you. I chose your first two tactics as well. And while all the tactics are different and negate different amendments, they are all very similar and connected. Especially the first tactic (your second choice) to invoke internal and external fear. That tactic basically paves the way for all the other tactics to take place. It is the fear that has people allow all these acts to take place like secret prisons and the patriot act and what happened with the Dixie Chicks.
Karina Vences
4/14/2015 03:28:27 pm
Although all 10 tactics were interesting, three that stood out to me the most were: Restrict the Press, Detain and Release Ordinary Citizens, and Target Key Individuals. An example of Restrict the Press was of Bill Keller. He revealed a story on the newspaper about the white house secretly and illegally monitoring financial transactions. Another was (Eugene) he was sentenced to 10 years after giving a speech of the first amendment. Josh Wolf was also arrested and sent to prison for refusing to give up the copy of a protest. This tactic completely negates Amendment I. This acts were forms of freedom of speech, freedom of press, and of peaceful assemble. These three people were sentenced for the simple fact that they were activists. For the tactic Detain and Release Ordinary Citizens an example that stood out to me the most was of James Yee. He had spoke up against the mistreatment he saw with prisoners. He raised concerns about abuse that were occurring. He was later detained after getting of a plain. He was accused of being a “terrorist spy.” He was obtained for a total of 76 days without a probable cause. His life will constantly be under surveillance. This tactic negates the fourth amendment. There was no probable cause for his search and seizure. It wasn’t specified in a warrant or at anytime about the place he had to be searched neither the things to be seized. The last tactic was Target Key Individuals; it also negated the first amendment. We saw an example in where The Dixies simply made a comment about Bush and consequently the radio stations no longer played their music. Here we see how the most common “right” that people hold on to is challenged and completely negated. “Democracy” or “human rights” to me, is just something written on paper as a distraction to those people who actually think they have freedom. Officials are actually arresting and imprisoning people for forms of freedom of speech and ALL without probable causes. The only cause being that it doesn’t agree with what the government wants. Its sad to see that speech is being “Criminalized.”
Kassandra Mariscal
4/15/2015 03:17:54 pm
Hi Karina,
Candice D.
4/14/2015 03:44:51 pm
1. Internal Surveillance System: President Bush agreed to sign the Patriot Act to prevent any incident that involves terrorist attacks from happening again. The public believed that this bill would protect the citizens, bit it did the complete opposite. President Bush agreed to the unconstitutional law because he did not want the incident of 9/11 to happen again. The Patriot Act allows our government to freely access people's private information like bank accounts, cell phone bills, and medical records without their consent or search warrant. However, this clearly violates our 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights: " search and seizure; the right of the people to secure their prisons, house, papers, and the effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."
Britney Y
4/14/2015 05:56:58 pm
Hello Candice,
Diana Llamas
4/15/2015 01:55:01 pm
Hey Candice.
Britney Y
4/14/2015 05:53:54 pm
The third tactic used, developing a parliamentary force relates to the fourth amendment because as the fourth amendment states;” Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures”. A parliamentary force is not created to protect citizens; it is created to protect the government. They will unlawfully seize, search and kill whoever they believe is a threat to the government. An example of a parliamentary force is Black Water in which is a military force made up of trained men who come from countries that kill their citizens and it negates the fourth amendment because they kill from assumption not probable cause. The seventh tactic used is, targeting key individuals and this tactic goes against the first amendment which prohibits making laws against freedom of press. Journalists, news anchors, photographers, etc… anyone who is able to reach the public and alter their perception of the government in a negative way is to be punished because to the government it is unlawful to slander their heinous acts. An example is the journalist josh wolf whom refused to give information to the government about protestors and was sentenced to prison for 226 days. Tactic nine was Recasting criticism as espionage and dissent as treason and it correlates to the first amendment. Tactic nine takes away freedom of speech which legally is a right but under the circumstances of the government. If you speak out upon any event that you disagree with concerning the government you are the enemy and will be persecuted. An example of this was the law passed that redefines protesting as terrorism. Words are a powerful thing and if too many people come all agree on the wrongful acts the government has done they could come into great conflict which is why they try to silence those whose speak against the government either publicly or privately.
