written by Mark Taylor-Canfield

It would be difficult for one writer to present in detail the numerous scandals now plaguing the US administration of George W. Bush.

Here's a start:

Two federal indictments of the Republican Speaker of the House, Tom Delay; Grand jury investigations into the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame; atrocious treatment of hurricane Katrina victims; the violent debacle in Iraq. All of these factors and many more have taken their toll on Bush's public support.

His approval ratings are now at the Nixon Watergate level. Students have been arrested for demonstrating at military recruitment centers and in the schools. The Air America Radio network and other more alternative media has spread across the nation bringing entertaining and sometimes subversive politics to the American people. Thanks to Cindy Sheehan and her Camp Casey cohorts, it's become cool in the pop media to oppose Bush. Fox and other conservative networks are losing some of their audience. The pro-war rallies and bloodlust have subsided, and now the reality of mass death and destruction in Iraq can't be denied. A pro-war rally in Washington DC was able to attract only 400 people while anti-war groups brought hundreds of thousands to the nation's capitol.

Recent anti-war protests were held across the country with a major march and rally in Washington DC. For the first time in years, people protested across the street from the presidential mansion, and movement leader Cindy Sheehan was arrested along with dozens of others on Pennsylvania Avenue during acts of civil disobedience in front of the White House.

On September 24th they gathered in Washington DC to oppose the war in Iraq. Many of the demonstrators were also speaking out against the forgotten military action in Afghanistan, the torture of prisoners, and the corporate war profiteering of companies like Halliburton and Bektel. Some called for Bush's impeachment.

In Seattle, as in cities all across the globe, thousands rallied and marched in the streets on September 24th. Congressman Jim McDermott addressed the protesters and told them that Bush’s policies are dangerous and irresponsible - based on the culture of greed and hegemony. Despite the vicious attacks on him by right-wing war hawks, most of McDermott’s predictions about the war have come true. He suggested that the Supreme Court selected president might mislead the American people about the reasons for the invasion of Iraq. For this statement, he was labeled a “traitor”. Now he seems like a wise prophet to the folks who supported him in the progressive Seattle area.

Given the many accusations of corruption and cronyism against the current US administration, and numerous ongoing investigations, some civil rights activists and anti-fascist groups are worried that the government might be preparing for the possibility of mass insurrection, especially in cases of natural or man-made disasters.

On the day that hurricane Rita blasted it's way across the Texas coastline, George W. Bush was speaking to the TV cameras at a bunker in Cheyenne Mountain, the super secret military operations center in Colorado. He asked the military and government officials present if there might be a way of allowing the military to become the prime response agency if a large enough emergency occurred in the US, either a natural disaster or a situation created by man. Bush seemed eager to find a way of putting the military in charge. Images of US soldiers armed with M-16's marching down city streets in America is a frightening thing to both leftists and civil libertarians. It certainly scared residents of New Orleans after Katrina and FEMA devastated that city.

In fact, according to the Washington Post, that very day the US military was carrying out exercises based on a scenario where they would be called upon to “engage the American people”. In case you didn't know, in military jargon, “engage” does not mean a happy union. When the army “engages” the enemy, people usually get killed. Once again, the Bush administration has outdone even the most cynical of conspiracy theorists. The last time the government made moves like this, it was during the 2004 national elections when they suggested the elections might have to be postponed if a terrorist attack occurred.

Of course, if the military is given control during an “emergency”, democracy will be thrown out the window and martial law will be enforced with physical threats and violence. The soldiers are not accountable to local authorities. Their orders will come from the Pentagon and the White House.

Later that evening on the PBS News Hour program, the former Secretary of Defense for Ronald Reagan spoke for the conservatives on this issue. He stated that there is no debate on the subject of whether the US military should be become a lead agency in times of crises - it's already been institutionalized. He cited the use of soldiers in Los Angeles by George Bush senior during the rioting which followed the Rodney King trial.

On October 4th, George W. Bush spoke to the nation from the rose garden at the White House. Once again, he suggested that the military should become the lead agency in times of crises. This time, he suggested that the army could be called in to “quarantine” certain areas of the country if a major flu epidemic breaks out. He said, “Who else better to do this than the military?”

