Homeland Security and the Transformation of America by Berit Kjos February 2003 (Updated October 2009) | Skip down to: |
"SEC. 605. (a) There is hereby created and established a permanent police force, to be known as the `United States Secret Service Uniformed Division'. Subject to the supervision of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division shall perform such duties as the Director, United States Secret Service, may prescribe.... Under the direction of the Director of the Secret Service, members of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division are authorized to--...make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence..." USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorizaton Act of 2005
"The President has proposed the most significant transformation of the U.S. government in over a half-century by consolidating the current confusing patchwork of government activities into a single entity--the Department of Homeland Security...." FEMA Region VI
"The President calls on each governor to establish a single Homeland Security Task Force for the state, to serve as his or her primary coordinating body with the federal government." Organizing for a Secure Homeland, White House[1]"Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. . . . We are currently living through just such a transformation. It is creating the post-capitalist society." Peter F. Drucker, Post-Capitalist Society.[2]
Few would deny that America faces a major crisis. But the greatest threat to freedom may be a veiled government "solution" rather than the obvious threat of terror. Yes, international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction call for a wise and strong response, but our new Department of Homeland Security brings radical changes that threaten the very foundations of our nation.Some of the changes are structural; they deal with the transformation of the republic itself. Others are designed to draw all Americans -- young and old from coast to coast -- into community consensus groups that would manipulate minds, change values, build a collective world view, and promote a form of solidarity that clashes with all the wise warnings of our founding fathers.
Looming over those revolutionary changes stands an inter-governmental surveillance network symbolized by the all-seeing eye in the pyramid. This Masonicsymbol, whose roving eye covers the planet with its probing and penetrating rays, first appeared on a defense department website featuring TIA (Total Information Awareness). It must have raised some concern, since the image disappeared a few months later. See Surveillance
Some of these changes were planned decades long ago. [See Chronology of the NEA] More recently, former president Clinton tried to persuade Congress to pass similar anti-terrorism measures after the bombing of the Oklahoma federal building. But he failed. Americans were not yet ready to relinquish their rights to freedom and privacy. Now, thanks to a greater crisis, the planned laws, intrusive policies, high tech surveillance and vast networks have been put in place. What does it all mean to ordinary citizens like you and me?
Three Problems with Homeland Security
On November 19, 2002, President Bush celebrated the passage of the Homeland Security Act with these words,"The United States Congress has taken an historic and bold step forward to protect the American people by passing legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security. This landmark legislation, the most extensive reorganization of the Federal Government since the 1940s, will help our Nation meet the emerging threats of terrorism in the 21st Century."[3]
Do you wonder what this "most extensive reorganization" entails? I did. And after a week of perusing the White House and Homeland Security websites, I see that Al Gore's promise to "reinvent government" is nearing fulfillment. Fueled by today's anxious atmosphere, the former administration's plan to weaken the old "checks and balances" has been speeding ahead with relatively little public opposition. This massive project bears three distinct marks. It includes -
"The Administration's approach to homeland security is based on the principles of shared responsibility and partnership with the Congress, state and local governments, the private sector, and the American people.... The federal government will employ performance measures--and encourage the same for state and local governments--to evaluate the effectiveness of each homeland security program."[4]
Guess who would be the controlling partner? It would not be the state! In a government partnership between unequal members, the one who sets the standards, defines the terms, and pulls the purse-strings will always rule. Through its calculated distribution of much-needed government grants, the federal government holds all its partners accountable to its top-down[5] agenda.Those partners include a vast network of local, state and national government systems, organizations, agencies and offices. This interlocking web also includes all kinds of private entities and churches. In fact, every part of society has been assigned a place in this massive web. And -- as our government joins hands with corporations, private agencies, "civil society" and faith-based organizations around the world -- we may soon be trapped within the politically correct boundaries of the "common values" and "community oneness" so often touted by former President Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev.Clinton's second executive order on Federalism set the stage. It redesigned and redefined the relationship between states and the White House. Neither Congress nor the Bush administration chose to challenge it.But, as you will see, the federal power grab goes far beyond the 10th Amendment and the original "separation of powers." In the end, we may well see Clinton's vision of government controlled community oneness fulfilled. But by the time the manipulated masses have tuned their minds to the collective heart beat of the new "greater whole", the personal freedom we have treasured may be history. [See Capacity Building]2. The mind-changing consensus processSince the dialectic process has been explained repeatedly on our website, I will simply refer you to the best expose we have: "An analysis of Community Oriented Policing (COPs)" by San Diego Detective Phil Worts. He quotes from a Justice Department brochure which defines the department's federally funded COPS program -- now linked to Homeland Security:[6]
One such example is the President's Council on Sustainable Development. Like more than 150 similar national councils, it is accountable to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. While not formally linked to Homeland Security, the new network of governmental systems and partnerships means that the massive grass-roots network (a "civil society" committed to the UN ideology) will also be supporting community efforts to organize dialectic groups under the umbrella of Homeland Security. The two fit together, for the primary goal of Sustainable Development is not "saving the earth" but social transformation through trained facilitators and the dialectic process. See Local Agenda 21- The U.N. Plan for Your Community
If you follow the links from the Department of Homeland Security website, you will find both Citizen Corps and Service Learning. To understand how these nice-sounding terms are used to change values, blot out absolute truths and build solidarity through the dialectic process, read Serving a Greater Whole. It explains that community service or "service learning" is not simply showing compassion and serving the needy. The real purpose is to involve everyone in the consensus "process." To build the new community -- and to share in the "Capacity Building" encouraged by President Bush as well as by the United Nations -- we must learn to think collectively. "Separateness" is out; solidarity is in.
