BushCo Is Preparing For a Showdown. Are We Ready For It?

BushCo is intent upon taking control of the National Guard away from governors . . . BushCo is redefining the Insurrection Act . . .  BushCo is branding critics as dangerous appeasers . . . BushCo is threatening to arrest and imprison journalists . . . BushCo is inciting their rabid base . . . BushCo is linking "Islamofascists" with "Blogofascists" . . . BushCo has been mining NSA data for years to compile an enemies list . . . BushCo is preparing detention camps . . . BushCo is instigating a war with Iran . . . BushCo is a wounded beast and is much more dangerous now than it has ever been.

It's encouraging that "all 50 governors earlier this month signed a formal letter opposing a House provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that would let Bush federalize the Guard without governors' consent in the event of a "serious natural or manmade disaster, accident or catastrophe."  Much less encouraging is the fact that Bush pays no attention to letters from concerned governors, Congressmen, Senators, or anyone else who has refused to be bullied or blackmailed into submission.

Federalizing the National Guard Controversy

Thank you for raising this issue on ConyersBlog, feline.  It's one more glaring example of BushCo's relentless pursuit of absolute power. There is absolutely no justification for a president federalizing a state's National Guard without the consent of the governor.  No responsible governor is going to refuse to agree to federalizing their state's Guard units in the event of a natural disaster.  No responsible president would demand exclusive authority to do so.  Tragically, Americans do not have a responsible president, they have an ignorant, blustering, delusional, non-recovering alcoholic lying sack of shit for a president.

It is also alarming that, "the Senate approved-version of the legislation would give Bush similar powers by redefining the Insurrection Act, a Civil War-era law that's rarely used."  Federalizing the National Guard and redefining the Insurrection Act are just two of many red flags revealing BushCo's dark agenda.

In Mysterious New BushCo "Programs" AlterNet warns that, "the Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with "an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs," KBR said."

Vietnam-era whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg said, "Almost certainly this is preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for Mid-Easterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters." In order to expedite the arrests of "terrorist suspects" and dissenters, "the Pentagon has pushed legislation in Congress that would create an intelligence exception to the Privacy Act, allowing the FBI and others to share information about U.S. citizens with the Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies."

The Washington Post has reported that "the National Counterterrorism Center's central repository now holds the names of 325,000 terrorist suspects, a fourfold increase since the fall of 2003."  This is not a list of terrorist suspects, it is a BushCo Enemies List.  It will be used, and it will be used soon, because the loss of BushCo control of Congress would expose the crimes and treachery of the Bush regime and the Republican Party for every American to see, cripple the conservative movement, and ensure Democratic control of the White House and Congress in 2008 and far into the future.        

The warning signs of a looming BushCo national state of emergency declaration and imposition of martial law are staring us in the face:  BushCo is intent upon taking control of the National Guard away from governors . . . BushCo is redefining the Insurrection Act . . .  BushCo is branding critics as dangerous appeasers . . . BushCo is threatening to arrest and imprison journalists . . . BushCo is inciting their rabid base . . . BushCo is linking "Islamofascists" with "Blogofascists" . . . BushCo has been mining NSA data for years to compile an enemies list . . . BushCo is preparing detention camps . . . BushCo is instigating a war with Iran . . . BushCo is a wounded beast and is far more dangerous now than it has ever been.

BushCo is preparing for a showdown.

If they want one, THEY'LL GET ONE.

Seek the
TRUTH

•  Tip jar n/t

  by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:33:32 PM PDT

•  Oh just fucking VOTE for chrissakes

  ALL OF YOU.

  Yes, yes, the US borders on fascism.  BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?

  Is volunteering too much to ask?  Is voting too much to ask?

  Oh wait, nevermind, we have the liberal dittohead brigade here at dailyKos.  Nevermind.

  by Plutonium Page on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:39:24 PM PDT

  •  Hey Page, what's your problem?

    I goddam vote, I volunteer, I donate money. WTF are YOU doing except bitching?  Your dittohead comment is over the top and out of line...maybe you could use a little time out.

    by trashablanca on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:45:19 PM PDT

    •  I'm tired of seeing diaries about fascism

      If you can post diaries and comments, it isn't fascism.

      As for "bitching", what are you doing?

      I'm volunteering at Greenpeace.  And doing voter registration this week because I'm not going to be at Greenpeace.  And I have something pretty awful going on in my family here right now, so don't even GO THERE about "bitching".  Do NOT go there.

      Do you want me to fly back to the US?  Would that make you happy?

      Because I'm in Amsterdam, and I'm doing what I can.

      And I can't fucking go back to the US right now, ok?  So don't even go there.

      by Plutonium Page on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:50:24 PM PDT

      •  It IS fascism. Saying BushCo isn't fascist

        because we can still post diaries on Kos reveals that you have the critical thinking skills of a turnip, Plutonium Page.

        by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:52:57 PM PDT

      •  It would be wiser to be tired of FASCISM,

        not tired of diaries about fascism!

        by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:57:18 PM PDT

      •  ...Huh?

