We are some distance away from circumstances that led our forefathers to rebel against their government, but I fear the “frog in pot of water” syndrome where we allow bites and nibbles before we suddenly say “oh shit, too late”.
I do not wish to become an outlaw, but I will not bow to tyranny. Sooner or later, all of us must draw the line.
Eight Things to Expect Under Martial Law:
1. Detention without charges. Expect precautionary arrests, pre-crime prosecution, warrantless no-knock home invasions and mass relocations. Should anybody believe mass relocations is a stretch, recall the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the western coastal states to inland camps. Recall Civil Defense in World War II and the Cold War was about more than blackouts and bomb shelters, it was authorized to relocate populations of whole regions should the order be given. Also expect Bills of Attainder, i.e., laws which designate criminal demographics rather than criminal activities, meaning criminalization of those parts of the citizenry they identify with dissent or opposition.
2. Confiscation of property. This includes wealth in any form: bank accounts, stock portfolios, bonds, retirement funds including 401Ks, croplands, the family car, real estate—especially if adjacent to federal facilities or major bridges or power transmission nodes or international borders, or if it has a nice view some Diversity Director really likes, &c. Expect industries or entire sectors of the economy to be nationalized, railroads and power plants for example. Expect private or commercial stocks of rare earths, precious metals, fuels and such to be seized as "strategic materials." Recall confiscation of privately held—i.e., "hoarded"—gold in the 1930s using the Trading With The Enemy Act of 1917.
3. Restricted travel. Expect a standard universal identification system, curfews, travel permits amounting to internal passports, no-travel lists, security checkpoints and a priority system for users of each mode of travel. Expect "refugees" and "domestic terrorists" being transported to "resettlement centers" to have a high priority. Parts of the interstate highway may be intermittently or permanently closed to civilians. Automobiles built before GPS devices and other self-reporting black boxes may command a premium. Expect indirect travel restrictions. Recall new automobile tires weren't merely rationed in the US during World War II, they were unavailable, although freely sold to anybody in Canada and Mexico, and "anybody" included border state residents and black marketeers.
4. Restricted communications. Expect disinformation, anti-rumor campaigns, on-site advisors for editors and news broadcasters, and protective custody for dissident commentators. Internet access will be throttled back and conditional as will be alternative forms of communications, amateur short wave radio for instance. Some opposition sites will be covertly run by the regime as "honey pot" sting operations. Wikileaks is a likely template. During World War II it was illegal to photograph rail and seaport facilities or the like. Expect photography in formerly public areas to be presumed evidence of domestic terrorism, especially of official interactions with civilians, as will be possession or circulating such photos or videos.
5. Weapons confiscation. Expect revocation of licenses and permits, an expanded list of proscribed weapons—muzzle loaders, bows, knives, even sporting slingshots. Expect the usual confiscation tactics: amnesty collection drives, tracing ownership through registrations and vendor records of accessories purchases, incentives to inform authorities of weapons possession or ammunition trading and the like. Many doomers with buried weapons will be unpleasantly surprised at how public their stash really is. Zero tolerance in the schools foretells the spirit of martial law toward weapons. Zero tolerance originated in occupied Europe where, say, merely handling the rusted remains of a gun found among the rubble meant on-the-spot execution.
6. Centralized allocation of commodities and goods. Expect rationing of all goods, including food, clothing, fuel, water, and electricity. Expect the rationing system to be complex, ever-changing, incentivized and corrupt. Favored persons, activities and businesses will be generously supplied "in the interest of the greater good." Anti-hoarding laws, already in place, will ensure a general improvidence and dependency. They allow citizens to stock provisions for about the same time period as the DHS recommends for emergencies, seven to ten days. Coincidence?
7. Citizen surveillance. Expect the "See something, Say something" campaign to become a fully developed citizen surveillance system along the lines of Cuba's Rapid Action Brigades with "guidance" on reportable instances using "public service" announcements. The IRS's "whistle blower" program may be a template for structured rewards. Participation in the black market (formerly, free market) is likely to be high on the list, including barter or transactions involving precious metals, even for otherwise legal goods or services. Expect abuse of the citizen surveillance system for personal advantage, extortion or revenge.
8. Price, wage and currency controls. Expect prices and wages to be capped and money transfers to be restricted and closely monitored. Currency is all but untraceable, look for replacement by small denomination scrip and auditable instruments similar to SNAP EBT cards for all else. The $100 bill is the largest circulating denomination precisely because it is inconveniently small for large purchases. Expect ruinous currency controls, a form of confiscation to keep wealth from accompanying its owner, used by totalitarian states to prevent escape or to impoverish dissenters when expelled.
- STORMBRINGER SENDS