Corinne McLaughlin, a theosophist (she follows the occult teachings of Alice Bailey) became the first task force coordinator for the President's Council on Sustainable Development under Bill Clinton. She also taught this transformational process at theEPA, the Pentagon and the Department of Education. In her book, Spiritual Politics, she wrote,
"There really is only one sin--separateness. War is more likely to spring from rampant nationalism, ethnocentrism, and intolerant religious fundamentalism--all extreme and separative attitudes...."[15]Her solution? It echoes Clinton's values: "What is needed as a cure for separateness is adeep sense of community--that we're all in this together." Both knew that community participation was key to the envisioned government control.
3. National and international standardsThose who set the standards and define the terms will rule the systems. Those who manage the resources and determine the consequences of failure will control their "partners" and enforce compliance. The promise of "local control" is meaningless when federal funding is tied to federal standards and policies.If you haven't done so already, read Reinventing the World Part 3: Global Standards. It will explain the standards that bind communities and states to national and international benchmarks and standards.Then go to solidarity and learn about the UN standard for community participation. Following UN guidelines, every community must be assessed and monitored for its social capital. At the 1996 UN Conference on Human Habitats (Habitat II) I asked Ismail Serageldin, Vice President of the World Bank, to define social capital for me. Ponder his answer (which I recorded) in light of today's national drive to broaden the web of partnerships, community service and consensus groups:"Social capital is the interaction between people -- the sense of solidarity or shared values that exists between them.... It is the number of voluntary associations which people enter at the grass-roots level and create a community of willingness and solidarity between them."Neither the standards nor the transformational agenda are new. Most of the systemic changes took place before George W. Bush became president. As early as 1922, New York Mayor John Hylan warned the people that -"... the real menace of our republic is this invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy length over city, state and nation. Like the octopus of real life, it operates under cover of self-created screen. It seizes in its long and powerful tentacles our executive officers, our legislative bodies, our schools, our courts, our newspapers and every agency created for the public protection."[14]Today, the top of the pyramid is international, and the Bush administration has neither slowed nor blocked this silent shift. Instead, the White House has pushed the agenda forward and won legal support through a Congress that has been all too reluctant to slow the advance of the new world order. (Yet, it deserves thanks for one victory: it blocked the TIPS program -- at least for the time being. The Justice Department probably won't be asking mail carriers to spy on the community they serve.)By now, you may have realized that this three-pronged transformation matches the "Third Way" politics touted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. It also parallels the socialist vision of Amitai Etzioni, the founder and today's main spokesman for communitarianism. His message deals with the new education system, but it matches the three-pronged structure established under the banner of Homeland Security:SYSTEM: "The good society is a partnership of three sectors: government, private sector, and community.... While these... may change with social condition, in a good society the three sectors seek to cooperate with one another....
"In order to encourage communities' role in social services, all state agencies should have citizen participation advisory boards. Their talks would be to find ways for citizens to participate as volunteers in delivering some services currently carried by the state. They should also play a role in providing timely, relevant and informed feedback on the performance of service providers."
PROCESS: "Third Way governments do best when they resist the rush to legislate good behavior. When there is a valid need to modify behavior, the state should realize that relying on informal community-based processes is preferable...."
STANDARDS: "To ensure that this core education principle will be heeded, an annual assessment should be made in all schools of the educational (as distinct from teaching) messages they impart, and of their approach to character formation."[10]Do you wonder who might be targeted by this vast, interconnected system? The three categories of suspects are:Prevention, profiling and potential terrorists like us1. Foreign terrorists abroadMuch of the Homeland Security focus is on the last category. In its chapter on "Domestic Counterterrorism," the National Strategy states, "The attacks of September 11... have redefined the mission of federal, state and local law enforcement authorities.... Law enforcement agencies... should now assign priority to preventing and interdicting terrorist activity within the United States."[11]
2. Foreign and domestic terrorists in the US
3. Potential domestic terrorists
Notice the word "preventing." It is important, because it shifts the public emphasis from catching criminals to exposing potential terrorists. It also shifts our government's administration of justice from the judicial and legislative branches to the executive branch.Many have tried to define a "terrorist". Some definitions are so open-ended that almost any conservative or home-schooling parent could be suspect. The Homeland Security Act is more precise. Section 2 defines "terrorism" as any activity that--
(A) involves an act that --Reading this definition, you and I have every reason to feel safe. Right? But with today's emphasis on prevention, our leaders have prepared lists of potential terrorists. What might they be looking for? Or rather, who might -- in their eyes -- be willing to use violence in order to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population" or "influence the policy of a government"?
