‘Two years ago, in an article entitled “It Can’t Happen Here,” Congressman Ron Paul cautioned, “We are not yet living in a total police state, but it is fast approaching.”

A lot can happen in two years.

In fact, a lot has happened over the past two years, most of it aimed at amassing greater power for the government while undermining the rights of American citizens. And I would venture to say that Rep. Paul’s fears may have come to pass.

For example, sometime in the past two years, President Bush quietly claimed the authority to allow government agents to open the private mail of American citizens, proclaimed his right to assume control of the federal government following a “catastrophic emergency,” and assumed the power to declare martial law and use the military as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, disease outbreak, terrorist attack or any “other condition.” However, these incidents are just the tip of the iceberg.

Unless you’ve been asleep for the past decade, the increasing militarization of the police has become an inescapable and ominous reality. The role of law enforcement, especially local police officers, has drastically changed from when I was a child in the 1950s. The friendly local sheriff in The Andy Griffith Show has been shelved for the federal gun-toting terrorist-killer in the popular television series 24.’

The Instruments Of Tyranny