If you type the phrase “concentration camps” into your Internet search engine, you will find page after page of references to martial law and the construction of concentration camps in the United States on behalf of the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

            A close examination reveals that many of these references lack sufficient facts to support their conclusions; however, taken as a whole, there is an abundance of factual information showing an alarming trend in the deployment of federal and military forces to restrain and detain American citizens.

            Among the Internet sites are those listing between 600 and 800 locations in the United States where the government is establishing “concentration camps.”  Many of these are former or active military bases; however, several provide detailed information about their location and improvements, including maps, videos, and satellite photographs:

●  A former Amtrak facility located in Beech Grove, Indiana, is featured in a widely-viewed video on utube.  From the audio description and video images, it is easy to imagine that the site could be used as a detention facility; however, a telephone call to the desk officer of the Beech Grove Police Department reveals that much of the evidence, including helicopter landing facilities and radio towers, actually belong to the police department that is located adjacent to the now largely abandoned facility.  The desk officer, who also happens to be a local city councilman, was unaware of any federal involvement at the location.  “It’s a straight facility,” he said.

●  There are a number of photographs depicting a site in northern Michigan with a double row of chainlink fencing topped with barb wire and elevated guard towers.  The area is part of Camp Grayling, the largest installation of the Michigan National Guard, which deploys several military police commands and trains more than 100 law enforcement agencies from Northern Michigan.  The photographs clearly show an outdoor detention facility, and recent comments by an undercover observer confirm that it is currently maintained.  However, there is an e-mail on the Internet dated January 20, 1999 from a base Deputy Public Affairs Officer who said:  “The ‘camps’ you are referring to are used by our Military Police for training.  One of their war-time missions is to process and care for prisoners of war (POWs).  The photos you saw are of that training site.”

●  Perhaps the most disturbing images show a Department of Homeland facility known as Swift Luck Green located in Central Wyoming.  The five satellite photographs are labeled as having been taken on January 23 and March 24, 2006 by DigitalGlobe and are annotated as “DHS Facility (SLG).”  Labels include: prisoner housing, restaurant for DHS personnel; 3-story dormitory for prisoners; guard towers; and prison cells.  Various blogs further identify the location as a closed coal mine near Hanna, Wyoming in Carbon County.

            There is nothing comparable to the photographs visible on GoogleEarth at the listed coordinates, and desk officers at the local sheriff’s office and the police department are unaware of any local DHS or FEMA facilities.  An e-mail to DigitalGlobe’s media relations contact about the photographs received this reply: “they were in a report called ‘the hidden gulag,’ a report on secret nk [North Korean] prison camps.”  The report and original photographs can be viewed at the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea’s website, www.hrnk.org.

OpEdNews.com December 5, 2007

The Iraq War Trial

As an independent, I have often thought that it would be more fun to attend a Democratic party, rather than one thrown by Republicans. I believed Democrats were more "progressive," creative, more willing to act out, but I’m no longer so sure.

Even though voters provided the Democrats with a majority in Congress in the last election, the Democrats have continued politics as usual. Impeachment’s off the table, continue to fund the most idiotic war in history, approve an Attorney General who don’t know his torture from a hole in the ground, etc, etc, etc.

Politically, I’ve withdrawn from both parties because it doesn’t appear that either one really represents me and the vast majority of ordinary voters in this country, and I’m convinced that they’ve both sold out to the same corporate interests, including the defense industry. Which brings me to the subject.

The Democrats are so afraid of being labeled as wimps by the Republicans that they’re afraid to take a risk. Even though they now chair and have a majority in every committee in Congress, they continue to dither away every opportunity to take the political lead and to actually do what they were elected to do: STOP THIS STUPID WAR!!!

As a trial lawyer, I was often required to litigate cases I wished were better, but I always knew that my opponents’ cases were weaker than they appeared, and if I maximized my strengths and exploited their weaknesses, there was always a chance of victory. At least, that’s what trials are all about. My job was to investigate the matter, gather my evidence, learn the law, and line up my witnesses.

