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The Wars on Drugs and Terror: A Bipartisan Assault on Constitutional Rights
For decades, the United States has waged two relentless and far-reaching campaigns—the War on Drugs and the War on Terror. While both were framed as efforts to protect the American people, they instead served as tools for expanding government power at the cost of civil liberties. From mass surveillance to extrajudicial killings, these wars eroded the very freedoms they claimed to defend. Both Democratic and Republican administrations fueled these efforts, making them bipartisan crusades against abstract enemies—drugs and terror—while primarily targeting American citizens.
The War on Drugs: A Crackdown on Civil Liberties
A War Waged Against Americans
Unlike conventional wars, the War on Drugs was never about fighting a foreign adversary—it was a war against American citizens. Disproportionately affecting marginalized communities, it led to mass incarceration, voter suppression, and economic devastation.
A Bipartisan Project
The War on Drugs began under President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s and was aggressively expanded by President Ronald Reagan with widespread bipartisan support. Later, Bill Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill ramped up incarceration rates, and successive administrations—George W. Bush and Barack Obama—continued these policies, solidifying a punitive approach to drug use rather than a rehabilitative one.
Fourth Amendment Erosion: Warrantless Searches and Seizures
The aggressive tactics of the War on Drugs significantly weakened Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures:
Terry v. Ohio (1968) legitimized stop-and-frisk policies, which disproportionately targeted Black and Latino individuals.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 escalated the use of no-knock raids, frequently resulting in injuries and fatalities of innocent civilians.
Civil asset forfeiture laws, strengthened under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, allowed police to seize property without a conviction, often leaving citizens without legal recourse.
Mandatory Minimums and Mass Incarceration
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 introduced mandatory minimum sentences, stripping judges of discretion and imposing excessively long sentences for minor offenses.
The disparity in crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing (100:1 ratio) disproportionately affected Black communities (Kimbrough v. United States, 2007).
The “three strikes” laws exacerbated mass incarceration, further violating Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
Disenfranchisement and Racial Profiling
The Controlled Substances Act (1970) led to systemic racial profiling, particularly through controversial policing strategies like New York’s Stop-and-Frisk policy (Floyd v. City of New York, 2013).
Felony disenfranchisement laws stripped voting rights from millions, disproportionately affecting African Americans and violating Fourteenth Amendment protections.
The War on Terror: Endless War, Boundless Surveillance
A War Without an End
Launched after 9/11, the War on Terror became a perpetual conflict, with no clear victory or defined enemy. President George W. Bush initiated it, but it was dramatically expanded under Barack Obama, with continued support from Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Extrajudicial Killings of U.S. Citizens
Perhaps the most shocking abuse of power in the War on Terror was the targeted killing of American citizens without due process:
In 2011, President Barack Obama authorized a drone strike on Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen living in Yemen. Weeks later, his 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, was also killed in a separate strike, despite having no ties to terrorism.
Al-Awlaki v. Obama (2010) challenged the government's authority to execute U.S. citizens without trial, but the case was dismissed.
The 2013 drone strike on Jude Kenan Mohammad, another American citizen in Pakistan, further exposed the extent of executive overreach.
Mass Surveillance and Fourth Amendment Violations
The War on Terror gave rise to the most intrusive surveillance programs in history:
The USA PATRIOT Act (2001) empowered the government to conduct warrantless wiretaps and bulk data collection.
The NSA’s PRISM program (exposed by Edward Snowden in 2013) revealed widespread, unconstitutional surveillance on U.S. citizens.
Carpenter v. United States (2018) ruled that the collection of cellphone location data without a warrant was unconstitutional, signaling a rare judicial check on surveillance powers.
Torture and the Erosion of Human Rights
The CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” (EITs), including waterboarding and sleep deprivation, was widely condemned as torture.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture (2014) detailed abuses in CIA black sites, confirming violations of Eighth Amendment protections.
The extraordinary rendition program sent detainees to foreign countries where they were tortured beyond U.S. jurisdiction.
A Legacy of Constitutional Decay
The Wars on Drugs and Terror rewrote the relationship between the government and its citizens, shifting power dramatically in favor of the state. These bipartisan campaigns, waged against nebulous enemies, justified expanding surveillance, militarizing law enforcement, increasing executive power, and undermining due process.
Will these powers ever be relinquished?
The government rarely surrenders power once acquired. Despite temporary rollbacks and judicial pushback, the mechanisms of mass surveillance, civil asset forfeiture, and extrajudicial killings remain intact. Without public resistance, these unconstitutional practices will persist under future administrations, regardless of political affiliation.
42 sats help our project! Not much longer! Just 906 sats until it's snack time. Goats, including nostr:nprofile1qqsw4zlzyfx43mc88psnlse8sywpfl45kuap9dy05yzkepkvu6ca5wg7qyak5, nostr:nprofile1qqsq6n8u7dzrnhhy7xy78k2ee7e4wxlgrkm5g2rgjl3napr9q54n4ncvkqcsj, and nostr:nprofile1qqs2w94r0fs29gepzfn5zuaupn969gu3fstj3gq8kvw3cvx9fnxmaugwur22r, are essential for creating self-sufficient and sustainable agricultural systems.
