AS IN ROME: FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE

http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=5869

As in Rome, all the old forms will still be there

control of the state will have passed to a small group of nobles who rule for the benefit of their wealthy peers and corporate patrons

there will be factional conflicts among this elite

no one outside the privileged circle will be allowed to govern or influence state policy

Dissidents will be marginalized - usually by "the people" themselves

Deprived of historical knowledge by an impoverished educational system designed to produce complacent consumers and left ignorant of current events by a media devoted solely to profit, many will internalize the force-fed values of the ruling elite

There will be little need for overt methods of control.

The rulers will often act in secret. For reasons of "national security," the people will not be permitted to know what goes on in their name

Actions once unthinkable will be accepted as routine

• government by executive fiat
• the murder of "enemies" selected by the leader
• undeclared war
• torture
• mass detentions without charge
• the looting of the national treasury
• the creation of huge new "security structures" targeted at the populace

In time, all this will come to seem "normal,"

The President signs an executive order overturning a law, despite the fact that "reinterpreting" the law - was ordinarily the job of the Supreme Court under the old Republic

Historians, journalists or ordinary citizens seeking information about the actions of past administrations will have to file suit to show a "demonstrated, specific" need for access to the blocked material. The mere assertion of a "right to know" about governmental affairs will not be sufficient. Such a right no longer exists.

The use of executive fiat to abrogate the function of the Supreme Court and overturn laws passed by the people's representatives is necessary in order to protect "national security,"

a sitting president already has the authority to withhold any past documents that might endanger national security, But Bush's new edict will allow the quashing of presidential papers that might be politically embarrassing or reveal criminal behavior by past administrations.

the curtailment of civil liberties, including admitting the use of torture, will be approved by "at least five Supreme Court Justices," who will gladly give "heightened deference to the judgments of the political branches with respect to matters of national security,

Bush is now openly considering the use of torture to compel testimony from suspected terrorists - or anyone designated as a suspected terrorist. recalcitrant prisoners can always be exported to friendly regimes, like Egypt or Kenya

Information "extracted" there can then be used in U.S. trials. Ordinarily evidence acquired by such heinous and unconstitutional methods be thrown out by the courts under the old Republic. But in the new America the judiciary will no doubt "give heightened deference to the judgments of the political branches," if all else fails, a handy executive order can always "reinterpret" the Constitution to accommodate the needs of "national security."

with the sweeping new powers of the "USA Patriot Act", "shift the primary mission of the FBI from solving crimes to gathering domestic intelligence," the feds will move from protecting the people to spying on them. The CIA has also been given authority to take part in domestic surveillance and investigation

These domestic "black ops" will be overseen by a secret court appointed by the Chief Justice

It won't come like a storm. It will all seem normal. Like a break in the weather, a shift in the wind.