Still Image From The Manchurian Candidate Movie Opening Scene

Worse, this is a government that has become almost indistinguishable from the evil it claims to be fighting, whether that evil takes the form of terrorism, torture, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, murder, violence, theft, pornography, scientific experimentations or some other diabolical means of inflicting pain, suffering and servitude on humanity.

George W. Bush signs the USA Patriot Act

Following the deadly events of September 11, 2001, our country was in a state of shock, fear, and utter confusion. How could such an event take place? How was our National Security apparatus and Military caught off guard? What can we do as a nation to ensure nothing like this ever happens again?

On Wednesday night, I attended a preview of the Black Box Theatre’s latest presentation The Guys, written by Anne Nelson. Based on a true story, the play follows an editor named Joan (Jennifer Cook Gregory), who receives an unexpected phone call from Nick (Jim Harris), a fire captain who has lost most of his men in the 9/11 attacks. Directed and designed by Lora Adams, The Guys is a poignant and conversational piece that brought forth, to me, many horrific and sad images from that devastating day.

Jason Bermas: Have our freedoms fallen faster than the 3rd tower on 9/11?

We have a real innovator, fearless journalist, and talented filmmaker now living and producing content right here in the Quad Cities. His documentary films have been watched by tens of millions of people worldwide. He has over one hundred thousand followers on multiple social-media and content platforms. He's been interviewed by the New York TimesVanity Fair and Esquire magazines. I'm talking about Jason Bermas, who is featured on the cover of this September edition. In light of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 travesty and the subsequent accelerated plunge America took into a police state, we would be remiss if we did not re-visit one of the creators of Loose Change and Fabled Enemies, the 9/11 documentary films first released from 2005 through 2009.

Still from Loose Change: CNN Breaking News World Trade Center Building 7 May Collapse

Some interviews just write themselves. That rarity occurs when the interviewee is powerful and knowledgeable, relevant, compassionate, accomplished, fun, and most of all, a complete original. Hmmm … you mean someone like Jason Bermas, the independent journalist and documentary filmmaker? Exactly! 

Please see the companion piece to this article, Have Our Freedoms Fallen Faster Than the Third Tower on 9/11? by Reader publisher Todd McGreevy. And, please see the Reader's coverage of Loose Change from 2006, The Secret Histories of 9/11

FBI Headquarters. FBI Sponsors 15 Crimes Per Day

Almost every tyranny being perpetrated by the U.S. government against the citizenry – purportedly to keep us safe and the nation secure – has come about as a result of some threat manufactured in one way or another by our own government.

“The fundamental political question is why do people obey a government. The answer is that they tend to enslave themselves, to let themselves be governed by tyrants. Freedom from servitude comes not from violent action, but from the refusal to serve. Tyrants fall when the people withdraw their support.” — Étienne De La Boétie, The Politics Of Obedience

Saudi Arabia

"[W]e may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi," US president Donald Trump told the nation on November 20, but "[t]he United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."

Many find the president's statement curious indeed given the seeming consensus among the Turkish and US intelligence communities that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. But two simple numbers clarify just how much importance successive administrations,  including Trump's, have placed on the US-Saudi relationship.

Need To Knowtes

The 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits businesses from making auto-dialed or pre-recorded calls to a person's cell phone and similar telemarketing calls to home phones. However, this law does not apply to the federal government, nor to contractors working on the government's behalf. The only prohibition for the feds is political campaign telemarketing (RCReader.com/y/ntk1).

Pages