(i) is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources
(ii) is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States...and
(B) appears to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction....
In Muslim lands, an author who wrote a contrary book would be guilty. But what about in America?
Would lobbyists be suspect? Radio hosts? Christian organizations?
The FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) gives us some clues. The White House's National Strategy explains the part played by the JTTFs in Homeland Security:One of those 56 FBI field offices -- located in Phoenix, Arizona -- printed a three-fold flier several years ago. The back panel introduces the JTTFs mission: "...the purpose of this information sheet is to assist uniformed patrol officers in identifying potential domestic terrorism. Domestic terrorism is defined as: Groups or individuals operating entirely inside the US, attempting to influence the US government or population to effect political or social change by engaging in criminal activity."[13]"We will build and continually update a fully integrated, fully accessible terroristwatch list. When we have identified any suspected terrorist activities, we will then use all the tools in our Nation's legal arsenal... to stop those who wish to do us harm."...the FBI is expanding the Joint Terrorism Task Forces, now operating in 47 field offices, to all 56 FBI field offices by August 2002."[12]
The front panel states, "If you encounter any of the following, call the Joint Terrorism Task Force." Its list of suspects justifiably included "Hate Groups" such as "Skinheads, Nazis, Neo-Nazis (usually recognized by tattoos), KKK, White Nationalists...." But it also listed some surprising suspects:Right-Wing ExtremistsDo you still feel safe? I smile as I ask that question, for I may well be listed in their vast, integrated system of databanks tracking American suspects. Some years ago, a federal investigator in New Mexico heard a local radio program discussing the United Nations and its agenda. He went to the station, interrogated the staff and included questions about previous guests. One of the two names he mentioned was mine. Apparently, we were suspect because we valued the US Constitution and exposed the power, influence and aims of the United Nations. [See A Terrorist? Me?]
-'defenders' of US Constitution against federal government and the UN (Super Patriots)
- groups of individuals engaged in para-military trainingCommon Law Movement Proponents
- No drivers license
- Refuse to identity themselves
- Requests authority for stop
- Make numerous references to US Constitution
- Claim driving is a right, not a privilege
- Attempt to "police the police"Single Issue Terrorists
- Lone individuals
If you wonder why "lone individuals" would be listed, read The UN Plan for Your Mental Health. Al Gore summarized the "danger" in a 1992 address to a Communitarian meeting in Washington, DC. He said, "Seeing ourselves as separate is the central problem in our political thinking."[15]
To make sure no one is "separate" or "lone," the community programs you saw earlier have been designed to involve every person in group dialogue. As stated in the National Strategy:"All of us have a key role to play in America's war on terrorism. ... In order to defeat an enemy who uses our very way of life as a weapon--who takes advantage of our freedoms and liberties--every American must be willing to do his or her part to protect our homeland."[1]
The vast network of homeland surveillance
By fall 2003, DHS Secretary Tom Ridge will have 170,000 employees in his department. "The DHS will serve as a central hub of intelligence analysis and dissemination, working with agencies throughout the federal government such as the FBI, CIA, NSA, DEA, the DOD and other key intelligence sources." www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home6.jspAlthough his wife, Michele Ridge, is not an official "partner," she will serve his purpose as "the hired national spokeswoman" for Communities That Care (CTC). According to an article titled, "Mrs. Ridge promotes survey on sex, drugs," the CTC "developed the youth survey used in more than 400 communities nationwide to collect personal information from students to help local governments justify federal and foundation grant applications."[16] Majoring in "the field ofprevention science," the CTC is a "complete prevention planning system for a healthy community" provides "hands-on training" in leadership, community planning, "strengths assessment," implementation and evaluation -- all the TQM skills and technology needed to transform a community and measure compliance.[17]
In contrast to the silent, behind-the-scenes work of the CTC, the following agencies and offices were officially transferred to DHS: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Secret Service, Coast Guard, Customs Service, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Protective Service (FPS), Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP) and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).
Specific functions were transferred from the FBI, the INS, Departments of Justice, Defense, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Energy and Agriculture.