We lawyers are trained to put on a good show and, even if the judge sometimes acts like another lawyer for the other side, we can still parade our witnesses and trust that the jury has some commonsense. We just have to lay out our evidence, challenge the other side, and argue the facts and law. Mostly, you have to have the courage, day after day, to walk into court, pick a jury and roll the dice. Timid attorneys never leave their offices; they settle their cases and compromise their clients’ interests. They practice the way congressional democrats have been acting.

OpEdNews.com November 2, 2007

United States Senate - Committee on the Judiciary

In the Matter of the Nomination of Michael B. Mukasey to be Attorney General of the United States of America

A Brief on the Use of Water Torture by American Officials in the War on Terrorism

WHEREAS President George W. Bush has nominated Michael B. Mukasey to serve as the Attorney General of the United States, a cabinet position established by law, and has requested the advice and consent of the United States Senate to the appointment pursuant to Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States of America ; and

WHEREAS the Committee on the Judiciary is preparing to vote on the nomination; and

WHEREAS the nominee was asked by members of the Committee whether the use of "waterboarding," an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, by American officials on prisoners taken into custody in the war on terrorism amounts to torture; and

WHEREAS the nominee has stated that his legal opinion on waterboarding would depend on the facts and circumstances of the program and that he has not been briefed on the government’s program and techniques;

THEREFORE the following brief is submitted for his enlightenment and for such other use as the Committee may find appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF WATER TORTURE

During water torture, the body and head of a victim are typically strapped to an inclined board with the head lower than the feet. The victim’s jaws are forced open and a cloth is forced deep into the mouth and over the nose. Water is continuously poured over and into the cloth forcing the victim to stop breathing until forced to either swallow water and/or aspirate it into the lungs, triggering the gag reflex.

Water torture results in controlled drowning, the degree of which depends upon the ability of an individual to resist and the will of the torturer. The punishment ranges from psychological torment and physical suffocation to death. At the least, water torture represents a mock execution. The primeval fear of asphyxiation leads to overwhelming panic in even the most disciplined individuals who may be trained and psychologically conditioned to die rather than submit.

Water torture can lead to serious injury to the victim. A lack of oxygen can quickly result in permanent brain damage, and the aspiration of even small amounts of water can lead to lung disease, including pneumonia. Struggles by the victim against the restraints can produce severe sprains and broken bones. Significantly, the intense fear of imminent death and the victim’s helplessness to prevent it produces devastating and long lasting psychological damage.

The ancient Greek name for Iran was Persis, which was usually spoken with fear – for good reason. At the beginning of the Fifth Century BC, the Persian Empire under Darius the Great was the most threatening force on Earth and was poised to conquer the democratic city states of Greece and, perhaps, the embryonic Roman republic beyond. But for a series of unfortunate events (for the Persians) modern study of the classics would be concentrated on the Persian language, history and literature, rather than upon Greek and Latin.

MAKE SCHOLARS – NOT WAR

If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. ~Chinese proverb

When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on January 8, 2002, he imposed unattainable federal mandates on local public schools; however, he has failed to provide the leadership and resources required to give them any chance of meeting the standards.

In 2004 (the last year for which full statistics are available), we spent $462.7 billion to educate our children. Local school districts raised 43.9 percent of their budgets, the states contributed 47.1 percent, and the federal government chipped in $41.3 billion, or less than nine percent.

A broad disparity of education funding continues to exist. The amount of money available to educate children depends, not only on the wealth of their families and the communities in which they live, but upon the priorities established by our elected local, state and federal representatives. Nationally, we spent an average of $8,287 per child in 2004; however, the range was from $5,008 in Utah to $12,981 in New Jersey.

On the fifth anniversary of its signing, NCLB remains underfunded by billions of dollars; its objectives are still focused on “teaching to the test;” it continues to unfairly punish public schools and their hard-working and dedicated teachers; and it deprives our most needy children of a meaningful opportunity to obtain the education they need to survive in a society in which knowledge is the key to success.

