Jim Oberg

As many public revelations pile up against this regime, further exposing their criminal and despotic nature, they are arrogantly going forward with their claimed 'mandate' with little consideration of these impacts. Even the recent exposure of their widespread spying on American citizens without the securing of warrants, a clear violation of the 1978 FISA Act, is dismissed with a claim that our 'wartime' president is above the law. Those who recognize the outrageous nature of their actions, and observe the growing decline in public support for their leadership, sense that a swing in the public's perception will surely coalesce as the midterm elections approach, and the electorate will firmly repudiate their party, leading to a halt in their march against our constitutional guarantees. We who fervently oppose this regime's radical attempt to secure total control must recognize that this is not going to happen anytime soon, and aggressively share this reality with others so they might come to realize how seriously threatened we all are by these power-mad zealots.

This assertion that a pendulum swing in public opinion away from their agenda won't stop them seems contrary to historical experience, as we have seen the rise and fall of other ideologies and regimes in history, as well as cyclical shifts in our political parties' fortunes. Those in power have often tended to overreach in their attempts to cement their advantage with the public when their power was at its peak, and saw their dreams of total victory for their agenda crumble before their own hubris. As we look at the current moment in history, it appears we are on the cusp of a similar collapse of this regime's extreme agenda, as their outrageous actions seem destined to turn our shocked and shamed citizenry firmly against them. Why is it any different this time?



It is important to recognize that this regime has secured several weapons against the forces of public opinion that have not been in place before, and we need to identify and acknowledge these now, lest we yield to the comforting belief that their day is soon drawing to a close. Until we truly recognize the desperate circumstances that face America and the world now, we cannot embrace the extreme actions necessary to defeat them. As Harold Pinter, the Nobel Laureate writer says, this regime is even more dangerous to the world than Nazi Germany was in the 30's. It is that sense of dread that we must embrace if we are to find the resolve within ourselves to engage in the challenge to oppose this regime and all it stands for.

One fundamental new reality we must embrace is the total control they now have over our election machinery, and therefore all election results at the national level in America. Using their majority in Congress, they have now succeeded in installing un-auditable voting and vote-counting machines across the country, manufactured and programmed by their supporters, which are vulnerable to outside manipulation. Nearly any election now is possible for them to "win" with the help of one person sitting behind a computer somewhere. Our opposition party now is only permitted to exist as a permanent minority simply to maintain the illusion of democracy in America. We are now a de-facto one party system, which the Democrats appear to recognize, and therefore moderate their opposition so they can retain the few seats they have been permitted to keep.

This guarantee of a permanent majority government has brought about a new arrogance and determination by those in power to use this illegitimate, unaccountable and total power to impose conditions on our system that will ensure that their agenda going forward will face little serious opposition. Nearly all of our important agencies and regulatory institutions now have had dependable cronies installed at their head. The one branch of government that now offers any resistance to total tyrannical rule is our judicial system, where the longevity of appointments still has left some pockets of resistance to their goals. As new appointments to the courts, including our Supreme Court, accumulate with their extended reign, soon this branch also will be totally within their confident control as well.

With their unchecked power, they have successfully redirected the resources of our nation into the massive buildup of a military juggernaut that is now aimed at securing total control over the world. In concert with the corporate giants who benefit from this control, they are now in the process of securing control over the energy-rich middle eastern region to largely complete the network of forward bases that position them to dominate the geopolitical sphere. While it appears on the surface that the present action in Iraq is failing, in fact the chaos there has guaranteed our military presence as they complete the building of permanent bases, and prepare the platform for their further advances into Iran and Syria, and eventually into Saudi Arabia. Control of the world's remaining energy resources will then give them unassailable domination over the economies of every other country, and prevent any serious challenges to their imperialistic objectives and unchallenged rule.

As we look ahead, the prospects for those who oppose this regime look bleak indeed. Given their proven capacity to stand above the law, and to use any method possible to suppress opposition to their rule, we can expect the actions taken against dissent to accelerate as our anger erupts at their grab for total power, especially if their present outrageous claims to stand above the law are not forcefully challenged by an irate public. We stand on the threshold of seeing a tyrannical fascist dictatorship established in America soon if we do not find the courage to stop this now.

There is now only one force in the world capable of providing a serious challenge to this apparently unstoppable march against the rule of law, freedom and democratic participation in the world. That force resides in the citizenry of America. Only a massive peaceful public uprising of we, the people, empowered by our growing awareness and outrage at this illegitimate takeover of our country, and the destruction of our constitution and Bill of Rights, can stop this now. Until we awaken from the slumber brought upon us by their propaganda beamed to us by our corporate media, and awaken to the disaster befalling us, we will continue our willingly participation in this tyrannical rule over us, which ultimately will lead to our material and moral ruin.

The world can't wait any longer for this regime to fall due to some general swing of the pendulum of democratic opinion. The usual mechanisms that allow for we, the people, to hold our government accountable for their misrule have been taken from us. It is now up to us, by actually coming into the streets to declare our refusal to accept this outrageous situation, to bring this message to every citizen loudly and clearly. This regime must go, and it is our responsibility to make it possible. Join with me, with your friends and your neighbors, and come to the streets as Bush presents his State of the Union address on January 31st, offering us more of their failed and destructive agenda, and together let us declare that, instead, we face a State of Emergency in America, and demand loudly that BUSH, STEP DOWN, AND TAKE YOUR WHOLE PROGRAM WITH YOU!

Jim Oberg is a retired Engineer who lives in Wilsonville, OR, with his wife and two cats, and is volunteering with the World Can't Wait movement to help mobilize a public response to the terrible abuses of this regime. He can be reached at worldcantwait2005@yahoo.com.

(For more information about the actions taking place around the State of the Union address and how you can assist with this effort, go to the worldcantwait.org website.)