The only thing that is certain about 9/11 is that it fundamentally altered America. Within days, the foundations of a fascist system were being put into place, and of course everybody was all for it (in the name of security of course).

Now, over a decade later, there’s not as many people so willing.

Politicians, both of the left and the right variety, continue passing a plethora of legislation that claims benevolence on the surface, but when scrutinized, doesn’t stand up to the smell test.

George W. Bush, a Republican, was elected President on a platform of non-interventionism, then went on to start 2 wars (yea yea, they weren’t his fault, it was “terrrrrrism”). It’s funny that all these years later, a non-interventionist foreign policy is viewed as “dangerous” and “kooky.”

Then there was the PATRIOT Act. It was passed within days of 9/11, signed by a Republican president, and ceded more power to the government in exchange for “security.”

Barack Obama was elected on promises to be the most open and transparent administration in history, closing the detention facility at Guantanamo bay, and ending the wars “on his first day.” History has proven each of those statements to be false.

How about Obamacare? Passed by a Democrat controlled congress and signed by a Democrat president. In the name of benevolence and “everybody must have insurance,” for the first time the government has asserted that it can tell you, a private citizen, that you must buy a product from a private company just by virtue of being alive.

Let’s not forget the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2012 which includes provisions for indefinite detention of American citizens suspected (but not convicted) of being a “terrrrrist.” And all that bunk about “Obama will not enforce that provision” can be summarily dismissed with this video: (D) Carl Levin on NDAA ‘Obama Admin insisted on the contents’

Then there was the NDRP. And a string of other abuses far too numerous to list here (and going back much further than the current or even the previous administrations).

The point is, both sides of the aisle are pushing for more government, more tyranny, and ultimately, pushing us towards full on fascism.

“George Washington” writes on ZeroHedge America Slides Into Fascism:

The U.S. Supreme Court, based on the urging of the Obama administration,- has ruled that any prisoner – even those arrested for offenses such as dog leash laws, peaceful protests, and driving with an expired license – can be subject to a routine strip search upon entering prison.

The government is also openly saying that it will use all of our smart devices, internet connections, and tv to spy on Americans.President Obama has issued an executive order entitled “National Defense Resources Preparedness”, which instructs the heads of various U.S. agencies to be on standby for authorization of martial law under by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The order in fact gives Executive Branch immediate to power to seize and control of any and all assets declared as critical to maintain its industrial and technological base and to control the general distribution of any material (including applicable services) in the civilian market. The order further authorizes the immediate issuance of regulations to allocate, ration, or seize and all materials, including every thing from food, live stock and farm equipment to transportation, energy and even water. (However, some commentators say that this new executive order is only a minor tweak of previous executive orders dating back to 1994.)

Yawning or having goose bumps have been added to the list of things acts which might get you labeled as a potential terrorist.

Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall recently made a statement that Americans would be “stunned” if they knew how the American Government is interpreting, applying and using the Patriot Act:

The National Security Agency is building a $2 billion dollar facility in Utah which will use the world’s most powerful supercomputer to monitor virtually all phone calls, emails, internet usage, purchases and rentals, break all encryption, and then store everyone’s data permanently.

A former head of the program held his thumb and forefinger close together, and said:

We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state.

Indeed.

Over on Washington’s Blog, we read in Tyranny is a Bipartisan Disease:

Extremists on Both the Right and the Left Like Tyranny

Lou Rockwell notes:

The most definitive study on fascism written in [the first half of the 20th century] was As We Go Marching by John T. Flynn. Flynn was a journalist and scholar of a liberal spirit who had written a number of best-selling books in the 1920s. He could probably be put in the progressive camp in the 1920s. *** In reviewing the history of the rise of fascism, Flynn wrote: “One of the most baffling phenomena of fascism is the almost incredible collaboration between men of the extreme Right and the extreme Left in its creation. *** If you think about it, right-wing statism is of a different color, cast, and tone from left-wing statism. Each is designed to appeal to a different set of voters with different interests and values. These divisions, however, are not strict, and we’ve already seen how a left-wing socialist program can adapt itself and become a right-wing fascist program with very little substantive change other than its marketing program [or vice versa].

How Can Supposed “Right” and “Left” Wing People Both Be for Tyranny?

The short answer, of course, is that tyrannical interests may wear different masks, but it is just a dog-and-pony show meant to distract us into artificial “teams”.

George W. Bush cracked down on constitutional liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and due process.

Obama has done the same … and has cracked down even harder.

Both Bush and Obama are waging brutal, unnecessary and insanely expensive wars throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Indeed, these wars were planned before either Bush or Obama. Both Democratic and Republican leaders are servants to the military-industrial complex, and they both accept the wholly-debunked myth that war is good for the economy (and see this).

Both Bush and Obama have both allowed crony capitalism to flourish. How can this be, when they are from such different sides of the aisle?

Because “fascism” (on the right), Soviet style “socialism” (on the left) and crony capitalism (a more modern, Western term) are all the exact same thing economically. They are all about an unholy alliance between a handful of corrupt, banana republic style government leaders and giant companies run amok.

Tyranny is a bipartisan disease.

Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. has written an excellent piece at lewrockwell.com titled The Fascist Threat. It’s a lengthy read, but one that is worth the effort.

Adam G. House writes on Combat Veterans for Ron Paul No More Reservations: Blowback from America’s debt slaves and cannon-fodder service members:

One reason government should fear its people—when the ruling class has blatantly disregarded the people’s Rights—is that those who have had everything taken from them, and feel there’s nothing left to lose, make for a focused and determined group. As the abuse of government power over the population becomes more egregious and widespread, the call for reformist measures grows louder and more frequent from those who suffer the most. When this movement against the status quo of the established authority feels oppressed enough, the backlash of a revolution is inevitable.

Bottom line, both sides have an agenda. Each has their rhetoric, and their “hot button issues” that serve to divide the people into this team or that. At the end of the day, the end is the same, it’s the means that differs.