Coming to a Country Near You?

For the last twelve years, I've been writing that the country is plummeting toward fascism, toward a theocratic/plutocratic take-over. For the first ten of them, folks sort of edged away from me, the way they do from somebody who's on the street corner with a megaphone, yelling that Jesus is coming tomorrow afternoon at three.

For the last two, however, more and more of them have been willing to notice what I'm seeing: signing statements, government secrecy, lying to Congress, legal torture, no more habeas corpus, wiretapping, search and seizure without court oversight, Christian extremists doing compulsory doctrination at the US military academies and in the force, prisoners denied lawyers, citizens detained and harrassed by customs, parts of US airports declared not subject to our laws, intensive detention center construction, a huge private army, an Attorney General who says the president is above the law -- you know, piddly stuff like that.

Now, in the wake of Naomi Klein's latest warnings, I've begun to see what's going on in Pakistan at two levels. There's the WYSIWYG level and then there's the avatar-play-within-a-play rehearsal level.

We all know BushCo is propping up Musharraf, so if he's doing that, I figure he's also giving Musharraf PR pointers. Therefore, I view the Pakistan drama as a possible pre-play (foreplay is something else) for a coming declaration of martial law in the USA.

For instance:

It will happen quickly, heralded either by war on Iran or a significant disaster here at home.

We'll told that it's an emergency, it's temporary, and it's vital for the security of the country (which we'll have no way of checking).

Congress and the courts will be disbanded.

Bill and Hill will be put under house arrest, along with all other high-profile, influential political opponents from all sectors. Like Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, John and Elizabeth Edwards, Keith Olbermann, Thom Hartmann, Bill Moyers, Randi Rhodes, Rachel Maddow . . .

Cheney will go to ground.

Generals and other high-ranking officers who have challenged Bush on any decision will be detained.

Our borders will be sealed to incoming and outgoing travel, using the huge influx of Blackwater guard reinforcements that will be authorized under this year's ostensible immigration control measure.

Blackwater and the other private militias will be directed to round up the lawyers, judges, and constitutional scholars first. I don't think the corporate defenders will have too much to worry about, but the constitutional lawyers and Democrat attorneys general better keep their tanks full. Bruce Fein, Jonathan Turley, take heed.

All centrists on the US Supreme Court will be removed and replaced summarily with heavyduty winger-thumpers.

We'll be told that anyone carrying an unauthorized weapon will be shot on sight, which will put NRA's panties in a bunch, but hey, what can you do?

All media except FOX and the Clearchannel affiliates will be blacked out.

Anybody who's written critically about the Bushes will be detained, starting with the most influential.

The cash registers at Halliburton and KBR will keep ringing.

Now, if you don't like the look of that, please call your senators and representative and demand impeachment of Cheney and Bush. Because if you don't, you'll get the government that you deserve.