America’s quiet coup

How did America get to our present situation?  What can we do to reform it?  This series poses question and provides few (if any answers).  The discussion in the comments are often far longer — and more interesting — than the posts themselves.  Often heated, the different views clash discordently.

“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.”
— James Bovard’s 1994 book Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (Conclusion, p 333).  The origin of this saying is not known; earlier versions appeared on the Internet.

An improved version:

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

Other relevant reference pages:

1. Obama, his administration and policies
2. Politics in America
3. Reforming America: steps to political change
4. Good news about America, a collection of articles!

Contents

1. About the quiet coup against the Constitution
2. Recording our eroding rights.  One by one they go away.
3. About the American spirit, the American soul
4. About America’s leaders
5. A look at America’s past
6. A look at Americ’a present
7. A look at America’s future: birth of the New America
8. About our struggle to adapt to a new century
9. America’s broken observation-orientation-decision-action loop (OODA loop)
10. About America’s shameful criminal justice system
11. A look at America’s enemies

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(1)  About the quiet coup against the Constitution

1. Forecast: Death of the American Constitution, 4 July 2006
2. The Constitution: wonderful, if we can keep it, 15 February 2008
3. Congress shows us how our new government works, 14 April 2008
4. See the last glimmers of the Constitution’s life…, 27 June 2008
5. Remembering what we have lost… thoughts while looking at the embers of the Constitution, 29 June 2008
6. A report card for the Republic: are we still capable of self-government?, 3 July 2008
7. Another step away from our Constitutional system, with applause, 19 September 2008
8. Are Americans still willing to bear the burden of self-government?, 27 March 2009
9. “Lights, Camera, Democracy” by Lewis Lapham, 24 May 2009
10. “The Constitution that I interpret and apply is not living, but dead.” – Supreme Court Justice Scalia, 9 June 2009
11. More about the tottering structure of the American political regime, 17 August 2009
12. Listen to the crowds cheering Sarah Palin, hear the hammerblows of another nail in the Constitution’s coffin, 8 February 2010
13. Another nail put in the Constitution’s coffin, but we don’t care, 9 February 2010
14. Does the US government have the American people’s consent to govern?, 10 March 2010
15. Recommended reading about the Constitution, 17 March 2010 — About the invisible “living” Constitution
16. Is freedom the only value by which to judge governments?, 31 March 2010
17. Is the US government illegitimate? If so, does that justify violent revolution?, 1 April 2010
18. Another step towards fascism: “Silencing the Lawyers”, 31 May 2010
19. The Feds decide who to lock up for life (not just at Guantanamo), another nail in the Constitution’s coffin, 2 June 2010
20. The President’s big stick (domestic): his National Emergency Powers, 12 June 2010
21. Code red! The Constitution is burning., 5 August 2010
22. Every day the Constitution dies a little more, 1 September 2010 — About US government assassination programs
23. What do our Constitution-loving conservatives say about our government’s assassination programs?, 2 September 2010
24. War is the health of the state, 18 September 2010
25. A great philosopher and statesman comments on the Bush-Obama tweaks to the Constitution, 10 October 2010
26. This week’s news: many stories showing that the Constitution is dead, 8 December 2010
27. We’re at war, again. Another shovel of dirt on the corpse of the Constitution., 21 March 2011
28. Conservatives tells us not to worry about the Constitution’s death, 23 March 2011
29. The Constitution will still work for us, if we’d only use it. About options for responding to our enemies. , 29 March 2011
30. Can the UN give Obama the authority to send US forces in the Libyan War?, 1 April 2011
31. Tearing the Constitution is a bipartisan sport!, 4 April 2011
32. Watch the Constitution die right now as we burn a 2452 year old vital legal precedent, 11 October 2011
33. RIP, Constitution. The Second Republic died this week. Of course, we don’t care (that’s why it died)., 5 December 2011
34. “Lawfare” – using the law to undermine the Constitution (a powerful tool in the quiet coup now in progress), 22 December 2011
35. The Republic has died. Let’s decide how to commemorate those responsible. Post your ideas!, 31 May 2012
36. More death throes of the Constitution. Nothing remains in the ruins but politics., 20 June 2012
37. Slowly more people see the “quiet coup” now in progress, 25 June 2012
38. Looking ahead to the next step of the quiet coup, and a new America, 3 July 2012
39. More evidence that the military is slowly cutting itself off from civilian control, 15 July 2012
40. They need not use force to take over, 16 July 2012
41. Undercutting people’s trust in the Republic: another step to destroying the Republic, 27 August 2012

