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Blog #3 

4/13/2015

43 Comments

 

Unpacking the Constitution with Naomi Wolff

1) Bill of Rights
2) U.S. Constitution
Here are a few recent articles about violations to our constitutional rights.
  •  NSA Prism Program
  • Police Citing 3rd Amendment
  • Affirmative Action is constitutional



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
  • You must write 250 words each post (due Wednesday @ Midnight), Responses to another student - 50 words each   (due  @ Friday midnight)
  • Students must post during the week the blog is assigned or it will not be graded.
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.

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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.

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Karina Vences
5/29/2015 06:49:14 am

Gloria,
I also couldn't believe the tactic of "the invoke of an international and external threat." I never gave much thought about Bush using the 911 incident to his advantage and not to mention how disgusted I would be if that was the case. Although I wouldn't be surprised that he could have somehow benefited from this so-called "protection to the citizens."

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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Kassandra Mariscal
4/15/2015 03:17:54 pm

Hi Karina,

Isn't is so ironic that someone got arrested for making a speech about the first amendment? It totally negates the first amendment. I was really in shock when police gathered around the huge group of people and just announced that they are all under arrest. They were all just sitting down hanging out, committing no crime at all! What makes me wonder is if the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are automatically stripped of all their rights. Because all the torture they go through violates the 8th amendment. I don't think things are as bad as they were back in this time. Maybe it is just as bad but maybe I don't see it. I hope things change in the future.

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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."

2. 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..."

3. Control the Press: Our government has the authority and control to only display the information they want the public to know because they don't want us to know the truth. However, the press has the right to display and express the truth because it is part of their job to report what really goes on in the world we live in. This clearly violates our First Amendment in the Bill of Rights: " Prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press..." In the video, it depicted a young journalism being sent to prison because he was supposedly in possession of an inappropriate film that the government wanted. This leads to the conclusion from the government to create a watch list of any potential endangerment of any terrorist or high-risk individual to harm any person in society. This leads the people in our country to not speak their mind because they are living in fear that they may be harmed from the government. In 2008, there are already 1,000,695 people on the watch list for potential terrorists. That is crazy and ridiculous! I highly doubt there are that many potential terrorists.

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Britney Y
4/14/2015 05:56:58 pm

Hello Candice,
The secret prisons caught my attention as well. It is awful to be aware that the government has the power to take whomever they want whenever they want based on suspicion. It clearly goes against the 6th amendment but of course the government pays no mind to the laws of its citizens.

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Diana Llamas
4/15/2015 01:55:01 pm

Hey Candice.
I cannot believe what the government would do to these people who they thought that were terrorist. I had no idea that innocent people were put on these secret prisons. I did believe that there was a secret prison but I had no idea they would hold innocent people towards it. It is violating the sixth amendment which isn't being followed. I just think it’s sad that the government is doing all this and not even following their own rules.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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:

1-Secret Prisons where torture takes place: it is mentioned that these prisons being secret, they are uncountable. This places threat non-Americans citizens that are suspicious of terrorism. There was a phrase that said “torture is necessary to save American lives,” which I think it not only violates the rights to people given by the Constitution, but also human rights that are given to every single person in this world. Also, this video said that military was using same tactics of torture than Germany in the 1930s. In my opinion this tactic negates the Eight Amendment, which says that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

2-Develop a Paramilitary Force: Blackwater is the largest private security company. This organization is used to terrify people. The organization is not directed by the people, and saying by the people I mean, it is not in power by the choice of people. The organization has contributed with around $2.4 million to republican candidates in the past years. This tactic negates the Fourth Amendment that gives people “the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

3- Recast Criticism and Espionage and Dissent as treason: this tactic has been used to arrest people by protesting and without probable cause. This tactic absolutely negates the First Amendment, which “establishes respect of religion, abridges the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

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Karina Vences
5/29/2015 06:55:36 am

Erika,
I also couldn't believe those tactics. The fact that "Recast criticism and Espionage and Dissent as treason" has occurred is really frightening. I agree that it totally neglects the first amendment. However, I wished I saw more of an explanation as to why you found them interesting.

