David Lindorff being censored after talking about Patrick Tillman and possibility of Martial Law?

[cascadiance]

I just saw this yesterday when looking at news on Patrick Tillman. I've been of the notion that the Tillman incident might not just be about protecting Bushco's behinds with their claim of executive privilege to coverup their involvement in the coverup. I'm also concerned that it is to coverup the chain of command's coverup. You have marshalls looking for that retired general that doesn't want to testify either. That seems to add more fuel to this fire.

Note two articles that David Lindorff wrote. The first a few days ago:

http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/2031/1

Martial Law Threat is Real
Written by Dave Lindorff
Friday, 27 July 2007
by Dave Lindorff

The looming collapse of the US military in Iraq, of which a number of generals and former generals, including former Chief of Staff Colin Powell, have warned, is happening none too soon, as it may be the best hope for preventing military rule here at home.

From the looks of things, the Bush/Cheney regime has been working assiduously to pave the way for a declaration of military rule, such that at this point it really lacks only the pretext to trigger a suspension of Constitutional government. They have done this with the active support of Democrats in Congress, though most of the heavy lifting was done by the last, Republican-led Congress.

...

If we are headed for martial law, better that it be with a broken military. Maybe if it’s broken badly enough, the administration will be afraid to test the idea.

Why US troops should question orders:

Mounting evidence (1 & 2) that football star Pat Tillman, who famously gave up a high-paying pro career to sign up as an Army Ranger and fight Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, may have been assassinated in a high-level conspiracy to prevent him from returning to the US as a prominent war critic should make even hardened military people question orders from their commander in chief, particularly if those orders involve arresting or shooting American citizens. Tillman, it is now known, had turned strongly against the war in Iraq as early as late 2003, and was telling his platoon to vote against Bush. There are reports too that he was contacting war critics like Noam Chomsky from Afghanistan about coming out as a war critic in 2004--a prospect which must have terrified the war-mongers in the White House and Pentagon.

The military initially claimed Tillman had been killed in combat, then later claimed his death was from friendly fire. It is now known that an investigation at the time found no evidence of any enemy fire at all, and Tillman's death came from three close shots from an M-16 to the forehead, execution-style. Memos have been found from Pentagon lawyers congratulating each other for having buried a doctor's report on the possibility of murder.

...

and then just yesterday, a few days later, check out Lindorff's comments on what happened to his site a short time later perhaps due to this article being there! Folks, I suspect something still under the covers is deeply wrong in this situation!

http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/2066/81

Lindorff Silenced?
Written by Dave Lindorff
Wednesday, 01 August 2007
by Dave Lindorff

To readers of the This Can't Be Happening! website...:



In a curious coincidence, the day that this site published an article on the string of steps that this government has taken to put in place the legal niceties to prepare for a potential declaration of martial law, including a sidebar on the possibility of an assassination of Pat Tillman, my site suddenly ceased allowing me to access it for any further editorial changes.

I have been in repeated contact with the help desk (sic) at Earthlink, and have been informed that the site's pages have been "fatally corrupted." They advised me that I might have to rebuild the site and start over. When I pointed out that the site itself is still up and available to readers, and so should be recoverable on the server, they said that they would attempt to fix it, making it a "priority" item.

That was yesterday. It has now been locked down for a total of four days. Not sure what to make of the whole thing at this point, though it could all just be coincidence and innocent ineptness at Earthlink. Dave Lindorff

[GreenTea]

1. Read this shit from a republican. People are ignorant to BushCo secrecy!

Thom Hartmann began his program on Thursday by reading from a new Executive Order which allows the government to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies.

He then introduced old-line conservative Paul Craig Roberts -- a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan who has recently become known for his strong opposition to the Bush administration and the Iraq War -- by quoting the "strong words" which open Roberts' latest column: "Unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney, a year from now the US could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran."

"I don't actually think they're very strong," said Roberts of his words. "I get a lot of flak that they're understated and the situation is worse than I say. ... When Bush exercises this authority ... there's no check to it. It doesn't have to be ratified by Congress. The people who bear the brunt of these dictatorial police state actions have no recourse to the judiciary. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule. ... The American people don't really understand the danger that they face."

Roberts said that because of Bush's unpopularity, the Republicans face a total wipeout in 2008, and this may be why "the Democrats have not brought a halt to Bush's follies or the war, because they expect his unpopular policies to provide them with a landslide victory in next year's election."