Marisa Lerma
4/17/2015 03:38:45 pm
Britney, I agree with you on all of these tactics. I also wrote about the seventh tactic, targeting key individuals. Anybody who has a job where all they did is spread news and talk about their opinion, could get in deep trouble by what they say or share. And that totally goes against freedom of speech and freedom of press. People shouldn’t get in trouble by voicing their opinion, for example I talked about the Dixie Chicks and how the government sabotaged their ratings because they say they didn’t like that the President was from Texas. Just because they said that doesn’t mean they are bad people or they are terrorists, they are just voicing their opinion. But since it was something negative about the president or the government, they are automatically under a watchful eye.
Sujla McKinney
4/15/2015 02:41:14 am
The three tactics that goes against our Bill of rights and our Amendments that Wolff state in the video that stood out to me are the development of a paramilitary force, surveillance on ordinary citizens, and recasting criticism and espionage criminalizing free speech. There are about three more tactics I would pick also but I picked these three tactics because they each take away a right that concerns me and most importantly goes against what we stand for as a nation of the United States of America. The rules that our governments are weakening or breaking is what our founding fathers worked so hard for in order to become this free nation that we set ourselves to be and what we are today because of them. For instance the not so secret, unaccountable paramilitary force known as Blackwater is a paramilitary force that is not directed by the people. Blackwater is run by a guy who has close ties to the White house, Eric Prince. They operate outside the rule of law murdering seventeen innocent citizens. As congress question Blackwater and their accountability on their actions they asked for an investigation to take place but the state actually blocked the investigation, protecting their very own murders. Blackwater is a threat to everyone. Its tactics is to scare us by forcing paramilitary forces on civilians. This directly goes against our 4th and 6th amendment, the right of the people to keep and bear arms of the necessary to secure freestate and to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant. They wrote these laws because they knew what it was like to have a standing army against the people. They made sure that the army was and answerable, domestic, civilized force and not a military occupation running the streets. The second tactic Wolff stated was the amount of surveillance on ordinary citizens. Emails, phones calls, reading our mail is already something they do but the most effective is the surveillance apparatus. This gives them the leverage to use surveillance as a threat to keep us scared and frightened. All they simply have to do is say you did something wrong and accuse you even if they heard wrong; then you start to question yourself and not believing your own reality. That’s what interests me the most is, it’s not just and tactic to pressure civilians but it’s now a psychologically pressure and tactic on civilians. The last tactic that the government invokes is the recasting criticism and espionage criminalizing free speech. Freedom of speech is what makes America a free nation. Having the liberty to openly speak and expressing your peaceful opinion without fear of government consequences. Amendment number one, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Erika Briseno
4/15/2015 04:18:17 am
It is unbelievable that the United States has been using the same tactics that dictatorships or closed societies have used before. Now, our government uses them but with the only difference that they are named differently to drive our attention away from them. All ten tactics got my attention, but I chose and related these three easily with violations to the Bill of Rights:
Karina Vences
5/29/2015 06:55:36 am
Erika,
Quincey W
4/15/2015 04:45:18 am
The first tactic that stood out the most to me from Naomi Wolff's video speech were the invoke of an internal and external threat.The invoke of an internal and external threat had to do with George W. Bush and how he decided to sign the patriot act. This act let the government do things such as; wiretapping, electronic surveillance, medical records, bank records, credit car statements, and even the library book records. This tactic was not even necessary and it violates the constitution because evading ones privacy can not be done without probable cause.