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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.
The second tactic is the secret prisons where torture takes place. They call them black sites and it is said that they are operated by the CIA. Guantanamo Bay is one of several prisons the U.S. utilized to house and interrogate its terror suspects in the wake on 9/11. President Barack Obama promised before he was elected to make closing the prison a top priority, but many at Guantanamo have still not been charged and will never stand trial President George W. Bush acknowledged the existence of secret prisons operated by the CIA during a speech on September 6, 2006. This tactic of the secret prisons allowed the president and those with power to select anybody who they assume is a terrorists or a threat to society. They will then be arrested and tortured. This act also allows for military to torture false prisoner with severe pain and inflicted with specific intent.
The develop of a paramilitary force is the third tactic that violates the fourth amendment. Paramilitary violate civilians rights to secure their homes, paper, and people against unreasonable researches. An example would be when Hurricane Katrina hit and a unmarked vehicle pulled up and started shooting at civilians. Many of the tactics throughout the video nullify the U.S. Constitution and the bill of rights and resulting in the violation of the people's rights.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Candice D.
6/3/2015 08:53:40 am

Hi Diana,

Great post! I found it very contradicting that the government is able to hear our phone calls, access to bank accounts, and have records of how were using our cell phones. It is kind of scary to know that we are technically being watched 24/7. I believe that this interferes with our 4th Amendment: " search and seizure; the right of the people secure their prisons, house, papers, and the effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." We clearly do not have the right to privacy. The second tactic you mentioned is very traumatizing for many people and myself. How scary is it to be sent to a place where people are tortured and no one knows about it. The fact that no one knows that this place existed makes the situation worse. I completely agree with your opinion that its very unfair that they pick anyone random that they assume is a terrorist to be sent there. I wonder if this also has to do with bias beliefs,stereotypes, and racism. The three tactics clearly shows how corrupt our government really is. I believe that their tactics should be based off our Amendment because those were our given rights by our Founding Fathers.

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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.

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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).

I feel like there are many tactics that the government uses that actually negates our constitutional rights. For example, in New York, the NYPD implemented the stop and frisk policy in an attempt to lower crime rates in New York. Many police officers racially profiled and there were higher rates of African Americans and Mexican Americans being stopped and patted down. To me, this is a violation of our fourth amendment right because there is no probable cause when a person looks/dresses a certain way. Another example is the Ferguson riots in which police officers dressed up in riot gear use smoke bombs, tear gas, etc. to break up protests. According to "Democracy Now," two journalists were arrested, detained, and then later released without charges. How is this different from the protests we saw in Wolff's film? There is no difference, it violates our right to peaceably assemble and for the journalists, it violates their right to a speedy trial.
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/14/armed_w_military_grade_weapons_missouri

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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.

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Kassandra Mariscal
4/15/2015 03:11:23 pm

Kassandra Mariscal
4/15/15




invoke an internal and external threat is one of the tactics used. The bush administration apparently created fear amongst citizens after 911 attacks. When they created the “Patriot Act” it allowed for government to wiretap phones, gave access to medical records, credit card statements, bank records, even library books that have been checked out. All this with no “probable cause” or warrant. I think this violates the fourth amendment. The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a warrant signed by a judge and there has to be probable cause.
Secret Prisons where Torture Takes Place. She Mentioned the kinds of things they do to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Some of the things included hanging a prisoner from hands or feet, electrols on genitals, and exposure to extreme heat and cold. I have also heard about waterboarding. This violates a citizens 8th amendment rights by punishing the prisoners with cruel and unusual punishment. I mean… that is very cruel and definitely unusual. The 3rd tactic used was when they arrested and journalists who were just doing their job. Basically anyone who was outspoken and criticized the government publicly was subject to being arrested because of the espionage act. This violates a person's 1st amendment. They were being arrested for “free speech”. Wolff mentioned how freedom of speech was becoming a crime.

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Rocio Soto
4/15/2015 04:07:39 pm


After watching “The End of America” the 3 tactics that most stood out to me were:

1) Invoke a terrifying internal and external threat
-I have read many articles and videos about how 09/11 was a conspiracy. This movie made the thought return again. I see the external terror being induced in our communities via news broadcast, terror threats, “investigating” national affairs, etc. The internal threat is what follows after that. Making the community a victim. The people of America are naturally scared and confused. This only makes things worst.
4) Watch ordinary citizens
-This is the one that angers me the most, because instead of using their surveillance techniques to finding the rapists, murderers, real social threats, the United States government is watching over innocent people: tapping phones, emails, mail, and placing surveillance camera every corner. We are being watched! Forget privacy, and your right to an opinion? Gone. It was a good memory while it lasted. The government is watching veterans, activists, and teachers as if they were the real threat. They are not criminals let alone terrorist. But the Government knows this, they are afraid that the activists will make noise, and that noise will rattle all the way up to their offices. Just like Wolff, she is searched every single time she steps off a plane. Why? Because she has a voice and is not scared to use it.
8) Restrict the press
- The government knows that if you restrict the press, it pretty much almost seals the deal. By accusing the Editor in Chief of the New York Times with treason it scares all of the other writers. Now that the government controls the press (Fox “News”) they are able to control what is said. Again, our freedom of speech is gone. And the nation is deprived of facts. We don’t know what is true or what is opinion anymore. Not everyone is willing to stand up to the fake, just the few. Example: Ferguson trial, all of the people who rallied. Another example is the shooting that took place in the Fruitvale Bart station. There isn’t enough fact in the press. Because expressing your negative thoughts about the government is now illegal. We will never hear the truth again, let alone the abuse that the government is taking on the citizens.