Almost 70 percent of professional educators rate NCLB as a failure, primarily because its emphasis on testing deprives students, particularly the most disadvantaged, of a meaningful education that includes social studies, foreign languages, the arts and music. This poor grade is also assigned by 60 percent of all Americans, who either believe the Act has had no effect on schools or has had a negative effect.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as currently defined by NCLB, is scheduled for reauthorization this year. Congress is required to act, and we can only hope it acts wisely. Our representatives must accept the truth, reject the false, and choose a path leading to success and away from failure.

ONE HEALTH CARE POLICY – INDIVISIBLE – WITH BENEFITS FOR ALL

“The poorest man would not part with health for money, but the richest would gladly part with all their money for health.” ~ Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)

President Bush likes to brag that he pays no attention to public opinion polls and that he doesn’t read the newspapers, so he may have been unaware that at least 72% of Americans favor government guaranteed health care. However, the November elections must have sent a message that the mood of the electorate has shifted, and that perhaps he should mention the health care crisis during his State of the Union Address. However, what President Bush actually said was yet another feeble attempt to reconcile the demands of his neocon controllers with the desperate needs of those he pretends to care about, but for whom he is incapable of empathy.

Bush started off with a good sound bite, “A future of hope and opportunity requires that all of our citizens have affordable and available health care.” (Applause.) He then proposed a $15,000 tax deduction for families whose employers provide health insurance or who purchase their own insurance. He also offered federal funds to states to help them make “basic health insurance available to all of their citizens.” Sounds good, but what’s up?

In a radio address three days earlier, Bush had criticized workers who have been “encouraged” to “choose overly expensive, gold-plated plans.” He said he wanted to “fix” the problem by increasing taxes on these “unwise” health plans that cost more than the proposed standard deduction. It doesn’t sound like he wants all of us to have the quality of health care his family wealth has ensured him throughout his life, or that we, the taxpayers, are providing him while he lives, rent-free, in our White House. Noooo. He’s talking real basic health care here – co-pays, high deductibles and limited coverage.

A JUST AND FAIR TAX

“When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” ~Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), The Republic

The United States government is primarily funded by a tax upon the income of all individuals, businesses and corporations. It is a crime to evade the payment of lawful taxes, random audits are used to keep us honest, and the tax is automatically deducted from most of our paychecks; however, the federal income tax primarily depends upon voluntary compliance with the law, particularly self reporting.

Most of us want to believe that the income tax system is fair and equitable; otherwise we would not tolerate it. Once we lose faith in the fairness of the system, widespread cheating becomes the norm, and once our tax system becomes entirely confiscatory for working taxpayers, violent revolution cannot be far behind.

The Present System of Taxation is Unfair To The Average American. When Eisenhower was president, corporations paid approximately a quarter of all federal taxes. Now they only pay about 10 percent.

In 1995, 275 corporations having assets of over $250 million avoided all taxes. Between 1996 and 1998, 50 of our largest corporations received over $55 billion in tax breaks and paid no federal taxes, presumably because they had no “income.”

Hitler’s Bulge – Bush’s Surge

In the November 1932 elections, Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist Party lost 34 seats in the Reichstag, leaving the Nazis in the minority with the support of only one-third of the voters. However, after frantic political maneuvering and threats of riots, the interim government failed and Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 31, 1933. Hitler said, “I would like to thank Providence and the Almighty for choosing me of all people to wage this battle for Germany.”

In the November 2000 presidential election, more than a half million Americans cast their vote for Al Gore than for George W. Bush; however, irrespective of the popular vote, a candidate has to have a majority in the Electoral College to win. Although Gore was ahead by 20 electoral votes, Bush was ahead by 327 popular votes in Florida, and Bush needed Florida’s 25 electoral votes to overtake Gore. Fortunately, Bush’s brother was the governor of Florida and his state campaign manager was the Secretary of State. Gore filed a lawsuit to compel a manual recount in the four counties where he enjoyed the greatest support, and the Florida Supreme Court agreed to a partial recount to determine the “intent of the voters.” However, Bush appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where a majority, appointed by Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr., overruled the Florida justices, denied a recount, and appointed Bush as president over the wishes of a majority of the American people. Bush said, “I trust God speaks through me and without that, I couldn’t do my job.”

