The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America

By Jennifer Van Bergen

Book Overview

In The Twilight of Democracy, Jennifer Van Bergen dissects the signs of something gone terribly wrong. A massive superstructure is being constructed, whose shape can be discerned by the 2000 election, the enactment of the PATRIOT Act, the detentions at Guantanamo, the invasion of Iraq, the withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, the promotion of the FTAA, the eradication of environmental protections, and a policy of increasing secrecy.

Jennifer Van Bergen helped raise the alarm with her six-part series "Repeal the Patriot Act." She is an adjunct faculty member of the New School for Social Research in NYC since 1993. She lectures on the antiterrorism laws and the Constitution.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567512925
• ISBN13: 9781567512922
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Common Courage Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Collapse of Checks and Balances

Author Jennifer Van Bergen is revealed to be a very diverse individual with experience in domestic and international law, journalism, and human rights. She is also a trained Shakespearean actress, singer, and songwriter. She practices astrology and studies Egyptian hieroglyphs when she has nothing else to do, hence her qualifications. THE TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACY is actually two books in one. Book I: Deciphering The Democratic Code, explains the basis of American law with frequent references to various legal cases related to Constitutional law. It provides a foundation for moving into Book II: The Bush Plan, which reveals how the Bush administration's interpretation of the law varies from tradition by defining the characteristics of a fascist state. Probably the most striking revelation within her analysis is the total collapse of Constitutional law in the year 2000 when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in our national election. Not only did the court not have jurisdiction, but it knowingly violated American law by intervening. This did not go unnoticed by those with experience in Constitutional law. What remains perplexing is the fact that the Democratic Party, as well as the public, did nothing to halt this obvious travesty. Here we have the highest court in the land, a major segment within our government's checks and balances, taking action on behalf of the political party to which its members belonged, hence setting the stage for subsequent attacks on the Constitution itself. The author also discusses the breakdown of Congress and the eventual passage of the Patriot Act. Though not discussed in this publication, it may be of interest to note that the UK has for a number of years maintained what it calls the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). There are similarities, but they will not be discussed here. What is important to note is how the PTA has been used against the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland, particularly during the Thatcher years. Where on the one hand the IRA was demonized and specifically targeted, Unionist organizations were basically ignored and, in a number of cases, worked in tandem with state security forces against the Nationalist community. Likewise, the Patriot Act, though established under the pretext of fighting terrorism, has become a tool for invading and manipulating the private lives of Americans. Book II provides a number of examples where the Patriot Act has been used in this capacity and its tendency for "data mining." It should be remembered that Congress shut down the Total Information Awareness data mining program because it violated the Constitutional rights of Americans. The author here reveals the presence of a MATRIX program, Multistate Anti-TeRrorism Information eXchange, implemented in Florida under the auspices of President Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, marketed at the state level, hence bypassing Congressional oversight, and paid for by Homeland Security. In closing, the author also makes poi

ATHE DRIFT TO FASCISM IN AMERICA-YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Jennifer Van Bergen has written a most important book that is a must read for all Americans who cherish freedom. Miss Van Bergen,a member of the ACLU and The National Lawyers Guild,is a most articulate spokesperson for the point of view that under the leadership of President Bush America is drifting slowly,but surely,toward a corporate state(read fascism).She points out that it is NOT only the so called "Patriot Act"that threathens the rights of Americans(circumventing the 4th amendment)but also such things as The North Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) and the lesser known The Free Trade of (the) Americas Agreement(FTAA),both of which deny benefits to the average person,curtails labor rights,but also hands over all kinds of new "rights" to "corporate bloodsuckers"(my term), so that they can continue to plunder the environment and enforce "wage slavery" on 90%+ of the population.She examines the state of the courts,and the three separate,but equal branches of our government,and with the GOP already claiming The Presidency and a having a majority in both houses of Congress the independence of the judiciary is in great question,and with the Democrats sitting back and allowing Bush to stack the courts with hard right thugs,the future of this country as a free democratic republic is in great jeopardy.For all their talk about opposing "judge made law",and being in favor of "strict construction"(original intent) the GOP members of Congress are making the road to fascism easier by NOT OPPOSING Bush's vision(as if he ever had a vision concerning anything)of a unitiary goverment,which if allowed to proceed will only lead to dictatorship,slavery,and death. Ms Van Bergen book was written before the (anti)immigration debate really started with its harsch provisions conerning "aid to illegal aliens".These provisions are so reactionary and hateful that key leaders of the Catholic Church(Cardinal Mahoney,of L.A.for one) urge Church members NOT to cooperate with these fear-mongering articles,of the new immigration bill.For once a Church leader standing up for the teachings of Jesus! This 228 page book includes the very helpful Britt's List -the fourteen points common to fascist regimes,and "The Cheney Plan for Global Dominance,a truely frightening scenario. As I write this CBS News reports that the governments wants all internet companies to keep the records of ALL internet users,in order to fight terrorism and sexual abuse cases.I sure believe that one!1984 is here!! Ignorance is Strength. Slavery is Freedom! War is Peace! This is an excellent book!!!