Tanee Asberry
4/15/2015 08:32:26 am
These tactics are negated by the certain amendments attached to the constitution. The first one that caught my eye was the set up an internal surveillance system and that is a right of freedom that we are supposed to have given to us by the 4th amendment which is the right of search and seizure which means get you have to have some type of search warrant to be able to set up a surveillance system to spy on people. The second one that caught my eye was that they can harass citizens' groups which is also a breach in our civil rights at people of the United States. They also have these Secret Prisons where torture takes place: This tactic consists of sending "potential" terrorists to a secret prison to be tortured. The government can put anyone into a secret prison if they think the person is dangerous or a threat to society. For example, Guantanamo Bay is known as the most secure prison in the United States, where the high-profiled terrorists are tortured and interrogated. A potential criminal needs to go through the proper process of convicting them of a crime. This clearly violates our 6th Amendment in the Bill of Rights: " In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. Control the press which goes against amendment 1 which states we have the freedom of press, religion, and expression. So they should not be able to control what the press is allowed to say or die. But they do limit certain types of press do they don't show who and how people die in the wars because it is too graphic but you can see
Nathaniel Mani
4/15/2015 01:05:45 pm
The whole video was interesting for me. After watching the videos it seems like US were using tactics from previous dictator or similar to it. The thing that stood out from me was when she said that all great dictators learned from each other and I believe that is true. The first thing found interesting was secret prison outside of law. This was directed from the top. Family members were being threatened and people disappeared out of nowhere. The president signed a bill that stated that anyone in the world can be picked up and be asked questions. United States built a prison in Guantanamo bay and held terrorists or accused terrorists there and they would be tortured and trialed by special courts without knowing the charges against them. All of this is against our constitution which says everyone is accountable for fair trail and there should be no cruel and unusual punishment against a person. The second most interesting thing was invoke internal/external threat which is basically our homeland security. The congress passed the patriot act which gives the government access to citizens’ emails, wiretapping, checking your bank statements, searching homes and other things. The government is basically spying on some people for no reason this violates our amendment rights for search and seizure because the government doesn’t have the right to take something without proper documentation. The final concept that was interesting was surveiling ordinary citizens. According to Naomi there are about 1 million people on the list and she is one of them. Every month 20,000 people get added on to this list. People that are on the list are the ones that are outspoken. Donald Antoon who was a war veteran is on the list too because he criticized about the war in Iraq. This is a violation of our first amendment right which is freedom of speech. Seems like whoever is not in support of the government and have an high profile end up on the list even though they are no threat to our nation.
Diana Llamas
4/15/2015 01:29:03 pm
While watching the Video the End of America the three tactics I saw that were unbelievable happening in America caught my attention. The first tactic is invoke an internal and external threat. This was the time when George W. Bush was president and he signed the Patriot act which was given the government to hear our phone calls, open our mail, bank accounts, and many other things. This is what they use to access all of our personal information without no warrant. The second tactic I found very interesting was the secret prison. It is the place where torture is the black site that no one even knows where it’s at. The tactic they are using is holding terrorist to be “saving American lives” but in the consitutution believe that it said they do not torture others. I find it unfair how they pick anyone who they make think is a terrorist or is danger to the world. I find that very cruel that the president and the government would torture this person with no probable cause. This allows anyone to be torture no matter who you are. This is violating the 6th amendment. My third tactic is the surveil ordinary citizens. At least every year there is one million people added to the list because they are being watched step by step. No one can walked through the airline without being checked every time they fly. Some people have worst check ups than other because of where they work at. An example that was given was of David Antoon how he wrote an article and later on him and his whole family could not fly through airplane without being checked so many times and put to the side. This can be subjected to Amendment 5. It is so unbelievable how corrupted this government is I never saw it this way.
Candice D.
6/3/2015 08:53:40 am
Hi Diana,
Valarie H.
4/15/2015 01:59:49 pm
The government nowadays have been able to see what citizens are up to because of technology. President George Bush made things so difficult for other to live their lives. He signed off an act called the patriot act. Therefore the government is able to look into our personal lives by the use of surveillance and such. Additionally the government used wiretapping. It violates the first and second amendment. The second tactic that stood out to me was the target key individual. With that example that was given, I feel like it is more of a written statement. It’s crazy how people think we are protected by a piece of paper, however the government doesn’t live by it. They are imprisoning people because they have the right of freedom of speech. Another tactic is the paramilitary force. It is said that the power isn’t a choice. The first amendment give people their proper rights. An example of this is the Dixie Chicks. The president doesn’t want them to be playing them on the radio. It just violates the first amendment. We have the right to do anything and play whatever.
