Main Core? Tin Foil or substantive, I don't know,

[kohodog]

If I wasn't on the list I will be soon! See you in camp.


This from digby:

"Main Core

by digby

I have heard some rumbling from readers lately that the blogosphere's obsession with illegal spying and torture and the like is somehow an "elitist" concern that will be detrimental to winning elections. I don't know if that's true, but frankly, I don't much care. Somebody has to care about civil liberties and the constitution or the whole house of cards falls in. If that makes me an elitist, so be it.

For instance, get a load of this article today, from Radar magazine. It recounts the dramatic testimony of James Comey where he revealed that Cheney's cabal was so intent upon *something* so heinous that even strict law 'n order types like him couldn't stomach it. It posits that the program everyone was so concerned about was actually something different than what we may have assumed:

What was the mysterious program that had so alarmed Comey? Political blogs buzzed for weeks with speculation. Though Comey testified that the program was subsequently readjusted to satisfy his concerns, one can't help wondering whether the unspecified alteration would satisfy constitutional experts, or even average citizens. Faced with push-back from his bosses at the White House, did he simply relent and accept a token concession? Two months after Comey's testimony to Congress, the New York Times reported a tantalizing detail: The program that prompted him "to threaten resignation involved computer searches through massive electronic databases." The larger mystery remained intact, however. "It is not known precisely why searching the databases, or data mining, raised such a furious legal debate," the article conceded.

Another clue came from a rather unexpected source: President Bush himself. Addressing the nation from the Oval Office in 2005 after the first disclosures of the NSA's warrantless electronic surveillance became public, Bush insisted that the spying program in question was reviewed "every 45 days" as part of planning to assess threats to "the continuity of our government."

Few Americans—professional journalists included—know anything about so-called Continuity of Government (COG) programs, so it's no surprise that the president's passing reference received almost no attention. COG resides in a nebulous legal realm, encompassing national emergency plans that would trigger the takeover of the country by extra-constitutional forces—and effectively suspend the republic. In short, it's a road map for martial law." <<more>>

http://www.digbysblog.blogspot.com/




I really don't know how to process this info. It seems totally tinfoil with the possibility of being 100% true at the same time. Thoughts?

f it wasn't referenced on emptywheel and hullaboo it would be easier to ignore. Don't know much about Radar Magazine either which seems to be the genesis of the story: http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2008/05/go...

A google search of "Main Core" turns up more hits than your average conspiracy though. What's up?

[bluebellbaby]

1. This is the second article here today...but it is most likely real

*ush isn't going to go "quietly into the night"...and we all will be in "detention centers"...built with our tax dollars...ultimate irony...we worked and paid taxes to built our own prisons...

I really used to believe in our Country...

[kohodog]

2. Kpete had it before I saw the post.

That's where most of the discussion is.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3311724&mesg_id=3311724

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. All police states follow the same recipe

almost all steps needed for an authoritarian state are in place. The only thing missing is final implementation

And we are seeing accelerating steps, like having to proof citizenship before you get a job, or need passports to travel to places where you didn't before.

If you haven't yet, you need to read Naomi Wolf's The End of America: Letter of Warning to an American Patriot

[bluebellbaby]

6. Thanks for the info, I just downloaded it for .49 from Amazon

You are the second person who recommended this short essay...

The "final implementation" will be another "terrorist attack" or the stolen election from Obama and the ensuing riots...then *ush will suspend the constitution...etcetra, etcetera, etcetera...

[enough]

4. These camps are going to be a great place to meet people and renew old friendships.

[JDPriestly]

5. Am I paranoid? A few months ago, I was called for jury duty.

I had brought along a book about a CIA operative, which I was enjoying reading. A couple of men who appeared to also be called for jury duty started talking to me. One of them said he had read the book I was reading and started talking about politics. The men asked me a lot of strange questions such as whether I had participated in a specific march to impeach Bush. (I hadn't. I never go to marches.) One of the men approached me as though he was a conservative and the other as though he was liberal. I spoke quite freely.

The liberal one asked me what I thought about Jefferson's statements about revolutions (which I think was a very misguided statement as demonstrated by the horrible, pointless violence of the French revolution) among other things. I'm a very peaceful, nonviolent, extremely patriotic American, and they seemed satisfied with my very honest answers to them.

But I have been thinking about that meeting ever since.

It was such a strange encounter. I had the feeling these men knew a lot about me before they began the conversation. There were other really strange things about the day and the call for jury duty. The jury duty call seemed genuine. The training was identical to prior jury training I have had, but the court seemed to need even fewer actual jurors than I had ever experienced. A few people were called out during the afternoon (including both of these men), but that was about it. It could have been a coincidence, but then . . . .

Oh, another thing that made me wonder. When it came time for lunch, these two men, who had previously acted as though they did not know each other, suddenly exchanged a glance that gave me the impression that they knew each other very well. They seemed to have a tacit understanding that they would go to lunch together. That was really weird. In spite of the way they initially acted, I have no doubt that they knew each other, probably very well, before they spoke to me. When it came time for lunch, they suddenly acted like co-workers who routinely ate lunch together.

I think my reaction to what may have been just an ordinary jury assembly with a lot of bored people looking for interesting conversation shows just how on edge I am about surveillance. I suspect I am not the only person who feels that way. I never felt that way in America before the Bush presidency.

Just not knowing what kind of surveillance the government is conducting, just what it is trying to find out about us or the methods it is using chills our speech, makes us less free. I'm probably the least threat to my country of just about anyone I know. Sure, I'm a nonconformist and an independent thinker but I'm a senior citizen, hardly inclined to impulsive conduct. What is more, I deeply revere our Constitution. Besides, I speak languages, have lived overseas for years and live in the United States by choice and out of love for my country. So, why should I be afraid? There is something seriously wrong going on if the first thing I think when strangers talk to me about politics is surveillance, and I don't think I am alone in this. I think that the whole surveillance program is intended precisely to intimidate people like me who think for themselves.