Another Police State Trial Balloon

In the 5th District in the city of Washington D.C. this weekend, in an area designated as high crime by D.C. police, access to a three block radius will be restricted by stopping virtually every car entering or leaving the area, with identification demanded, as well as an explanation being required as to the purpose of one's being there in the first place.

Reminiscent of the checkpoints set up by the Soviets during their reign of terror in the countries they occupied, including Russia, these checkpoints, in order to avoid being labeled as singling out one group over another, will unconstitutionally stop every citizen for questioning, an action that in and of itself is called 'detainment', with absolutely no proof that anyone has committed any crime.

The interim Attorney General for the District of Columbia states that the plan is not intended to pick on anybody, but in an arrogant in your face to groups such as the ACLU, who stridently oppose the plan, he says that he doesn't anticipate a lawsuit " But if somebody wants to sue, the courthouse is open." The chutzpah of that statement shows this little gambit for what it really is. Another trial balloon being set up to see how far the government can go in taking away American's freedom of movement, and push aside the protections of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

The desperate need for these checkpoints they say, is due to a spike in crime rates in the area. Granted, the Trinidad area is a high crime section of the city. But it is also the poorest area of town, and so, once more, the powers that be have decided that due to our now two tier system in the U.S., the poor have less rights than the rich, and violating their Constitutional rights means a whole lot less than violating the rights of the rich. Because the proof of the discriminatory actions about to take place can be evidenced by the spikes in crime in other more affluent areas of D.C. such as the Northwest section, which recently was victim to a home invasion wherein the elderly victims were tied up and robbed, a convenience store robbery, a mugging, oh, and a murder.

The city of Chicago recently went through a weekend of violence that is on par with the killings going on in Baghdad. 40 killings occurred between a Friday night and Sunday, but yet there is no plan to illegally stop people for questioning. Another major U.S. city, Milwaukee, is experiencing their own spike in violent crimes, including the killing of a clerk in a store. They have no plans to institute an illegal stop everyone program either.

But yet, as isolated as the actions on the part of the city of Washington D.C. may at first appear, all one has to do is look around the country and the pattern emerges very clearly. For instance, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the DEA, along with local and state police, routinely set up checkpoints along Interstate 70. Called simply a check lane, if a police officer standing by the side of the highway waves for you to pull over into the check lane, you are required to do so. No crime suspected. No speeding done, just pull over. Once pulled over, your I.D. is required, as well as the I.D.'s of your passengers. If asked, you have to submit to a search of your vehicle. Go ahead and say no, forcing them to call in for a warrant and your car will be torn apart. Yeah, this sounds Constitutional.

In New York City, the horrible events of 9/11 have had the unusual effect of New Yorkers giving up many of their civil liberties in the form of checkpoints and cameras everywhere. The problem with many of these checkpoints is that they are clearly not intended to secure the populace, but to further control it. The 2004 republican National Convention shows N.Y.'s checkpoints for what they truly are, as protesters were rounded up, locked in fenced in areas, forced into underground garages, and even an old warehouse so no one could see or hear their voices, much in the same way that checkpoints have been used by the Secret Service to keep protesters at least a quarter of a mile away from the President's sight. And the sight of television cameras.

Out west, in the city of Pamona, California, residents are up in arms over the recent police checkpoints that stop everyone. Verbal fistfights have broken out at recent City Council meetings over the issue, but even as the debate rages, police continue to stop people for no reason. The city of Los Angeles has it's own debate going over the checkpoint issue, and that's where the patten starts to become clear.

Northeast cities experiment to see how far they can push, and with New York basically a complete police state city, why not the nation's Capitol? As that gets shoved down the citizenry's throat, get a few west coast cities into the fold, and hope the idea spreads like a virus. All in the name of freedom mind you. Police powers going completely unchecked, a Homeland Security Department drunk with power, and a last desperate push by the extremists that hijacked our country to transform the United States into the Fourth Reich are the causes of this spike not in crime, but of a police state mentality and acceptance.

The attempt by the city of Washington D.C. must be fought and fought hard. It is but another trial balloon being foisted on the American people by madmen who wish to enslave the people of this country. By getting you used to acquiescing to any demand made by the government or it's agents, the powers that be hope to make you into but another monetary unit that does what it's told, when it's told, and follows orders to the letter, out of fear. Fear that you too could disappear into a black hole such as Gitmo. Fear that your life could be erased by the push of a button. Fear that you will be ostracized by those in charge for rocking the boat and trying to exercise your Constitutional rights.

Because despite what the Attorney General for the District of Columbia thinks, or for that matter, the President of the United States, the Constitution is not 'just a piece of paper', but the very foundation of a civilization known as America. A place that these hucksters selling false freedom know absolutely nothing about. Raise your voices by writing emails to federal, state, and local officials telling them we want no more police state policies thrown at us against our will. Tell them this is America, not some third world country. And tell them we the People are in charge here, not the government, not Homeland Security, and not the police or any other government agency.

If we don't stamp these trial balloons out now, there will be no hope for a brighter future, no matter who wins the election. Because the natural next step in these attempts to get us all used to being stopped and searched for no reason is to start arresting people who criticize the government. "Oh say can you see....................."