Jesika Lee
4/15/2015 02:55:05 pm
In Wolff's film, she explains that the "War on Terror" was in fact a way to destroy our constitutional rights as Americans. One of these steps was setting up a surveillance system, which meant that our phone conversations could be tapped, our emails could be read, our credit card statements could be read, there seemed to be no limit that the government couldn't get their hands on, if they saw you as a "threat to national security." This is a violation of our fourth amendment right which states that the government cannot search/take things from us without probable cause because at this point, the government can go through your personal possessions just because you said something they didn't like. Another step Wollf mentions is harassing citizen's groups, which goes against our right to peaceably assemble. She mentions how there are spies that infiltrate groups that speak out against the government to try to create dissension among the groups to break them up. A third step that Wollf mentions is engaging in arbitrary detention and release, which is where the government would "hold" people for whatever reasons for an extended amount of time and then let them go, without charging them of any crime. During this period of time, many people were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment which also goes against our right to a speedy trial (none of the people taken had an opportunity to defend themselves) and our eighth amendment right which states that cruel and unusual punishment will not be inflicted upon us (many of these people were tortured).
Alicia Larez
6/14/2015 06:33:09 pm
Hi Jesika! Great post. I also feel that is wrong for our government to deny people the right to a speed trial. Its scary that the government can hold people for whatever reasons for an extended amount of time without charging them with a crime. It angers me, that this is okay, and allowed. I read an article about a 17 year old American kid that was taken and held without telling his parents what was going on because of national security.
Kassandra Mariscal
4/15/2015 03:11:23 pm
Kassandra Mariscal
Rocio Soto
4/15/2015 04:07:39 pm
Jose Fernandez
4/16/2015 07:45:16 am
Hi Rocio,
Alicia Larez
6/14/2015 05:44:50 pm
Like you, the fact that the government watches it's own citizens angers me. It reminds me of big brother, and its unfortunate that the government target people who are a threat to the status quo. Naomi is doing a service by educating people of the truth, yet she is put on the watch list and gets searched every time she steps off the plane.
Luis J. Cardenas
4/15/2015 04:13:40 pm
The three tactics that stood out to me the most were, surveillance on the citizens, paramilitary force and prisons that execute torture as appropriate measures outside of the country. The force of the people though, in my personal opinion can fix all three of these unusual tactical behaviors. For example, if we all got in communication with our representative through measures provided by our representatives, then we can demand a ratification of the bills that allow those shady behaviors. I don’t think that the U.S. Government is intentionally closing in. I think it is the lack of participation from the public that allows such policies to go through.
nathaniel mani
4/16/2015 12:29:09 am
Hello Luis, yes i do agree that Guantanamo bay prison is very secretive not many people know about it. correct me if i am wrong but i believe that prison is in Cuba. the government is smart for this they are not torturing people in United states but outside of it so the people that are behind this mess wont be penalized for it. just like in the video it talked about people being taken to different countries and held for 1 year or longer and were being tortured to get information out of them. in a way they are not violating any amendment right because they are not in United States but that should not be an excuse.
Kasey S.
4/15/2015 04:24:39 pm
All of the ten tactics were interesting to me but the three that stood out to me the most was Control of the Press, Internal Surveillance System, and Secret Prisons.
Luis Lockhart
4/17/2015 03:07:02 pm
Hi Kasey. Thanks for reading my post! I read yours and I agree with your first choice about control of the press. The fact that we aren’t given the whole truth, only what the government wants us to hear makes everything worse. And even worse than that is how they try to actually punish people for pursuing the truth saying they are a threat. With all of our amendments, the one I usually hear about the most is free speech. It’s disturbing to see the government ignore that.
