Tinfoil Time

Let me begin by saying that I tend to ignore conspiracy theories. So now I'm going to connect some dots, don my foil fez, and proceed to scare myself.

We'll start here:

This year, on August 28, President Bush spoke to another veterans' group, the American Legion. He called Iran "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," whose "active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust." He concluded:

Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late.

But this apparently is just test marketing, like Cheney's 2002 speech. After all "from a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." Today I received a message from a friend who has excellent connections in Washington and whose information has often been prescient. According to this report, as in 2002, the rollout will start after Labor Day, with a big kickoff on September 11. My friend had spoken to someone in one of the leading neo-conservative institutions. He summarized what he was told this way:

They [the source's institution] have "instructions" (yes, that was the word used) from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don't think they'll ever get majority support for this--they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is "plenty."

Of course I cannot verify this report. But besides all the other pieces of information about this circulating, I heard last week from a former U.S. government contractor. According to this friend, someone in the Department of Defense called, asking for cost estimates for a model for reconstruction in Asia. The former contractor finally concluded that the model was intended for Iran.

http://icga.blogspot.com/

Then I see this, via Shaun at Kiko's House

The company has branched out into disaster response management since Hurricane Katrina, where it overbilled the feds ungodly sums, but appears to have other stateside plans in the works, as well.

Explains Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, in an interview:

"Blackwater's been in negotiations with several state governments in the United States. Blackwater met recently with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about doing disaster response in California. They’re opening up a new private military base in San Diego. Another one is in Mount Carroll, Illinois. They have applied for operating licenses in every coastal U.S. state. This is the expansion of a privatized army."

Creepy, isn't it?

Now try this on for size: Could it be the the Dark Prince is planning for the day that martial law was imposed after a disaster and would come to the aid of the very clergy folks whom the Department of Homeland Security is training to help put down citizen unrest?

Sound's batshit crazy doesn't it?

But as Jim Booth, who has aggressively covered Blackwater at Scholars and Rogues, notes:

"Having planes that are good at counter-insurgency in the hands of a dedicated private army headed by an evangelical dominionist could be a back-up in case pastoral diplomacy fails.

"Of course, this could merely be a business decision on the part of Blackwater. After all, as we’ve noted already, there's no business like war business. And to do business properly, you’ve got to have the right tools."

Be fearful, America, be very fearful.

So we have a private security firm ready to step in, with the help of "clergy response teams":

If martial law were enacted here at home, like depicted in the movie "The Siege", easing public fears and quelling dissent would be critical. And that's exactly what the 'Clergy Response Team' helped accomplish in the wake of Katrina.
Dr. Durell Tuberville serves as chaplain for the Shreveport Fire Department and the Caddo
Sheriff's Office. Tuberville said of the clergy team's mission, "the primary thing that we say to anybody is, 'let's cooperate and get this thing over with and then we'll settle the differences once the crisis is over.'"
Such clergy response teams would walk a tight-rope during martial law between the demands of the government on the one side, versus the wishes of the public on the other. "In a lot of
cases, these clergy would already be known in the neighborhoods in which they're helping to diffuse that situation," assured Sandy Davis. He serves as the director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
For the clergy team, one of the biggest tools that they will have in helping calm the public down or to obey the law is the bible itself, specifically Romans 13. Dr. Tuberville elaborated, "because the government's established by the Lord, you know. And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith. That's what's stated in the scripture."
Civil rights advocates believe the amount of public cooperation during such a time of unrest may ultimately depend on how long they expect a suspension of rights might last.

http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=6937987

And how much help will our youth be? Maybe not so much:

Very few Americans under 30 have ever taken a civics class . Which means nobody's
ever walked them -- slowly and patiently over several weeks -- through each article of the Bill of Rights, and explained to them -- carefully and thoroughly and in great detail -- how those articles define the way they as Americans should expect to interact with their government.

This, of course, is very convenient for the would-be oligarchs in our midst. Funny
thing: people who don't know they have rights aren't nearly as inclined to insist on them.

http://www.groupnewsblog.net/

I'll throw in "32 clues that your country may be turning into a fascist state":

http://prorev.com/fascisthints.htm

And this:

A restoration of habeas corpus rights may have a better chance. Leahy said he will push the issue next month, and legislation co-sponsored by Conyers and Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is likely to move through their committees this fall.

But political fear still hovers over any legislation that touches on the fight against terrorism, which, for Democrats, may be the new third rail of politics.

“We can do this, but you have to keep in mind Republicans care more about catching Democrats than catching terrorists,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “They have spent years taking Roosevelt’s notion that we have nothing to fear but fear itself and given us nothing but fear.”column

Feeling the paranoia yet? Here's a small tool:

Print copies of the ACLU Bust Card (2 to a page), cut on the lines, and give one to everyone you know. Do this now please.

Aargh, I think I woke up on the wrong side of the floor this morning.