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(2)  Recording our eroding rights. One by one they go away.

1. An Appalling Threat to Civil Liberties and Democracy, 8 August 2010
2. Cutting down the tree of liberty, 9 September 2010 — Government secrets trump fair trials.
3. The guilty ones responsible for the loss of our liberties, 11 September 2010
4. Let’s gaze upon the corpse of the Fourth Amendment, 12 October 2011
5. Another bill before Congress pushing the USA further into the dark of endless war, stripping away our liberties, 28 November 2011
6. An important article to read about another example of the fading rule of law in America, 29 December 2011
7. Ask the mineshaft: what’s gone wrong with America? The decay spreads faster than I imagined possible., 2 March 2012
8. How to Fund an American Police State (aka Weaponizing the Body Politic), 5 March 2012
9. Our leaders explain that we’re sheep. Our role: to obey. Rebel sheep will be imprisoned or destroyed., 7 March 2012
10. The Great Charter. Its Fate, and Ours., 23 July 2012

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(3)  About the American spirit, the American soul

1. America’s Most Dangerous Enemy, 1 March 2006
2. Diagnosing the eagle, chapter IV – Alienation, 13 January 2008
3. Americans, now a subservient people (listen to the Founders sigh in disappointment), 20 July 2008
4. de Tocqueville warns us not to become weak and servile, 21 July 2008
5. A philosophical basis for the Batman saga, 23 July 2008
6. The American spirit speaks: “Baa, Baa, Baa”, 5 August 2008
7. We’re Americans, hear us yell: “baa, baa, baa”, 6 August 2008
8. The intelligentsia takes easy steps to abandoning America, 19 August 2008
9. Symptoms of a fever afflicting America’s culture, 5 November 2008
10. All we have to fear is our optimism, 12 November 2008
11. The corruption of a nation is usually hidden, but sometimes becomes visible, 21 November 2008
12. The war for America’s soul, 23 December 2008 — Our changing attitudes to “It’s a Wonderful Life”
13. This crisis will prove that Americans are not sheep (unless we are), 8 January 2008
14. About security theater, a daily demonstration that Americans are sheep, 25 January 2009
15. We close our eyes to torture by our government. The Brits are stronger., 9 April 2009
16. Sources of inspiration for America’s renewal, 23 April 2009 – The Law of Equivalent Exchange
17. So many Americans approve of torture; what does this tell us about America?, 30 April 2009
18. Dispatches from the front lines in the war for America’s soul, 11 May 2009
19. Are we citizens? Or peasants?, 21 May 2009
20. A famous guest speaker visits the FM site to tell us that we are not weak — we are strong, 8 June 2008 — Patrick Henry
21. A great artist died today. We can gain inspiration from his words., 26 June 2009 — Michael Jackson
22. A wonderful and important speech about liberty, 23 July 2009 — Judge Learned Hand
23. Our government does torture, but it is just like the treatment of young reporters by newspapers, 16 February 2010
24. Know thyself, America, 2 March 2010
25. Reading about American torturers is a bummer. Let’s close our eyes and pretend it didn’t happen, and will not happen again., 22 March 2010
26. It’s a national emergency, so an opportunity to watch much of America get hysterical, 27 May 2010
27. Matt Taibbi helps us see ourselves, and the leaders we elect to run America, 29 May 2010
28. Who can we trust to defend our liberty? Will our culture’s rot spread to the military?, 17 June 2010
29. Should we fear that religion whose believers have killed so many people?, 4 August 2010
30. Pain and misery builds discipline!, 12 October 2010
31. The problem with America lies in our choice of heroes, 2 November 2010
32. About the mystery missile launch (America the fearful, chapter XX), 10 November 2010
33. Why the Turkey is not our national bird, and a reminder that America belongs to us, 26 November 2010
34. Robocop is not a good role model for the youth of Detroit, 12 March 2011
35. Very funny.  But the joke is on us., 13 August 2011
36. A Washington Insider looks at America, but does not understand what he sees, 7 September 2011 — Will the American people revolt?
37. Hear the cattle bellowing in the chutes.  Will they revolt?, 8 September 2011
38. No longer a danger, but a reality:  bloodlust in our minds, an inevitable side-effect of a long war., 25 October 2011
39. Surgery now underway to transform citizens into subjects, 4 April 2012
40. One aspect of The New America: permanent militarization of society, 6 July 2012