Luis Lockhart
4/15/2015 04:25:37 pm
The first tactic mentioned by Naomi Wolf is saying that there is an internal and external threat. Like how George W. Bush started the “war on terror” after 9/11. After just having gone through this terrible, traumatic event, George Bush talks about the threats of terrorism that serve to further scare the American people. This allowed them to negate the 6th amendment allowing the government to freely look through all our personal information without probable cause through the patriot act. People accept this because they are willing to give up their personal freedoms in exchange for the security that George Bush promised. Fear made people like this. The second tactic is the use of “secret prisons where torture takes place”. This ties in with the first tactic because it is due to fear that the people are willing to except this. In 2001, George Bush issued a military order that allows them to pick up any non-citizen that they think might be involved in terrorism. And even after the Geneva Convention, George W. Bush said it didn’t apply to our conflict with Al Qaeda and that detainees did not count as prisoners of war. The president even made it so that he can call any U.S. citizen an enemy combatant and give us the same treatment. This allowed them to negate the 10th amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment and also the 9th amendment which denies everyone the right to a fair trial. The third tactic (technically fourth) is the surveillance of regular people. Like the first tactic, it negates the 6th amendment. By 2008 there were over one million people on the watch list, including Naomi Wolf. A lot of people on the list are people who are outspoken. Retired decorated veteran Colonel David Antoon and his whole family are now on the watch list because he criticized the Iraq war.
Kasey S.
4/16/2015 01:24:45 pm
Hey Luis, like yourself I chose the same tactics. I completely agreed with you about how you talk about the "War on Terror". I'm not sure if you read my post but I talked about how this "War on Terror" started way before 9/11. It actually begun with George Bush Senior and how they've been tracking cellular data since 1992. Therefore that definitely negates the 6th amendment. I also talked about the secret prison as one of the tactics as well because it's unjust and inhumane to not give people the trial they deserve before trying to taking them to a secret prison to torture and interrogate them about terrorists activities. All of what you said I completely agree with, great points !
Jose Fernandez
4/15/2015 04:28:40 pm
One key tactic used by the United States government was secret prisons. These prisons were used to hold individuals that were “speculated” of holding Anti-American beliefs, committing forms of espionage, or treason. The prisons enforced torturous methods in order to uncover information that potentially holds no ground. The constitution makes note of this in the eighth amendment that prohibits the Federal Government from “cruel and unusual punishment”.
Ashley De La Paz
4/15/2015 04:54:29 pm
In the video most if not all the tactics that Wolff states relates to the Bill of Rights. The first one that she mentions is to initiate an internal or external threat. I completely can believe this because there have been many investigation and many facts about how 9/11 really happened. Those facts show that the story we hear of how 9/11 happened is not true. The second tactic that caught my attention was the right to torture prisoners, this relates to the constitution, because it clearly states that no one is allowed to do under no circumstances what so ever. This shows how our government is slowing trying to keeps their citizens in control to a way that they want us to be. The third tactic that relates greatly to out Bill of Rights and the constitution is when she say that the government has the right to listen to our conversation and we are being watched by the government. This is the complete opposite of what our nation was founded by. This tactic all by itself goes against of one of the reasons that most people think that our country is so great because of freedom. I think that amazing how the government can pass law for the better of our nation, and then later pass another law how not everyone needs to follow the law, or how some thinks just do not apply to certain people for matter ever the reason may be. That goes against to our equal rights.
alicia l
4/15/2015 04:56:20 pm
Three tactics that stood out to me the most is internal surveillance, secret prisons, and control of the press. Also, the parallels between closing societies such as Nazi Germany and the U.S. is spooky. After 911, the government used terrorism as an excuse for Bush to sign the Patriot Act to prevent future terrorist attacks. The media pushed the concept of terrorism and poisoned the general public with fear. The public believed that the Patriot Act would help prevent terrorism, and Bush approved it under the façade of protecting the public. As a result, the government has access to peoples private everything including text messages, and google searches. This clearly violates the 4th Amendment in which protects people from unwarranted search and seizures.