        If you can post diaries and comments, it isn't fascism.

        Just because the brownshirts don't instantly drag you out and shoot you for being counterrevolutionary...YET...it doesn't count as fascism?

        There was dissent in coffee bars in Mussolini's Italy, too. It's just that more and more, they were suppressed, then violently so. Same as China, etc.

        It's not an on/off thing. Why would you think it was that simple?

        I'm volunteering at Greenpeace.

        Um. Yeah. That...has a lot to do with the reality of the world. Y'know that BushCo is already pushing to label them a terrorist organization too, right?

        Still think it's not fascism? Will you not think it is until an RPG round from a boat full of Blackwater operatives busts through the window of a Greenpeace ship you're on, and your postmortem is a Fox News report that a boat of suspected Al-Qaeda sympathizers was sunk?

        Will that be enough for you? Or would you prefer it be labeled and fought BEFORE it gets to that?

        by Loboguara on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:58:44 PM PDT

        •  BTW, this is what Bushco thinks of Greenpeace...

          From the American Enterprise Institute, a neocon thinktank, etc group:

          Greenpeace, Inc. and other non-exempt Greenpeace entities benefitting from these transfers have committed numerous acts of eco-terrorism. They have blockaded a U.S. naval base, broken into the central control building of a nuclear power station in England, overrun the Exxon Mobil corporate headquarters in Texas...

          So are you going to wait till the operatives are actually killing you before you call them "fascists"?

          According to BushCo, you're an international terrorist.

          Enjoy!

          by Loboguara on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:04:51 PM PDT

          •  Typical Orwellian sewage from BushCo n/t

            It's SOP for BushCo to slander Greenpeace as eco-terrorists, but that doesn't make it any less heinous.

            by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:23:59 PM PDT

        •  Great response, Loboguara

          by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:50:41 PM PDT

      •  Logic Check

        If you aren't burned to death does that mean your house is not on fire?

        Sorry to hear about the problems with your folks, and enjoy Amsterdam.

        by NewDirection on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:02:09 PM PDT

        •  Good way to put it.

          by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:29:38 PM PDT

        •  Or, another way of putting it, an age old cliche

          -- where there is smoke there is fire!

          by tahoebasha2 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 08:06:30 PM PDT

          •  Yup

            by Rusty1776 on Sat Sep 02, 2006 at 12:23:49 AM PDT

      •  I am so sorry about your family, really.

        We are doing it here, too, and it is not fun.  Hope all is going to be better soon for you, Page.

        by panicbean on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:10:44 PM PDT

        •  There are millions and millions of BushCo victims

          they all have our sympathy

          by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 03:25:03 PM PDT

          •  But Page is the only one of them who

            told me "to just fucking vote for chrissakes!"

            by Rusty1776 on Sat Sep 02, 2006 at 12:29:03 AM PDT

      •  sorry about the family trouble, Page

        I hope it has a good resolution soon and that in any case you find the inner resources and the support to wrestle it to the ground, whatever it may be - we are on your side (despite appearances to the contrary).

        by Wee Mama on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 06:36:18 PM PDT

      •  I think we can all understand how you feel,

        however, a spade is a spade, no matter how much we might be bothered by it!

        I might add, it's not a happy reality for any of us, but a realistic one!

        by tahoebasha2 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 08:00:00 PM PDT

  •  Correction, vote and fight Diebold.

    Voting alone isn't enough anymore. You also need to be extremely vocal and active in your community in opposing papertrail-less electronic voting to make sure that vote is counted...and not flipped to the other side.

    by Loboguara on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:46:06 PM PDT

    •  That Sinclair Lewis quote says it all

      by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:30:22 PM PDT

  •  Voting and contributing and volunteering

    while getting ready for the possibility of martial law are not mutually exclusive, PLUTONIUM PAGE.

    Get a grip.

    by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 01:50:34 PM PDT

  •  I've been voting for thirty years. It doesn't

    seem to have accomplished a whole lot. So telling me "to just fucking vote for chrissakes" does not impress me as very good advice.

    by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:37:21 PM PDT

•  I remember Jeb Bush saying that he would

  never agree to give up control of the Florida National Guard, and he was agreeing with Blanco, in her effort to thwart Bush's attempt to take control of it, after Katrina.  

  I don't think the states are going to be willing to give up control, and I would certainly hope that congress would not attempt to change that.