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Jose Fernandez
4/16/2015 07:45:16 am

Hi Rocio,

I agree with the comments you made in regards to the United States government surveilling innocent citizens and disregarding the domestic crimes that are locally established. I believe that the U.S. government will at times disregard the essential liberties that we as citizens are entitled in an effort to protect us from any outside threats. Inherently, it makes the people scared and solely dependent on the government and in doing so we give up our rights as citizens.

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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.

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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.

Surveillance on the citizen goes against the 4th amendment because without a warrant, authorities do no have the constitutional consent to search citizens. The Patriot act, to my belief was past too quickly without enough time of revision by Congress. This act opened doors to many strategies used to spy on Americans.

Paramilitary such as the “blackwater”, a private entity, use fear as appropriate measures to corner people believes of a certain group of people. This one also goes against the 4th amendment that states that “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects.”

Lastly, Guantanamo bay being a very secretive prisons that has tortured many people under the exercise of the executive branch. Amendment 8 states, “nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” which to many of us, torture is considered to be “cruel”. Unfortunately, the Amendment is too vague, and since it is under the criteria of the judicial branch to interpret the Constitution, it is their say.

It seems to me that the lack of interest from the people creates some ignorance and acceptances of what is given to them. But I also believe that it is the vagueness of the Bill of Rights that keeps us from having tangible rights.

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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.

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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.

Control of the Press, it's evident that the government has a huge impact on what we consume on a day to day basis. For instance, some news outlets are really biased. Some are solely Republicans outlets. Some of what's displayed isn't even the whole truth. Some things are so stretched out that we get lied to. Aren't we entitled to the truth and the whole truth? With this tactic we aren't obviously. They're withholding information from us because it's for "our sake". The government also makes examples of those who tend to "speak their minds" some people are sent to jail for instance journalists that cover very important issues and the government arrests them because they pose a threat. Which only makes more people scared to express their right of freedom of speech. First amendment, "Prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press..."

Last week on Democracy Now! I was reading that George Bush senior was the one that created this act far before George Bush did. George Bush said it was created due to terrorist threats but Bush Senior did the same surveillance way before the 9/11 attacks. Which means we were all under surveillance way before 9/11 occurred. It was said on Democracy Now! that U.S. actually began date collection in 1992. The real reason for the surveillance was due to a man that was trying to export electrical equipment to Iran. So they were even looking at 116 different countries. Now that's a lot of data. With the way that the Internal Surveillance System works now is that it allows the government to access the information of citizens such as bank accounts, phone calls and things of the like without the need for a warrant. This act obviously violates the 4th amendment "search and seizure; the right of the people to secure their prisons, house, papers, and the effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."

Secret Prisons are prisons that people get taken to get tortured. If some people are seen as potential terrorists they take them away to these prisons and torture them. This violates the 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..." Taken these people away and torturing them won't give you the answers you need, if we treated them like civilized human beings and actually give them a chance for trial then I'm sure we wouldn't have to result to those drastic tactics. It's inhumane and unjust.

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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.

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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.

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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 !

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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”.
Another demonstration of the Federal Government limiting the rights of its citizens is through means of free press and freedom of speech. The film highlights multiple instances where protestors where arrested for participating in peaceful protest and journalists were persecuted for documenting certain events. The rights of the people in accordance to these freedoms are mentioned in the first amendment of the constitution. It is truly unfortunate that we must fear the government that we must depend on for safety. This inherently causes the American public to grow in their mistrust.
A main component of the United States Constitution is the idea of the separation of powers. The separation of powers grants the legislative, judicial and executive branch to act cooperatively yet, still resonate with being separate and equal bodies of power. The subvert of the rule of law is one challenge that was made in Naomi Wolff’s “The End of America” in regards to the separate powers. The Bush administration was actively involved in overpowering the legislative action that the Congress holds by making special ratifications towards policy related to “terrorism”. This use of power essentially goes against the main principles by which this nation was founded on and what once made the country great.

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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.

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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.