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(4)  About America’s leaders

1. It’s is not just McCain who believes we’re dumb – it’s a crowd, 3 September 2008
2. America’s elites reluctantly impose a client-patron system, 5 November 2008
3. Lilliput or America – who has a better way to choose its leaders?, 19 November 2008
4. The Democrats believe we are stupid. Are they correct?, 19 December 2008
5. About campaigns for high office in America – we always expect a better result from the same process, 17 June 2009
6. Please put on every milk carton: America’s political class is MIA, 17 November 2009
7. Why does a great nation choose its leaders so foolishly?, 28 March 2010
8. Our leaders have made a discovery of the sort that changes the destiny of nations, 1 September 2010
9. A Washington Insider looks at America, but does not understand what he sees
10. Which political party will best protect our liberties?, 10 September 2010
11. We have the leaders we deserve. Visit McDonald’s to learn why., 30 October 2010
12. Our fears are unwarranted. America is in fact well-governed., 18 August 2011
13. Today is a red letter day in American history! Our leaders speak honestly to us about an important issue., 6 October 2011
14. Why do awesome people – like us – have such inadequate leaders?, 2 April 2012
15. Tom Perkins tells us about the 1%’s vision of a New America.

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(5)  A look at America’s past

1. Our futures seen in snippets of the past, 16 June 2008 — Great men of the past comment on our situation
2. President Grant warns us about the dangers of national hubris, 7 July 2008
3. de Tocqueville warns us not to become weak and servile, 21 July 2008
4. Let’s look at America in the mirror, the first step to reform, 14 August 2008
5. Can Americans pull together? If not, why not?, 29 August 2008
6. An important thing to remember as we start a New Year, 29 December 2008 — A great speech from Morpheus to Zion, from we too can learn
7. A wonderful and important speech about liberty, 23 July 2009 — By Judge Learned Hand
8. A warning from Alexis De Tocqueville about our military, 7 August 2009
9. Another note from our past, helping us see our future, 16 September 2009
10. A history lesson recommended for the top of your reading pile, 17 September 2009- Serial war as the American way of life.
11. Correction to my previous posts – not all citizen activism is good…, 16 October 2009
12. What’s the big lesson for American from the Bush-Obama years?, 13 March 2010

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(6)  A look at America’s present

