Fascist America, in 10 easy steps

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk Because Americans like me were born in freedom, we have a hard time even considering that it is possible for us to become as unfree - domestically - as many other nations. It is my argument that, beneath our very noses, George Bush and his administration are using time-tested tactics to close down an open society. It is time for us to be willing to think the unthinkable - as the author and political journalist Joe Conason, has put it, that it can happen here. And that we are further along than we realise. 1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy 2. Create a gulag 3. Develop a thug caste 4. Set up an internal surveillance system 5. Harass citizens' groups 6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release 7. Target key individuals 8. Control the press The Committee to Protect Journalists says arrests of US journalists are at an all-time high 9. Dissent equals treason Cast dissent as "treason" and criticism as "espionage'. 10. Suspend the rule of law Naomi Wolf'