ENERGY FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM

“The Universe, as far as we can observe it, is a wonderful and immense engine.“

~George Santayana

Americans face an economic and ecological disaster. We have become dependent upon petroleum, a finite energy source near its peak, and upon a supply system manipulated and controlled by foreign powers, whose interests are often hostile to ours. Moreover, we have elected an administration that is dominated by the oil companies, who devastate the environment without care, make obscene profits without guilt, and control our domestic and foreign policies for their own benefit and to our detriment.

Isn’t our national security just as dependent upon the availability of energy as upon a strong military? What can we do to protect ourselves and ensure the survival of our society?

An Imaginative Solution

Envision the amazing initiatives we could embark upon if our national energy policy and research was freed from the control of the oil companies and their political puppets.

Imagine that the Interstate Highway System and most major streets and highways in America were improved to provide a constant source of electro-magnetic energy sufficient to power a standard automobile, with comfortable seating for five adults, anywhere in America at no cost to the operator.

Imagine the introduction of triple-hybrid cars designed to operate primarily on electro-magnetic energy supplied through the surface of all highways and freeways, and which are equipped with small fuel efficient internal combustion engines to supplement rechargeable batteries for trips on local streets and byways.

Imagine we could travel for free throughout the United States as a matter of national privilege. We could get to our jobs without having to work for an hour each day just to pay the way. We would have more money to spend on vacations, and we would be able to tour this great nation, see the grand sights, and visit with our friends and relatives along the way.

Imagine the boon to tourism if foreign visitors could rent a car at the airport and drive around our great country for free, spending their excess cash at our small businesses along the way.

Each was elected president of the United States, but George the 43 rd possesses none of the courage, intelligence, or wisdom of the first.

George Washington was born into a respectable planting family in Virginia. His father died when he was 11, leaving a widow and seven children. The young Washington received a grade-school education; however, he was unable to attend college. He had to go to work at age 16 as a surveyor and ultimately conducted more than 190 surveys on the Virginia frontier. When Washington was 20 years old, he petitioned the governor for a military appointment, and began to lead a series of military expeditions into the Ohio Country, where he engaged in battles with the French and their Indian allies. He was ultimately appointed a colonel, and in 1755 he became an aide-de-camp to the British General Braddock, who was leading an invasion into the French-held Ohio region. Braddock was killed and his army defeated during an Indian ambush; however, Washington was able to rally the troops and saved the lives of many soldiers. Two horses were shot out from under him, and four bullets pierced his coat as he maneuvered in the thick of the battle.

Only 23 years of age, Washington was appointed as Commander in Chief of the Virginia Regiment. He learned lessons from Braddock’s defeat and trained his troops in both the rigorous discipline of British troops and the “bushfighting” tactics of Indian warriors. For the next three and a half years, he led his thousand “Blues” in constant combat operations on the Virginia frontier in the war against France. He knew most of his soldiers personally and was viewed as a father figure, even though most of the soldiers were older than him. He resigned his commission in 1758 to get married and to attend to his family’s estate.

George W. Bush was born to high privilege; his great-grandfathers helped establish and earned enormous profits from the military industrial complex and, his grandfather helped finance Hitler’s war machine. His parents were both raised in wealthy households attended by servants, and they spoiled George Jr., their first born. He was allowed to abuse his siblings, to torment and kill animals and to sustain mediocrity in his education. He required his father’s “legacy” to get into Yale, where he organized physical hazing described in newspaper reports as “degrading, sadistic and obscene.” He was arrested for theft, disorderly conduct, drunk driving and possession of cocaine.