1. American history changes direction as the baton passes between our political parties, 18 May 2008
2. Is Obama running for the office of Chief Shaman?, 6 June 2008
3. Does America need a charismatic President?, 15 July 2008
4. More about charisma, by Don Vandergriff…(#2 in the “getting ready for Obama” series), 16 July 2008
5. A must-read for every American citizen: “The Fannie Mae Gang”, 25 July 2008
6. Can Americans pull together? If not, why not?, 29 July 2008
7. General Franks and Max Boot provide a valuable insight for all Americans, 13 August 2008
8. The World’s biggest mess, 22 August 2008
9. “Elegy for a rubber stamp”, by Lewis Lapham, 26 August 2008
10. What happens next? Advice for the new President, part one., 17 October 2008
11. “What to do? Advice for the new President, part two.“, 18 October 2008
12. Dr. Gulliver explains why America has become so fearful of the future, 23 October 2008
13. “A shattering moment in America’s fall from power”, 19 November 2008
14. Quote of the day, by P. J. O’Rouke, 19 December 2008
15. Does this economic crisis make the State stronger – or is it another step in the decline of the state?, 16 January 2009
16. America passes a milestone!, 20 January 2009 — More working in government than manufacturing plus construction.
17. America reaches a tipping point as Washington becomes its heart and soul, 29 January 2009
18. Observations about America by Lewis Lapham, 8 March 2009
19. A great, brief analysis of problem with America’s society – a model to follow when looking at other problems, 4 June 2008
20. Tom Engelhard asks “Is America is hooked on War?”, 19 September 2009
21. The American public is organizing and getting involved! Are we happy now?, 12 August 2009
22. More examples of Americans waking up – should we rejoice?, 10 October 2009
23. Study proves that American workers are foolish, but the rich are not, 31 October 2009
24. Another look in the mirror at America, 19 November 2009
25. A parable of America today – subways here and around the world, 5 January 2010
26. The sky darkens over America, as we (the little people) are made smaller than we were last week. 24 January 2010
27. Does the Tea Party movement remind you of the movie “Meet John Doe”?, 27 January 2010
28. The breakdown of the American political system, pointing to a new and better future, 2 February 2010
29. The US government at work, doing dark deeds in our name, 13 March 2010
30. American is the arsenal of democracy. And the arsenal of tyranny. The profits are bigger that way., 24 March 2010
31. Violence, the inevitable consequence of political extremism, 25 March 2010
32. The similar delusions of America’s Left and Right show our common culture – and weakness, 26 March 2010
33. See the very essence of the US government’s financial problems (clue: it’s us), 2 April 2010
34. Is the American Republic dying, as in the last days of the Roman Republic?, 20 July 2010
35. Another American judge weakens the Republic’s foundation, 8 August 2010
36. The face of America’s decline, 25 August 2010
37. The guilty ones responsible for the loss of our liberties, 11 September 2010
38. Leadership in action: when resource constraints meet conspicuous consumption, we just ignore the problem, 14 September 2010
39. Evidence that liberty and the rule of law still exist! Too bad it’s in Kenya, not America., 7 October 2010
40. America is the new Rome. Late Republican Rome (not the best of times), 13 October 2010
41. We have trouble coping with our present because we’ve lost our past, 23 October 2010
42. A look at America from a superior perspective: the future, 24 October 2010
43. Our geopolitical experts will destroy America, if we let them, 27 October 2010
44. Which is better? Rioting in France and Greece or snoozing in America?, 28 October 2010
45. For the holiday season, here are some comforting thoughts about America, 20 December 2010
46. Robocop is not a good role model for the youth of Detroit, 12 March 2011
47. Being a third world nation is a state of mind, as we will learn, 19 March 2011
48. Listen to the voice of America’s decline.  Can we bring these people into the 21st Century?, 12 August 2011
49. FDR explains one dimension of our problem:  bankers own the government, 23 November 2011
50. Which is more characteristic of America today?, 28 February 2012 — Sharia judge or government oppression?
51. Our leaders explain that we’re sheep. Our role: to obey. Rebel sheep will be imprisoned or destroyed., 7 March 2012
52. Four important articles. More opportunities to get angry, and put America on path to reform., 15 March 2012
53. With a stroke of his pen President Hope and Change erased much of America, 20 March 2012
54. America enters the dreamland, part of our culture of defeat, 22 March 2012
55. Tribalism and racism are the 1%’s best friends, as we see in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, 3 April 2012
56. Surgery now underway to transform citizens into subjects, 4 April 2012
57. Why should we care about the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing strip & cavity searches of prisoners?, 5 April 2012
58. A look in the mirror at America, 29 May 2012
59. Keynes looks 80 years into the future and across the Atlantic, to explain our broken values, 25 July 2012

