K. Patrick Glover, at (Parenthetically Speaking), tries to explain to people that we don’t exactly live in a free “country”:

The first amendment covers your right to free speech. Take a look, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The very existence of the FCC blows that one out of the water. Seems somebody decided that if it’s broadcast, it’s not covered. Ask George Carlin, he’ll tell you.

And your freedom of religion? Doesn’t apply if you don’t have one, or your religion doesn’t include a supreme being. At least that’s the case in seven states, where someone who doesn’t believe in the existence of god is prohibited from holding office.

Want to assemble peacefully? You might need a permit for that. Depends on the situation and the law that covers it, even though any law covering such assembly is, well, fucking unconstitutional.

And yes, it’s easy to get lulled into the illusion that we’re still pretty free and safe, relatively speaking, until you see news like this:

Medical experiments to be done without patients’ consent

The federal government is undertaking the most ambitious set of studies ever mounted under a controversial arrangement that allows researchers to conduct some kinds of medical experiments without first getting the patients’ permission.

…

“We will never know the best way to treat people unless we do this research. And the only way we can do this research, since the person is unconscious, is without consent,” said Myron Weisfeldt of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who is overseeing the project. “Even if there are family members present, they know their loved one is dying. The ambulance is there. The sirens are going off. You can’t possibly imagine gaining a meaningful informed consent from someone under those circumstances.”

And of course, since you can’t obtain consent, the State can therefore feel free to experiment at its heart’s content. In the absence of people conscious and able to complain, the State authorize anyone to do whatever they want to you.

Once the veneer of civility is gone, in come the coercive medical experiments. Where exactly is this all leading? Is there an end point?