being rolled out within days of 9/11. It was about curbing or taking away certain citizens' rights (like protesting government policy). Now the pressure to give up more of what belongs to us/what we've earned is like being expected to hand over our wallets to robbers (Robber Barons).

Someone upthread mentioned The Shock Doctrine. IMHO it was invented to replace out-and-out violence against the populace to force them to surrender whatever they have left to the powerful and to accept it willingly. In the U.S. they have learned to do it incrementally so as not to be as noticeable.

I don't understand how any leaders who call themselves Democrats don't know at least as much about these kinds of things as we do. They should be over any naive understanding about the character of the Republicans. Are modern-day Dems that naive & uninformed, or just corrupt to a lesser degree than our Opposition?