Another day, another member! nprofile1qqs2l73jq8w6h9z595ua24nwhtj7ncv0mtdy6q85vfus9plrjsfp4sqq3gja5 joins the ⚡ CyberHerd ⚡, with only 948 sats left until snack time. The goats say thanks for zapping 44 sats our way!
https://www.youtube.com/@lightning-goats/streams
⚡ 3 more spots available. ⚡
The 4th amendment, and pretty much the whole constitution was destroyed under first the "War on Drugs" and later the "War on Terror". Both were really Wars against us.
To quote the second President Bush regarding the constitution, "It's just a fucking piece of paper."
The federal gov should be dismantled.
How early are we, and WTF does exponential growth have to do with this?
Estimating the percentage of the world’s population that holds Bitcoin is challenging, but based on recent data the total global population is approximately 8 billion.
Estimates suggest there are between 300 million to 500 million Bitcoin holders worldwide.
Using the midpoint of 400 million holders, around 5% of the world’s population holds Bitcoin.
So we are still in the first half of the early adoption phase.
Doubling Rate
We assume adoption doubles every 1.5 years (an idealized, backward-looking average). Real adoption likely fluctuates.
Interpretation
1.5 years from now, you might see 800 million users (~10% of global population), and we'll still be in the early adopter phase.
At 3 years, 1.6 billion (~20%).
At 4.5 years, 3.2 billion (~40%).
Around 5 years, 4 billion users (~50%).
By 6.5 years, in theory, 8 billion (~100% of today’s population).
Reality Check
Exponential growth rarely proceeds so smoothly. Global events, regulations, and competing technologies can accelerate or slow adoption.
These numbers are purely illustrative, not predictions.
2000 followers achieved!
**Got DVDs or Blu-ray Discs? Backup to Digital Files Without Re-encoding or Losing Quality**
Check out #MakeMKV. It's pretty awesome.
MakeMKV is your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere.
MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called "transcoder". It converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way.
The MKV format can store multiple video/audio tracks with all meta-information and preserve chapters. There are many players that can play MKV files nearly on all platforms, and there are tools to convert MKV files to many formats, including DVD and Blu-ray discs.
Additionally MakeMKV can instantly stream decrypted video without intermediate conversion to wide range of players, so you may watch Blu-ray and DVD discs with your favorite player on your favorite OS or on your favorite device.
- Reads DVD and Blu-ray discs
- Reads Blu-ray discs protected with latest versions of AACS and BD+
- Preserves all video and audio tracks, including HD audio
- Preserves chapters information
- Preserves all meta-information (track language, audio type)
- Fast conversion - converts as fast as your drive can read data.
- No additional software is required for conversion or decryption.
- Available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
- Functionality to open DVD discs is free and will always stay free.
- All features (including Blu-ray decryption and processing) are free during BETA.
If you're running Linux and want an easy install,
I recommend using snap (yes it's up to date).
https://snapcraft.io/install/makemkv/fedora
The app will ask you for a registration key. All features are free while it's still in beta.
The current beta key is:
````T-WaI15n3jLrzWU88y7liOljd7UIR0mormcZo2oO5xt_9CSj3Mg6mOxR1eUvU_CA569e````
This key is good until the end of this month
(October).
Check back for an updated key on this page.
https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1053&p=3548&hilit
#opensource #media #archival #tech
Handbrake has been around for decades - https://handbrake.fr/
I'd be happy to drop in. Where does this happen?
Your donation of 10 sats has been received! Feeding time is approaching in 947 sats. Goats are social animals, and they often communicate with each other through a range of vocalizations and body language.
nprofile1qqsrtnwr48r2d07n56qavukhznhdjye83swq8cst9f73w4ky7ndjzmsh43nhm has become part of the ⚡ CyberHerd ⚡! Snack time in 809 sats.
nprofile1qqspmtumxtwkj307utazvqs3x6y0r3qe0uhawtp4v38atqczralfzsckrgzux is now a part of the ⚡ CyberHerd ⚡! 809 sats until the feeder is triggered.
⚡ 1 more spot available. ⚡
nprofile1qqsd5dluv4r352s9jh264d4m3zqaag7wdqqcte6c0d95s7cy8432lxstwt05x has stepped into the ⚡ CyberHerd ⚡! Only 809 sats before treat time.
⚡ 2 more spots available. ⚡
nprofile1qqs85etkvj050z73a7ut30yeet9j8m67zxmas5jv76ch2rvnjv2updg3rs3g0 joins the ranks of the ⚡ CyberHerd ⚡! 823 sats left before snack time.
⚡ 3 more spots available. ⚡
The herd has just received 111 sats! Just 823 more sats until the goats chow down. Goats like nostr:nprofile1qqsw4zlzyfx43mc88psnlse8sywpfl45kuap9dy05yzkepkvu6ca5wg7qyak5 and nostr:nprofile1qqsq6n8u7dzrnhhy7xy78k2ee7e4wxlgrkm5g2rgjl3napr9q54n4ncvkqcsj are capable of surviving in harsh environments, including deserts and mountainous regions.
Welcome to the ⚡ CyberHerd ⚡, nprofile1qqsqgcez8t0n3hu6y2nlkpuenf3clh2zmpph2ulqhuvug0sp8v2dvucxad2w5! Hang tight, 934 sats until chow time.
⚡ 4 more spots available. ⚡