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Old 08-10-2014, 12:46 AM
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Is the U.S.A. a Militrary/Police State?

Given DoD's budget and the percent of our population imprisoned how can one answer no?
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Old 08-10-2014, 01:18 AM
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How many police states allow open carry?

You are right about the prison population however.
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Old 08-10-2014, 01:37 AM
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At least one.
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Old 08-10-2014, 01:51 AM
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There is a constitution and a legal system with courts so that precludes an authoritarian state; unless you believe Obama is a dictator. If so, Sara Palin is a terrorist.
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Old 08-10-2014, 02:04 AM
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Our military/police state is bipartisan, democratic, and not precluded by the Constitution.
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Old 08-10-2014, 06:30 AM
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'Military/Police state' is first of all a a bad name, a stinky generality. If you're taking this idea from some source, Nailer, I HIGHLY SUSPECT THEM OF PROPAGANDA.

But the definition, as much as there is one, is 'a state in which police power is used arbitrarily to protect and enforce government power and to quash dissent.' In my opinion, although one can point to some bad incidents, such abuses aren't nearly pervasive enough to earn us such a title.

Indeed, residents of actual police states: Europe under Nazi rule, the Communist states in the postwar era, Argentina in it's 'dirty war' time, etc, would be shocked and angered at the suggestion that the US situation now is comparable. Like, have family members of organizers of Occupy Wall Street, or of the armed insurrection in Nevada, been disappeared, tortured, raped, murdered?

If the police are using terror here, they're being awfully quiet about it.....
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:17 AM
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The history of the development of civilization is the story of humans exchanging increasing levels of "freedom" for increasing levels of security and increasing avoidance of starvation. And it pretty much always involves more and more control by whomever and whatever might be the "ruling class." In the grand scheme of things there really isn't all that much difference in the structure of civilization from one nation to another.

Unless you want to go find a place (if you can anywhere), live off the grid, and avoid contact with the civilization, you're pretty much stuck with it. If you try to scrounge any coin of the realm through off the books work, or even attempt to exist in parallel with the civilization through bartering of services and sustenance, you're vulnerable to be forced into living within the parameters of the civilization. As far as wacky separatists, "sovereign citizens" and other headcases...what they want is to pick and choose what aspects of the civilization they want and what aspects they reject. Convenient hypocrisy, IMHO.

At some point South American, African, Indonesian, and other tribal people who have been able to avoid it so far will be forced into it despite the efforts of do-gooders attempting to save them from, uh...civilization.
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:46 AM
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No.

Although the for profit prison system will probably take us there.

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Old 08-10-2014, 08:57 AM
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For poor young black Dudes it definitely is.

For rich old white Dudes it definitely is not.

The rest of us fall somewhere in between depending.
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donquixote99 View Post

But the definition, as much as there is one, is 'a state in which police power is used arbitrarily to protect and enforce government power and to quash dissent.' In my opinion, although one can point to some bad incidents, such abuses aren't nearly pervasive enough to earn us such a title.
A salient point.

Plus the redress which is available to citizens through the courts.

Trying suing them other governments.
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