“Will nations never devise a more rational umpire of differences than force? Are there no means of coercing injustice more gratifying to our nature than a waste of the blood of thousands and of the labor of millions of our fellow creatures?” ~Thomas Jefferson

America’s finest young women and men are being maimed and killed every day in Iraq in an illegal war intentionally started by our illegitimate president. Bush’s war crimes have victimized thousands of Americans, and he is extorting more than a billion dollars a week from us to finance his crime spree.

In just the last two years, Bush has spent almost six and a half billion dollars on thousands of projects in Iraq by the Corps of Engineers, while slashing millions from its budget to protect New Orleans. He has sent thousands of National Guard troops from Louisiana and Mississippi to fight his illegal war in Iraq, depriving those states of the emergency resources they needed to cope with Hurricane Katrina. His criminality and bungling stupidity directly caused the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans in those states.

What has Bush’s war accomplished? He has ordered the imprisonment of American citizens without trial or access to counsel, and he has established concentration camps where torture of prisoners is approved and condoned in violation of international law.

In Iraq, Bush has turned a hated dictator into a hero for millions in the Middle East, and the poor Iraqi victims, of whom more than 100,000 have been killed, increasingly resist our occupation. For every “insurrectionist” we kill there now, we create three “terrorists” who will threaten us here in the future.

A civil war between religious factions is shattering the national integrity of Iraq. The new central government is powerless, and its military and police have been infiltrated by local militias, who murder and imprison their opponents without fear of punishment.

The “insurrection” will continue to intensify; hundreds more flag-draped coffins will be secretly flown home in the middle of the night; thousands more of our youth will be maimed and emotionally crippled for life; Iraq will become an anti-democratic theocracy; we will lose the will to fight; and Bush will once again strut around claiming victory in the face of defeat.

Then, not only will the poor and oppressed people of Iraq continue to hate us with just cause, but we will have lost whatever respect and credibility we have left in the community of human civilization. This is stupid in the extreme!

This is not the first time we have engaged in a war that has proven to be a mistake, nor will it be the last unless we find a better way to defend ourselves against real or imagined threats to our national security.

THE MAN WHO ATE HIS FINGERS

A Story About the Stupidity of War and the Idiots Who Glorify It

Copyright © 2005—William John Cox

I can’t recall the first time I met Sam. I had seen him around the Times building for the past 15 years or so, and from time to time when he would see me on the street, he’d tell me one of my columns “was a good one.” Sam was homeless, but I had never seen him holding a sign or asking for handouts. His hair and beard may have gotten a little long and his clothes were well worn, but he had always been clean.

Sam frequented the loading dock around back and helped the crew throw the metropolitan edition on the trucks when the bundles came down the chute in the early morning. He used the dock restroom to clean up and to wash out a change of clothes each day, which he hung to dry in a back storeroom. Everyone liked Sam, including the dock boss, for unlike most street people he seemed to be without anger. There was, however, pain in his eyes and a limp when he walked.

He carried a backpack and often had a book in his hands as he shuffled along. A visit to the central library was a part of his daily routine, and he had his favorite overstuffed chair on the glass bridge high above the escalators. Sam read and dozed most mornings, as he watched the people come and go. In the afternoon, he could often be found surfing the Internet at the public computers on the second level.

Sam got his main meal each evening at the Rescue Mission and though thin, he wasn’t malnourished. He looked to be in his late 40s, and except for his impaired leg and trembling hands, seemed to be in good health.

I had little cause to think much about Sam until he left a phone message for me one morning a few weeks ago. When I called him back, he said he had purchased a disposable cell phone. He had a story to tell and he wanted to go off the record to discuss some conditions. Curious, I consented and he gave me the name and room number of a cheap hotel around the corner. I wasn’t on deadline; I didn’t have an idea for the next column, and I was a little worried about Sam, so I agreed to stop by that afternoon.

He had rented a small hotel room on the third floor for a month. The room was clean; a hot plate and mini refrigerator was in the corner; and a comfortable chair was by the window overlooking the street, with a table and a stack of books next to it.

I had brought along a couple of cold sodas, which we shared as Sam told me his story and related his plan. As a veteran of the first Gulf War he was gravely concerned for the troops currently fighting in Iraq, and he was determined to bring them home. I found Sam to be a thoughtful, well-read and articulate man as he explained why he had called.