No one mentioned the "Secretive U.S. Court" established in 1978 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA]. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle described its power:"Cloaked in secrecy and unknown to most Americans, a seven-judge court has been busy in a sealed room at the U.S. Justice Department approving 'black bag' searches, wiretaps and the bugging of homes in the interests of national security.With the additional power and authority granted our President by the USA Patriot Act and the Homeland security Act, the FISA Court fades in significance and shock value. With today's technology, there are few limits to the ways that our government can manipulate, monitor and spy on American citizens without our knowledge. And while our government's right to personal information expands, the taxpayers' right to be informed shrinks. So it's not surprising that the Justice Department would draft a sequel to the Patriot Act with "sweeping new power." Were they trying to guard this secret bill until a greater crisis would set the stage for its acceptance?[19]
The court, which has been operating for more than 20 years, has approved more than 10,000 government applications for clandestine searches and surveillance of foreigners, immigrants and U.S. citizens -- and only one request has ever been denied. "In its anti-terrorism proposals, the Bush administration is asking Congress for a broad expansion of the enormous powers already granted to the executive branch under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA]....
"Civil liberty advocates say they fear the government will take advantage of the administration's proposed change and use the pretext of intelligence gathering under FISA to go after other criminal activity, making an end run around the stricter Fourth Amendment protections in criminal law.... They argue that the total secrecy of the process has eliminated any public accountability to ensure that the process is not being misused."[18]
While America's founders built a government that would be accountable to the people, this monstrous new system turns the old Constitutional safeguards upside down. Today the people are accountable to unthinkable policies, rules, regulations and politically correct values, while much of our government hides its words and intentions behind a veil of secrecy.
Again, Al Gore sheds light on this revolution. Of course, his system of government control would be marketed to the masses under the banner of the "environmental crisis" rather than today's current crisis:
"Adopting a central organizing principle – one agreed to voluntarily – means embarking on an all-out effort to use every policy and program, every law and institution, every treaty and alliance, every tactic and strategy, every plan and course of action – to use, in short, every means to halt the destruction of the environment . . . .
"Minor shifts in policy, moderate improvement in laws and regulations, rhetoric offered in lieu of genuine change—these are all forms of appeasement, designed to satisfy the public’s desire to believe that sacrifice, struggle and awrenching transformation of society will not be necessary."[20] Emphasis addedA Biblical perspectiveIn the midst of these changes, our God still reigns! Nothing escapes His watchful eyes. And nothing happens that doesn't in some way serve His plan. Today as always, He is our high tower and our Hiding Place. Nothing touches His people but through His love and for our ultimate good.
He is also the Truth. And He tells us that our battle is not "against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12-13
Evil is not simply militant terrorists who would destroy America or the Communist leaders in North Korea who defy UN agreements and mock our military forces. Evil is far more subtle. It isin us and all around us. It holds us captive and it blinds us to the truth. That's why Jesus gave His life to set us free.
Two of the most dangerous evils we face are (1) the popular illusions that replace reality in our minds and (2) the psycho-social strategies that immunize our minds to God's unchanging truths. Both are vital to the three-pronged "quality management" system that has risen like a monster out of the sea and now spreads its tentacles into every part of this planet.
To stand firm against these and other forces that deceive and destroy, please seeBrainwashing & How to Resist It. Know the tactics and how to resist. Then pray that God guide our leaders, guard our freedom, equip our children and protect our homes. Remember, when we trust and follow God, He makes us "more than conquerors" through Christ. Romans 8:37
1. "Organizing for a Secure Homeland at http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/book/sect2-2.pdf The page references are listed in order of their appearance in the this article: 14, 12, 112. Peter F. Drucker, Post-Capitalist Society (New York: Harper Collins, 1993), p. 1. Cited in "Downsizing and the Meaning of Work"3. President Hails Passage of Homeland Security Department at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=44&content=136(Introduction, page 2, http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/book/sect2.pdf )5. This top-down agenda may appear to reflect grass-roots opinion. That's the goal of the continual polls and political responses. But those polls enable managers to gauge and manipulate public opinion. They show the social forces that must be countered or strengthened in order to progress toward the goal. SeeForce Field analysis.7. Georg Lukacs, The Process of Democratization, p 46. Soviet can mean an individual, someone who practices the dialectic, or a political system. In Russia, the soviet system consists of a hierarchy ofcouncils, from the local level all the way to the top echelon, the Supreme Soviet Council. In this context, the soviet is the system, particularly the local council.9. Basic Facilitation Skills for Law Enforcement. Presented by Agent Nicolle DePriest, Chula Vista Police Department, in conjunction with the Regional Community Policing Institute, Sand Diego, California. (Regional Training Academy, COPPS curriculum, May 1998).10. Amitai Etzioni, "A Third Way to a Good Society,"at http://kubnw5.kub.nl/web/fsw/Tijdschrift/Etzioni/Etzioni.PDFpage 25.page 26.
Related Links and excerpts: Third Way & Communitarianism
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