Secret prisons are also a result of 911, however, some may argue that they had already existed but went public after 911. The government can send practically anyone to prison, on a whim, without due process. It violates the 6th amendment in the Bill of Right which states that “All criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the ri9ght to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district where the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to informed of the nature and cause of the accusation”.

Our government has the power to control what is broadcasted on television as well as print media. They filter out what they want us or don’t want us to know. As a result, many journalist are suppressed from reporting real news, or any information that will distort public perception. However, journalist are protected with the 1st Amendment in the Bill of Rights. It clearly state that the people have free speech, and control of the press clearly violates it.

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Jada Witherspoon
6/15/2015 10:12:40 am

Hello Alicia,
I think the most troubling thing about everything you stated in your post was that the government has the power to control what is or is not broadcast to the media. We as a people have the right to know what our government is doing so I believe that when the government has the power to control what the people do and do not know allows them to create laws and bills that may not be supported by the country but since people do not know what laws congress may be trying to pass there can be no protest or anything done about it.

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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.
When watching the Wolff documentary, the three out of 10 tactics that stood out to me the had mostly had to do with out constitutional right and amendments. The first case was the illegal prisons that the unites states government was funding which allowed for the torture, and extensive holding of suspected terrorist or people suspected of committing specific crimes. This however, violates 6th amendment which states that "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..." these men that were captured and sometimes tortured did not have the right to fight these accusations against them, and to a fair and speedy trial being held for long period of time.In the case of Guantanamo Bay the 8th amendment was violated which prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment" as they would often torture and tie up the prisoners.
The second tactic that was interesting to me was was the violation of the 4th amendments which states that "Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause as determined by a neutral judge or magistrate" this is an important violation, because with the passing of the "Patriot Act" allowed for the illegal tapping of peoples phones and access to personal information that the government has no right to know unless they have probable cause or a warrant.
The third and last tactic that stood out to me was the violation of the first amendment with the punishment and arrest of those that would report on the government wrongdoings or the punishment of those that would peacefully protest.The first amendment states that infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances". These right were violated with the policing of free speech and freedom to protest and express grievances.
I think these injustices were allowed to go on, because after 9/11 people were so caught up in fearing terrorist that hey were blind to the violations of the amendments and bill of right that was occurring right in front of them.

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Anqi Sun
4/16/2015 04:47:36 am

1. Creating the secret prison
After the 911, the American government began to create secret prisons in almost every part of the world. Like many other secret agencies that work for their government, these prisons are created under the permissions of the US government. The main reason that these secret prisons are created is to protect Americans against the threats of the terrorists, but it is controversial that the president is granted the power to “determine who is an accused terrorist”. You could be tortured, put on a special trial and executed secretly. But obviously, this is clearly against the constitution that “the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury”.
2. Developing Paramilitary Force
As a company which is working for the US government. Mercenary companies like Black Water are doing their mission in different parts of the world under the permission of the government. When they were doing their missions outside the America, they sometimes killed innocent people in Iraq without any reason. They were shown has very tight bound with some political parties, but its existence scared the citizens. It is completely against the Article 4
3. Surveilling Ordinary Citizens
Like many other countries, the American government also created a system of monitoring its own people. Under this system, the government can listen to every citizen’s phone call, email, their records with the bank, or just simply intimidate someone. Many people are put on the list and put on a mark SSSS/ high security when they are trying to go for a vacation. In every society, there is always such a list. Surprisingly, it was said that there was over 1 million people on the watch list, these people are put on the list just because they openly said something about the government. It not only made those people on the watch list feel so frustrating because they and their families were monitored, but also it was against the constitution. This is clearly against the 1st amendment

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Jesika Lee
4/17/2015 05:52:53 am

Anqi,
Much like you I was very surprised by all the information that I learned in the film "End of America." The most surprising information that I learned was how the "war on terror" violated a lot of our constitutional rights. I also noted the violation of our first amendment via the government monitoring citizen's emails, phone calls, bank statements, etc. They purposely target people who the government thinks are a "threat" and they try to intimidate them through inconvenient means, which you have noted as marking them as high security. It's incredible to see that a country that was founded on freedom could do these things to its own citizens. I especially liked the comparisons between Hitler, Mussolini, and Bush/the American government. Even though the movie focused on the "war on terror," I do feel that there are still violations of our constitutional rights going on today, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement.

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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.

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amal Pujol
6/2/2015 12:44:56 pm

Hi Kimberly,
I completely agree with you that these acts were a violation of our constitution. They go against what it means to even be an American. The violation of the Freedom of the press goes to show that America is not as liberal and free as people often make it out to be. It is clear from these instances that the government is always watching the actions of the citizens and there are steep consequences for anyone that goes against them.

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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.

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