  A showdown is what they will get if this is an ongoing serious attempt, but let it happen, it will be another brick in the wall for the dems.

  by panicbean on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:07:42 PM PDT

  •  All 50 governors signing a joint letter

    indicates unity at the state level, but it's going to take much more than a letter to stop BushCo's federalizing the National Guard agenda.

    by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:18:30 PM PDT

    •  Too bad

      even if he is serious about sticking with that promise, he will be out of office fairly soon.  Hopefully Fl votes for a Dem at the next FL-GOV election.

      by HK on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 05:23:31 PM PDT

  •  If you believe Jeb Bush for one minute,

    have I got some wonderful oceanfront property to sell you!

    by corvo on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:23:21 PM PDT

    •  I don't think Jeb is sleeping well at night with

      Katherine Harris on the loose and getting wilder-eyed every day.  She's about to contract Martha Mitchell Syndrome and may sing like a canary soon about the stolen 2000 election.  

      by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:28:22 PM PDT

      •  I doubt Harris will sing; and,

        quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she "miraculously" "wins" the election this November.

        by corvo on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:43:04 PM PDT

        •  She's such a freakshow now anything is

          possible, but you're probably right. As far as coming back from 40 points down to beat Nelson, if that wouldn't prove that FLA elections are rigged, I don't know what would.

          by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:48:09 PM PDT

      •  We can only Hope!

        by lasky57 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 03:07:09 PM PDT

        •  It would be great if she turned on them big time

          by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 03:21:45 PM PDT

          •  But let's not hold our breath

            by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 03:23:50 PM PDT

    •  On this particular matter I believed him.

      He could of not said anything, but he came out in support of Blanco and against his brother.  The position he took was the correct one in this instance.

      He is a republican, and I do not like him one bit, but even a blind sow gets an ear of corn once in the while.

      I live within walking distance of the ocean so I don't need any oceanfront property, but thanks for the offer!

      by panicbean on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 04:18:19 PM PDT

•  I was suggesting that the governors...

  ...dissolve their Guard units, and re-form the personnel into State Militias. I believe that there is sufficient Constitution-based precedent to allow them to do that?

  Then they'd be untouchable by Der Chimpenfuherer for his plans.

  by Loboguara on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:07:46 PM PDT

  •  I hope many governors do that

    by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:39:34 PM PDT

•  Yes

  Yes I am...

  by bayside on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:11:55 PM PDT

•  Arnold and Ronald Could Teach Bush A Thing Or Two

  The Bush Administration which does not have faith in its own ability to be truly popular. I credit Arnold and his predecessor Ronald in one area: A real desire to be liked.

  I wish the same were true of George.

  When Arnold does a mess of unpopular stuff he takes the family out for global warming ice cream. His numbers rise.

  What does Bush do? It's not fit for a family hyperbole.

  by NewDirection on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:16:36 PM PDT

  •  California doesn't need four more years of

    Ahnuld. Angeledes isn't all that great, but the alternative is much worse.

    by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:42:01 PM PDT

    •  Of Course

      But that's besides the point.

      by NewDirection on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:55:57 PM PDT

      •  ?

        by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:58:31 PM PDT

        •  Now I See...

          That you propably did not suppose I was among Arnold's apparently many register-Dem supporters. But just in case (anyone else) has any doubt:

          Praising one aspect of the latter California governor's style (trying to be liked despite otherwise odious actions) does not imply that he should continue to govern through additional terms.

          by NewDirection on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 03:13:14 PM PDT

•  That's a big, big place @ $385 million.

  a $385 million contract to construct detention centers somewhere in the United States, to deal with "an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs," KBR said."

  Ever since I heard this months ago I've been fearful about those "new programs." I'm just hoping we are not on that list, and that I don't meet my fellow kossacks there! What a convention that would be!

  by Gorette on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:27:18 PM PDT

  •  None of us want to attend Lifetime Detention Kos

    behind barbed wire somewhere in Utah.  

    by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:33:36 PM PDT

    •  but but but

      we're talking a Halliburton subsidy.  By the time they've siphoned off their cut of graft, there won't be enough money left for an outhouse.

      by corvo on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:44:08 PM PDT

      •  LOL. I don't know whether that relieves me

        or not . . .

        by Rusty1776 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:49:24 PM PDT

        •  A most excellent question . . . n/t

          by corvo on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 02:55:26 PM PDT

      •  Don't worry...

        none of us will live long enough to need an outhouse.

        Have you ever spent a winter in Utah?

        by jayatRI on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 04:41:41 PM PDT

        •  True.

          I've spent 30 winters in North Dakota, so I think I see your point.

          by Rusty1776 on Sat Sep 02, 2006 at 12:27:30 AM PDT

•  The point of all this, as I would think any can

  see is that, chip by chip, BushCo are methodically and continously chipping away at what is or is supposed to be the very fibre of our democracy and our free will.  How much more apparent could it be?

  by tahoebasha2 on Fri Sep 01, 2006 at 08:16:04 PM PDT

  •  I think they'll be bringing out the

    chainsaws any day now. Chipping away isn't working any more, and things are going to get very ugly.

    by Rusty1776 on Sat Sep 02, 2006 at 12:25:47 AM PDT