Welcome to Police State Sacramento!

Welcome to Police State Sacramento!

by Dan Bacher

I went downtown to the Capitol on Monday night to witness a scene like that of Berlin, Germany in 1933, Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1968, or Santiago, Chile in 1973. There were hundreds of heavily armed Robo-Cops, the servants of the Wall Street 1 percent, ominously poised in front of the West Steps of the Capitol, ready to crush the First Amendment, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

CHP and police cars were everywhere on the streets, making getting through the area around the Capitol very difficult. The sight of these troopers infesting the streets of Sacramento to crush dissent - all at great expense to hard working taxpayers like myself - made me livid! Downtown was on virtual lockdown.

A total of 70 brave student and Occupy movement protesters were arrested in the State Capitol Monday night for defending democracy and protesting the raising of university tuition and fees. However, these were not the only arrests, according to Cres Vellucci of the Occupy Sacramento Legal Team.

"As reported, there were 6 earlier arrests - 1 allegedly having a knife, 3 others for a banner hanging episode in the rotunda and 2 for having 'illegal' signs," said Vellucci. "All were cited and released earlier Monday."

"Additionally, a person arrested and released last night was arrested today for throwing rose pedals in rotunda this afternoon. She is in county jail on $1,000 bail," noted Vellucci.

That makes for a total of 77 arrests of people for exercising their First Amendment rights on Monday.

"We will keep you updated regarding the court cases sure to follow. The Occupy Sacramento legal team of about 36 lawyers is expected to take on this work," added Vellucci.

The overwhelming, disproportionate show of force by several hundred CHP officers and others to repress the students and Occupy activists was typical of the repression by the National Security State that is taking place in the U.S. today.

I have several friends who were dissidents in the Soviet Union, dissidents in the post-Soviet capitalist regimes and now dissidents here. They uniformly tell me that things here now are as bad or worse than anytime during their time in the Soviet Union (all were born after the time of Stalin.)

In the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, with the exception of the East German police state, the people never had the absolutely ridiculous set of laws controlling every aspect of behavior and life like you do here in Jerry Brown's California and Obama's USA. They are amazed by how Americans have given up their rights and liberties so easily - while allowing their tax dollars to be used to fund unjust imperialist wars that have murdered millions and millions of innocent civilians across the globe.

One friend whose family members were leaders of Solidarity in Poland said to me over 10 years ago that everyday life in the U.S. was getting to be like life in martial law Poland. In fact, he was amazed upon moving to Detroit after his dad got out of prison that Detroit was actually more militarized and violent than Poland during martial law!

He was amazed by how heavily armed and brutal U.S. police were; in Poland under communism the police were not allowed to carry guns. He was appalled how Americans were so-brainwashed by the corporate media into thinking that they were "most free people in the world," when they weren't. I thought at the time that maybe he was exaggerating, but I have come to agree with his assessment.

President "NDAA" Obama and Governor "Repression" Brown have done what even George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't do - create an evil, intrusive police state that is unequalled in U.S. history. It was Republicans who paved the way to the police state, but it is corporate Democrats like Obama and Brown who have consolidated the police state and expanded it into areas Bush and Schwarzenegger never dreamed of.

Fortunately, all repressive regimes and empires eventually come to an end. Eventually, people in the U.S. will wake up, organize, remove their corrupt, evil rulers and re-establish democracy and the Constitution.

The Occupy movement is a good start, but it needs to develop a deeper analysis of society and how to create real change. However, we must not get trapped in the false Democrat-Republican debate; both parties are servants of Wall Street and must be replaced by parties and a government that truly reflect the needs of everyday working people, not a cabal of rich Wall Street banksters and parasites!