Normally the state governors would have to approve of the use of federal troops, but now the government is saying that if local authorities can't handle the situation, the military will be deployed regardless of what state or municipal officials are saying.

According to federal law, in times of “insurrection” the president is allowed to call in the troops. This is a longstanding tradition which began with George Washington's suppression of the so-called Whiskey Rebellion at the very start of our nationhood. Eisenhower and JFK used soldiers to enforce desegregation in the southern United States when local officials refused to follow federal court orders requiring them to allow African Americans to attend public schools.

There were soldiers in Detroit and Watts during the riots of the 1960's, and how can we ever forget Kent State and Jackson State where anti-Vietnam War protesters were shot and killed? Even as recently as 1999 national guard troops were called in to stop the demonstrations in Seattle during the WTO ministerial conference.

Although a representative of the Cato Institute argued the traditional civil libertarian line that the government should not be using soldiers to deal with domestic problems, most of the PBS News Hour segment consisted of the former secretary of defense claiming that the president has the right to call in the troops (including the US Army) whenever he or she deems it necessary.

What a frightening prospect! The neo-cons have released this trial balloon in the media to see if people will decry it's blatantly militaristic strategy. But instead of arguments against the use of soldiers during domestic crises, the corporate media networks seem only to be interested in when and where this will eventually happen.

A new dissident campaign has surfaced, however, to be marked by major protests on November 2 in the US. Ads running on the Air America Radio network condemn the Bush administration for: “...a devastated environment, forced religion, no right to abortion, no dissent, no critical thought.”

The ad, sponsored by The World Can't Wait (www.worldcantwait.org), goes on to deliver the straight forward message that the national government must be changed.

“We have to act to stop this now. If we don't, we will be forced to accept it. 2008 is too late - the world can't wait. Drive out the Bush regime. We begin November 2nd. Join us in the streets. No school, no work.”

This is a clear call for a Ukraine style insurrection where so many folks hit the streets that the government is paralyzed into capitulation. The organizers are aware that Bush's impeachable offenses will not be pursued by the majority party in congress. Since impeachment is not an option, they are gathering momentum in an attempt to force the Bush regime out of office by increasing public pressure. In many ways it is a Ghandian strategy in the venerable tradition of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr.

They are calling for a general strike of workers and students. Whether the anti-war organizations will be able to get that many people out to the marches is questionable. Even if they do, I fear that the US government will label the activists “terrorists” or “traitors” and use the military to suppress some of the protests.

If the demonstrations are small, the Bush administration will win the propaganda battle outright. Only if the streets are filled with hundreds of thousands of middle class soccer moms, families with children, political representatives and well-heeled professionals will the authorities hold back from using force.

I don't like being so cynical, but if the marches are all kids dressed in black, the demonstrations may backfire on the organizers. Local authorities and federal officials have proven that they have little tolerance for strictly anti-capitalist demonstrations. It is a political prejudice on the part of the governing class that has resulted in assaults on young kids and the use of rubber bullets, chemical agents and tasers. These acts of suppression are usually supported by the media conglomerates who present the protesters as “violent anarchists”, totally ignoring the violence perpetrated against peaceful youth groups by law enforcement authorities during these incidents.

Will November 2nd be another WTO style shutdown or a restaging of Kent State? I can only hope that people will be allowed to speak out and use their First Amendment rights to assemble and petition the government peacefully. Violence perpetrated by either side of the equation is unacceptable and will prove to be ineffective. If the Bush administration is to be ousted, it must come from a mass widespread political movement - it will not come by staging clashes with police and soldiers. These incidents only cloud the issues at hand and it allows the powers that be to dehumanize and finally radicalize the dissident activists. We saw this spin take place after the WTO protests. Let's hope that the real issues of democracy will be discussed seriously on a national level. The media doesn't need any more bloodshed to help them increase their ratings again. The political pundits must be forced to present the truth behind the government's corporate propaganda.

Let's face it - The Emperor Wears No Clothes and the whole world is watching!