However, Roberts emphasized, "the problem with this reasoning is that it assumes that Cheney and Rove and the Republicans are ignorant of these facts, or it assumes that they are content for the Republican Party to be destroyed after Bush has his fling." Roberts believes instead that Cheney and Rove intend to use a renewal of the War on Terror to rally the American people around the Republican Party. "Something's in the works," he said, adding that the Executive Orders need to create a police state are already in place.

"The administration figures themselves and prominent Republican propagandists ... are preparing us for another 9/11 event or series of events," Roberts continued. "Chertoff has predicted them. ... The National Intelligence Estimate is saying that al Qaeda has regrouped. ... You have to count on the fact that if al Qaeda's not going to do it, it's going to be orchestrated. ... The Republicans are praying for another 9/11."

Hartmann asked what we as the people can do if impeachment isn't about to happen. "If enough people were suspicious and alert, it would be harder for the administration to get away with it," Roberts replied. However, he added, "I don't think these wake-up calls are likely to be effective," pointing out the dominance of the mainstream media.

"Americans think their danger is terrorists," said Roberts. "They don't understand the terrorists cannot take away habeas corpus, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution. ... The terrorists are not anything like the threat that we face to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution from our own government in the name of fighting terrorism. Americans just aren't able to perceive that."

Roberts pointed out that it's old-line Republicans like himself, former Reagan associate deputy attorney general Bruce Fein, and Pat Buchanan who are the diehards in warning of the danger. "It's so obvious to people like us who have long been associated in the corridors of power," he said. "There's no belief in the people or anything like that. They have agendas. The people are in the way. The Constitution is in the way. ... Americans need to comprehend and look at how ruthless Cheney is. ... A person like that would do anything."

Roberts final suggestion was that, in the absence of a massive popular outcry, "the only constraints on what's going to happen will come from the federal bureaucracy and perhaps the military. They may have had enough. They may not go along with it."

The full audio of Thom Hartmann's interview with Paul Craig Roberts can be found here.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Oldline_Republican_warns_somethings_in_works_0719.html

[cascadiance]

2. Yea, it was hearing Paul Craig Roberts interview that also had me thinking about Tillman...

... the same way that David Lindorff is thinking too. The fact that it seems "mysterious" things are happening to his abilities to edit this site seem disconcerting too.

I think that Bushco feels that they have enough barriers put in the way to stave off impeachment, and that is where all of our attention is focused on now. And folks like Paul Craig Roberts point out that ultimately, if they aren't impeached, that opens up the possibility of them doing a martial law coup. If that is their game plan, one place where they could perhaps be effectively stopped (if they DO have enough barriers blocking impeachment now), is to stop the ability for them to command the military to hold their power for them with the loyalists there, etc. I also wonder if this is related to today's judgement that in effect enables Blackwater for more "domestic enforcement" duty with that border patrol bill that just was passed in the Senate. Perhaps they are trying to find other ways to shore up this weakness. Ultimately, I think this is the weakness that isn't being looked at hard enough and should be shut down HARD now! Hopefully the sooner they realize they won't have enough control over military (or private military) forces to command this country in martial law that doesn't want martial law, they'll realize the jig is up.

Here's another article with someone that has similar concerns:

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=33600

Is President Bush Guilty of “Conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman”?

Kevin Cavanaugh
July 29, 2007

President Bush, at times almost braggingly refers to himself as the “Commander in Chief”. Remember him landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln and walking on the deck in his flight suit?

Quoting pastpeak.com,

The Constitution grants Congress the power to create armies, to declare war, to make rules for captured enemies, and "to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces." But, citing his role as commander in chief, Bush says he can ignore any act of Congress that seeks to regulate the military.

...

It should not matter what party you are affiliated with, Pat Tillman died honorably for his country and his family deserves the truth.

What is this administration trying to hide about Tillman’s death and subsequent cover-up? Who are they trying to protect? If there are guilty parties and this Administration knows something about it, then the President should come forward with the information so this matter can be put to rest. No one, including the President, has a right to withhold pertinent information in a criminal investigation.

As an officer, and a gentleman, Mr. President, you have an obligation to your country, the U. S. military, and all United States citizens to come forward with any information regarding Pat Tillman’s death. If not, sir, you do not deserve to be our commander in chief or our President.