Jada Witherspoon
6/15/2015 10:12:40 am
Hello Alicia,
Jada Witherspoon
4/15/2015 04:59:24 pm
After watching the film "The End of America" explain how 3 of the 10 tactics named by Wolff relate to the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the constitution. Give three examples of how you see the tactics being used in the United States and what amendment they affirm or negate.
Anqi Sun
4/16/2015 04:47:36 am
1. Creating the secret prison
Jesika Lee
4/17/2015 05:52:53 am
Anqi,
Kimberly Lopez
4/16/2015 02:49:15 pm
After watching the film Unpacking the Constitution with Naomi Wolff, it really stood out to me how the belief of the Constitution was being upheld to be only but an illusion under former President Bush’s presidency. While giving her speech Naomi undergoes ten tactics revealing to her audience of how we were being oppressed from our Constitutional rights. Control the Press was a tactic that stood out to me simply because Press in today’s society is a major part of our lives and to only think about how just a couple years ago journalists were being arrested for trying to cover real issues and the truth to Americas eye is simply unthinkable. Freedom of press is one of our rights as citizens of America and to see how tamed it was getting only to cover up harsh realities so we were left ignorant to what was really going on in our Country let alone the world. Another tactic that goes hand in hand with this one is Recast Criticism and Espionage and Dissent as treason, which Wolff gives explicit detail of how journalists were being arrested and their harsh sentences in jail. What was even more mind blowing is how innocent people who were simply doing their jobs were captured and being held in cells that might as well have been hell holes. Again going against the Constitution and arresting people without any reason. Not only were people not given any reasoning behind their arrest, but Bush also signed a law that invoked an internal and external threat as Naomi puts it. This allowed Bush to wiretap into our phones and listen into our conversations and read our text messages, totally invading our private personal space. It all really seems like not a big deal; however, with this also comes easier ways to “capture” any person who seemed like a potential threat to our Nation. Abolishing our rights yet again by invading our privacy and arresting people for only seeming like a possible terrorist which after being imprisoned came with torture of coarse all without hard evidence of someone actually being a terrorist.
amal Pujol
6/2/2015 12:44:56 pm
Hi Kimberly,
amal pujol
6/2/2015 12:41:00 pm
The first tactic that stuck out to me was Invoke a terrifying Internal and External threat. This is what the Bush administration did after 9/11 to go after what they call terrorist. The U.S was not the only country that was affected but other countries did not create as big of a fear in the minds of the citizens. The U.S. did not only go after the terrorist but also raised the fear of the citizens to be able invade many rights on the people. The U.S. opened department of homeland security. In Berlin 1993 Germany Parliament building was set on fire and though many thought it was stage but the National Socialist was able to take advantage of this to pass laws that added clause to allow the state to take certain constitutional rights away from the people. In the U.S. the same thing happened with the Patriot Act which gave the government access to invade certain privacies of citizens such as opening their mail, listening to phone conversations and bank account statements. This invokes fear in the minds of the citizens and makes anyone that does not cooperate without hesitation seem unpatriotic. This act is a violation of the fourth amendment in the constitution that protects citizens against unlawful searches without probably cause. The second tactic that surprised me was the use of para-militia such as Blackwater in times of emergency and to carry out war acts. The U. S. used Blackwater during the war on “terrorism” and also during hurricane Katrina to kill those that were looting. They also killed innocent people and most were forced to steal to survive during that disaster due the lack of emergency response and aide. This a violation of the eight amendment with protects the citizens from excessive force and cruel and unusual penalty. The third tactic that stood out to me was Detain and Release ordinary citizens. This is where reporters and Journalist were arrested, faced jail time and or fines for reporting and putting information out that the government did not want the public to be aware of. This is a violation of the first amendment which protects our freedom of speech. Leave a Reply. |
POSC 1201
For CSU East Bay students registered in POSC 1201. ArchivesCategories |
RSS Feed