The government WANTS people scared and silent

An attorney with the South Florida Branch of the ACLU and an adjunct faculty member at the New School for Social Research, Jennifer Van Bergen understands that making the case for her position is essential to having the American people understand the danger which we and the country remain in. Van Bergen uses factual evidence to demonstrate how the Bush administration is eliminating democracy under the guise of 'homeland security'. Using very loaded flag-waving rhetoric, this government is attempting to have people believe that any criticism of their actions is infact support for 'the terrorists'. The problem is that 'the terrorists' are never actually identified and remain annoymous masses in this same scenario. After all, the real focus of the Bush administration is keeping people scared so many will not question the actions of their government and there is a greater chance that those who do dissent can be labeled as 'troublemakers'. During the 1960's the federal government used 'red menace' rhetoric to justify the wiretapping and surveliance of left wing activists. The 'remote' possibility of communist infiltration (and subsequent social impacts) in these organizations were considered enough to justify the actions. Following Hoover's death, Congress placed long-needed restrictions on the FBI's ability to place American citizens under surveliance and made that information available through public request. To read the administration's support for the PATRIOT Act honestly feels like we are ignoring all of this history and failing to learn from the past. This failure is also how a 'conservative' administration squares the obviously expanded bureacracy against their public promotion of limited government. PATRIOT Act expansions are a big exception to their usual rules specifically because the conservatives are the ones who are doing the government expansion and surveliance. The ultimate impact on citizen freedoms is secondary (if weighted at all) to the president and his buddies getting and maintaining their absolute power over everybody else. The conclusions in this book are chilling---and ever more accurate with each passing day. It is an accessible read for people wanting affirmation that they are not reading into things, but is also important for audiences who need to know what their government is really doing.

Crushing Democracy on the Pretext of Saving It

The one point on which Jennifer Van Bergen as author of "Twilight of Democracy" and George W. Bush agree is over the assertion made by the latter that "America has been changed forever by the tragedy of 9-11." From that point forward Van Bergen, an attorney active in the South Florida branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Bush travel widely disparate ideological paths. Van Bergen shrewdly delineates the path traveled by the Bush Administration in the wake of September 11, 2001 as it declared war against terrorism and sought to acquire powers held by chief executives in totalitarian states and denied them in democratic nations. Only Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California voted against granting the executive branch the sweeping powers it sought in the wake of 9-11 as the House and Senate voted in an otherwise unanimous manner. One important point that Van Bergen makes that has been mentioned all too infrequently is that the entire war on terror announced by Bush after 9-11, and used as an immediate basis to launch a fierce military attack in Afghanistan, is predicated on spurious constitutional and common law grounds. In any military or police action a specific nation or organizational entity needs to be identified. Bush's war on terror does not meet that important criterion since its fails the specificity test. As Van Bergen carefully delineates, by declaring war on a non-specific entity and stating that such a conflict has no measurable end in sight, the opportunity is ripe for an octopus-like executive branch to, in the interest of preserving democracy, bring about its demise in the interest of safeguarding the nation and its people from terrorism. The instrument of accomplishment was the infamous Patriot Act, which left the Bill of Rights in tatters. The sweeping arm of the law swooped down on innocent citizens and aliens in America who were Arabs and practiced Islam. The umbrella expansiveness of the Patriot Act permitted them to arrest suspects without a warrant and detain them for non-specific periods of time without charging them. The dangerous abrogation of rights extended beyond this slippery slope and into the constitutional guarantee of right of counsel. In instances where attorneys were permitted to speak with such defendants, authorities were permitted to listen in on the conversations, rendering the privilege of counsel essentially null and void through destroying confidentiality. Again, these tactics are hallmarks of totalitarianism and anathema to democracy. A tactic used to circumvent dealing with defendants in traditional constitutional circumstances is to declare any individual suspected of terrorist acts or giving support to terrorist groups as enemy combatants. This has been used in the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison to evade American constitutional or international safeguards such as the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Code. Democracy is denied on the pretext of saving the institution, a tragic

"Down the road to fascism."

Author & lawyer Jennifer Van Bergen's thought provoking book "The Twilight of Democracy" "ferrets out principles of constitutional law and juxtaposes them with ... statutes, regulations, international laws, legal strategies and actions of the Bush administration." There's no love lost here for President Bush, and the author isn't shy about giving her personal opinion. With blistering criticism of the Bush administration, Van Bergen argues that America is well on the road to fascism, and that we are experiencing an erosion of democracy through a systematic attack on the constitution. Taking Laurence W. Britt's handy-dandy 14-point guide to fascism, Van Bergen systematically examines current trends in American political, social and legal systems. The book is subdivided into two distinct categories: Book One "Deciphering the Democratic Code" and Book Two: "The Bush Plan." Book One is basically an overview of various aspects of the constitution, international law, due process, the 1st, 4th and 6th Amendments, types of courts, etc. In Book Two, the author tears into (amongst other things) the Patriot Act, America's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, the Abu Ghraib scandal, detentions in Guantanomo Bay, the coup in Haiti, and the Free Trade of Americas Agreement. Of particular interest is Van Bergen's argument that there's a movement underfoot "to clear the way for the concept that 'activists = terrorists'." According to the author, it's all about the administration's goal to achieve "control, suppression, and eradication of opposition." And there are some mind-boggling examples here--including the "sailor-mongering" charge levied against the Greenpeace protestors, and the use of the Patriot Act against activists who simply express their beliefs. Van Bergen also touches on the Lynne Stewart case. Ms Stewart was the court-appointed attorney for Sheik Abdul Rahman, who was subjected to electronic surveillance, and her offices raided. This, Van Bergen argues, is a direct challenge to the Sixth Amendment rights. (Interestingly enough, after finishing the book, I looked up Stewart's case on the Internet, and I did discover that many in the legal profession are indeed concerned about exactly how one is supposed to represent a terrorist suspect after what happened to Stewart. I found many sites pro and con Stewart's case, and found it much more difficult to find out what she is actually accused of.) The book also includes information about the MATRIX "data mining system" (Multistate Anti-TeRrorism Information exchange)--a system which according to the ACLU "is controversial because it involves not the attempt to learn more facts about known suspects, but mass scrutiny of the lives and activities of innocent people ... to see whether each of them shows any signs of being a terrorist or a criminal." The MATRIX creates a "terrorist quotient" that "measures the likelihood that individuals in the databases are terrorists." In theory, we coul