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(7)  A look at America’s future: birth of the New America

1. Forecasts – Why wait? Read tomorrow’s news … today! (part I), 11 July 2006 — Expect more al Qaeda ops; rise of the petro-empires
2. The Future of America – Why wait? Read tomorrow’s news … today! (part 2), 17 July 2008 — Death of the Constitution
3. Forecasts – Why wait? Read tomorrow’s news … today! (part 3), 17 July 2006 — Bankruptcy of the government
4. Forecasts – Why wait? Read tomorrow’s news … today! (part 4), 17 July 2006 — The post-WWII era ends, and a new cycle begins
5. Our futures seen in snippets of the past, 16 June 2008
6. A soft despotism for America?, 22 July 2008
7. What comes after the Constitution? Can we see the outlines of the “Mark 3″ version?, 10 November 2008
8. The transition between Imperial reigns: what will it mean for America?, 16 December 2008
9. US Army – the antidote to US civil disorder, 3 January 2009
10. America reaches a tipping point as Washington becomes its heart and soul, 29 January 2009
11. A look at America’s future – grim unless we get smart and pull together, 12 March 2009
12. “The Coming of the Fourth American Republic”, 24 April 2009
13. “American capitalism gone with a whimper“ by Stanislav Mishin, 30 May 2009
14. The American public is organizing and getting involved! Are we happy now?, 12 August 2009
15. Beginning of the end of the Republic’s solvency. Soon come the first steps to a reformed regime – or a new regime., 14 August 2009
16. More about the tottering structure of the American political regime, 17 August 2009
17. An ominous trend: number of Americans working for the government vs. those making things, 5 March 2010
18. “Welcome to 2025 – American Preeminence Is Disappearing Fifteen Years Early” by Michael Klare, 7 March 2010
19. Does the health care bill mark an inflection point to American history?, 23 March 2010
20. A look at our future, when our $promises$ to ourselves come due, 25 March 2010
21. A third American regime will arise from the ashes of the present one, 30 March 2010
22. For America to prosper it must first burn, 22 November 2010
23. The hidden price America pays for its dark deeds (a high price, but not immediately visible), 26 March 2011
24. Origins of what may become the 3rd American Republic (a plutocracy), 8 April 2011
25. A warning about what is about to happen, 9 August 2011
26. A look at the future of America, unlike the expectations of conservatives and liberals, 10 August 2011
27. Lewis Lapham explains why America needs a Third Republic, 26 December 2011
28. How to Fund an American Police State (aka Weaponizing the Body Politic), 5 March 2012
29. What will replace the Constitution in Americans’ hearts? Let’s check for Fascism., 29 March 2012
30. Fear not! America will not fall due to its citizens’ imprudence. We’ve found a sure solution., 16 April 2012
31. Our choice of a leader reflects our true self. What does 2012 tell about America?, 19 September 2012
32. Bulletins about the birth of the New America, and the disinformation driving it, 24 September 2012
33. Under the cloak of liberalism America slides to Fascism, 20 October 2012
34. Attention Americans: the Revolution has begun. You must choose a side., 23 November 2012
35. The New America needs a new national anthem! Here’s my nomination., 24 November 2012
36. America’s elites reluctantly impose a client-patron system.
37. Immigration as a reverse election: our leaders get a new people.
38. Our fears are unwarranted. America is in fact well-governed.
39. How do our leaders see us? Don the shoes of the 1%. Look down on the 99%. Describe the view.
40. Will we be better off ruled by the 1%?
41. Look at immigration policy to see our government respond to its masters.