Sam had graduated with top honors from high school in 1987, and his teachers had encouraged him to continue his education. However, as the only child of elderly parents, college seemed impossible. An army recruiter sold Sam on enlisting for four years, so he would be able to help out his parents and receive educational assistance when he got out. After boot camp the army sent him to Germany where he was trained as a tank driver. Sam liked his job; he didn’t have to march, and he to got operate a 60-ton, 1500-horsepower, Abrams main battle tank.

The young man had liked the German girls, enjoyed the food, and used his leaves to backpack around Western Europe touring the libraries and museums. He was saving money for college and looking forward to getting a degree, becoming a teacher, and traveling the world during summer vacations. Having been raised alone, Sam wanted to find the right girl, get married and have a large family. He was counting the days until his discharge.

At first, Sam said, he hadn’t paid much attention when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, but then his division was ordered to Saudi Arabia to participate in Operation Desert Storm. His unit led the assault on the left flank on February 24, 1991 and quickly penetrated the defense line. Wheeling about, his brigade executed a maneuver they had been practicing for months. Their tanks had been equipped with large bulldozer blades, and they were ordered to flank each side of the primitive trench system dug by the Iraqis in the sand and to plow it under.

“The Iraqi conscripts, mostly old men and boys, had been ordered into their positions at gunpoint and expected to quickly run away. They only had light weapons, and there was nothing to stop us. We never gave them a chance to surrender. I just drove along at about 25 miles an hour looking through my periscopes as we buried thousands of them alive. Armored combat earth movers came along behind us and smoothed away any evidence of what we had done. Altogether, we covered up about 70 miles of trenches.

“Later, I read that Cheney, who was secretary of defense at the time, said there was a gap in the law of war that had allowed us to deny quarter. I don’t know about that, but I have never been able to get that horrible image out of my mind. In my dreams, I keep running my tank up and down those trenches. Night after night, I keep hearing the men cry out to Allah and scream for their mothers, as tons of sand poured down on top of them, crushing the air from their lungs and slowly suffocating them to death.

“Maybe it was karma, or just plain bad luck, but a couple of weeks later we were stopped near a captured ammunition dump in Southern Iraq when the engineers blew up a large stock of rockets. We were downwind, and afterwards we all came down with what seemed like the flu. Later, we learned the rockets had contained sarin nerve gas. I was discharged a few months later, but my right leg had stopped working right and my hands had started to shake. The Army and the VA told me it had nothing to do with our exposure, but I wonder: Is this my punishment?“

Sam had become obsessed with the current Iraq War. Although the American body count is more than 1,875 and thousands more have been grievously wounded, he agonized most over the 30 percent of returning soldiers who suffer from mental illness. Sam imagined tens of thousands of them having the same kinds of nightmares that had kept him awake over the years. He had been thinking about what he could do to stop the war and to bring the troops home.

Sam had considered fasting, but decided no one would notice. He briefly thought about dousing himself with gasoline and self-immolating in Pershing Square, but concluded, while that might be noticed, few would care. Sam had a new idea, but he swore me to secrecy before he revealed it.

      The genius of Albert Einstein was demonstrated by his ability to step aside in his mind and view the universe and its physical laws from a place where the rest of us had never ventured. In proving that time is relative he had to, as we say today, think outside the box. The world we live in is a troubling place. To better understand it, perhaps we can take a flight of fantasy and imagine that we are regularly visited by benevolent time travelers from another dimension whose sole mission is to identify the truth. What conclusions would these truth seekers draw about who we are, what we are doing to ourselves, and why? Freed from political lies and religious distortions, what would their report say?

      George W. Bush stole the 2000 election and we let him get away with it. While the Democrats cried because Al Gore had won the vote, the Republicans counted their loot and planned the next heist. Crime does pay when the Justices of the Supreme Court are in on the caper, and they can’t be impeached if the crooks control the Congress.