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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2014)
Arts & Entertainment Book Review: Police State U.S.A. by Cheryl K. Chumley Kam Williams Special To The Skanner News A nybody tuning in to the media cov- erage of the daily protests of the shooting of Michael Brown in Fergu- son, Missouri can’t help but notice the intimidat- ing police presence that makes the city look more like a battlefield than a suburban enclave. The frightening militarization has featured everything from armored Humvees and tanks rolling down the streets, to helmeted officers flanked shoulder- to-shoulder behind body-length armored shields, to snipers in cam- ouflage fatigues training their M16 rifles on marchers through night- vision scopes, to the use of teargas, rubber bullets, smoke bombs and flash grenades to disperse demonstrators. What are we to make of such a disturbing show of force on the part of local, state and federal authori- ties? To Cheryl K. Chumley it is merely fur- ther evidence of a burgeoning abuse of power on the part of a government already hell bent on trampling its citi- zens’ Constitutional rights. In her book, Police State U.S.A.: How Orwell’s Nightmare Is Becoming Our Reality, the veteran journalist indicts present-day Amer- ica as a “total surveillance society.” She argues that tyrannical rule has come as a consequence of the Patriot Act’s creation of secret data collection cen- ters and the employment of the IRS, NSA phone taps, drones, tracking devices, warrantless searches, traffic light cameras and the like to nefarious ends. For example, the author cites the case of Scotts- dale, Arizona, whose city council approved the pur- chase of a building to house its police investiga- tive unit, “but refused to disclose the facility’s location” in order to “pro- tect the lives” of detectives working under- cover. She says it’s certifiably scary, when the nation has arrived at a point where taxpayers are no longer privy to such previously public infor- mation. In a timely chapter devoted to “The Rise of Militarized Police,” Ms. Chumley states that the technology cops now have at their disposal “is the stuff of science fic- tion,” like guns that fire darts embedded with a GPS. Though such dra- conian measures should supposedly be of no con- cern to the law-abiding, it’s still of little comfort when you think of the seemingly neverending state of siege of for folks in Ferguson trying to exercise their First Amendment rights. Food for thought for anyone who fervently believes our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes from God, not the government. Placing an Ad in is as easy as Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now HOME NEWS COMMUNITY OPINION ENTERTAINMENT ADS SOCIAL MEDIA FOUNDATION E-PRINT CONTACT MEDIA KIT 1 Go to: JOBS www.TheSkanner.com BIDS REAL ESTATE 2 Select “Place AUTOS FOR SALE Classified Ads and Announcements” PLACE CLASSIFIED ADS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 3 Click on the category of your choice for our quick and easy online form Obituary Job, Bid, Legal Notice, and Sub Bid Wedding Announcement Real Estate Auto Ad Page 12 The Portland and Seattle Skanner August 20, 2014