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(8)  About our struggle to adapt to a new century

1. Which is better? Rioting in France and Greece or snoozing in America?, 28 October 2010
2. Polarization and hot rhetoric conceal two similar political parties. Will we ever notice?, 29 October 2010
3. We have the leaders we deserve. Visit MacDonald’s to learn why., 30 October 2010
4. The problem with America lies in our choice of heroes, 2 November 2010
5. The Enigma of American Power, 8 November 2010
6. Why China will again rise to the top. About their most important advantage over America., 11 November 2010
7. The story of the early 21st century: the future arrives, forcing us to build a new world order, 6 December 2010

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(9)  America’s broken observation-orientation-decision-action loop (OODA loop)

1. News from the Front: America’s military has mastered 4GW!, 2 September 2007
2. The two tracks of discussion about the Iraq War, never intersecting, 10 November 2007
3. Another cycle down the Defense Death Spiral, 30 January 2008
4. Quote of the day: this is America’s geopolitical strategy in action, 26 February 2008
5. What do blogs do for America?, 26 February 2008
6. Everything written about the economic crisis overlooks its true nature, 24 February 2009
7. The housing crisis allows America to look in the mirror. What do we see?, 8 March 2009
8. The magic of the mainstream media changes even the plainest words into face powder, 24 April 2009
9. The media – a broken component of America’s machinery to observe and understand the world, 2 June 2009
10. We’re ignorant about the world because we rely on our media for information, 3 June 2009
11. The decay of our government, visible for all to see, 3 June 2009
12. A great, brief analysis of problem with America’s society – a model to follow when looking at other problems, 4 June 2009
13. Does America have clear vision? Here’s an “eye chart” for our minds., 15 June 2009
14. A new news media emerges for our new world, unseen and unexpected, 9 July 2009
15. The weak link in America’s political regime, 16 September 2009
16. Attention fellow sheep: let’s open our eyes and see the walls of our pen, 16 October 2009
17. America’s broken OODA loop in action: a swarming attack by ankle-biters in our intelligentsia, 26 February 2011
18. Today’s geopolitical analysis.  Let’s laugh while America’s wealth flows down the drain., 11 August 2011
19. A look at an enemy of America, and a discussion about the execution of al-Awlaki, 13 October 2011 — Facts are less important than our tribal loyalty.
20. Facts are an obstacle to the reform of America, 20 October 2011
21. A reminder that debates are fun, not politics: Reagan had Alzheimer’s in 1984 and we didn’t notice., 5 October 2012
22. A look at an enemy of America, and a discussion about the execution of al-Awlaki, 13 October 2011 — Facts are less important than our tribal loyalty.
23. How OODA loops break, 26 October 2012

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(10)  About America’s shameful criminal justice system

1. An opportunity to look in the mirror, to more clearly see America, 10 November 2009 — About our prisons
2. Nixon declared war on drugs, a major investment of America in itself – but one that’s gone bad, 21 May 2010
3. The Feds decide who to lock up for life (not just at Guantanamo), another nail in the Constitution’s coffin, 2 June 2010
4. Being a third world nation is a state of mind, as we will learn (about prison rape), 19 March 2011
5. Our prisons are a mirror showing the soul of America.  It’s not a pretty picture., 28 March 2011
6. The Collapse of American Criminal Justice System — Excerpts from The Collapse of American Criminal Justice by William J. Stuntz
7. More about the collapse of the American Criminal Justice System – Studies and reports about our shameful system.
8. Final thoughts about the American Criminal Justice System, 21 September 2011
9. Why should we care about the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing strip & cavity searches of prisoners?, 5 April 2012
10. Back to the future: convict labor returns to America (a powerful tool to force down wages and crush unions), 23 April 2012
11. Convict labor returns to America, part 2 – Lucrative for the employers, expensive for us., 24 April 2012
12. Convict labor, part 3 – We cannot plead ignorance. We do know., 25 April 2012

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(11)  A look at America’s enemies

1. Conservatives tells us not to worry about the Constitution’s death, 23 March 2011
2. Fear the enemies within America more than those without, 21 December 2011
3. “Lawfare” – using the law to undermine the Constitution (a powerful tool in the quiet coup now in progress), 22 December 2011
4. Some foes of the Republic revealed themselves by sponsoring the Enemy Expatriation Act, 30 January 2012

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