EPILOGUE. AFTERWORD

EPILOGUE

A month to the day had passed since Noah had arrived in his new quarters.

The days in this place had started to meld into one another, so he’d resorted to noting each sunrise with a mark on one of the painted bricks in the wall near his bed. While actual calendars were available for residents of his moderate status, these private etchings seemed to be a more fitting method to keep a tally of his time inside.

With the stub of a pencil from the nightstand he inscribed another X at the end of the last line, and then he began another empty grid beside the first in anticipation of the new month to come.

Noah was familiar with the atmosphere of a dormitory, though he’d never actually had to live in one while in college. That was the style of accommodations this place most resembled. Just a simple bedroom with a pressed‑ wood desk and a shared bath, more than a cell but considerably less than a real apartment. Some no‑ nonsense designer had tacked on a veneer of generic warmth just sufficient to allow the space to be thought of as a modest home by its resident, rather than as a place of confinement.

Two floors down it was more like a barracks, and the levels below those floors weren’t on the tour.

A man walked by out in the hall, glancing briefly through the window in the door as he passed. Not a guard, Noah had been reminded at his orientation, but more of a floor monitor; just a benign, overseeing administrator, there for security and safety.

And this wasn’t a prison, not at all, the welcoming committee had gone on to emphasize. This complex and its surrounding buildings might have been originally constructed as a prison, but funding cuts and changes in policy had orphaned the place in recent years. Local officials in the small Montana town nearby had been delighted to learn that their costly investment might finally be put to profitable use, providing local employment and helping the country deal with its recently declared emergency.

The old man had arranged his son’s reservation here, and his job. As soon as he’d healed, Noah was to become a key asset in the all‑ important public‑ relations push behind the nation’s unfolding, brave new direction. He wouldn’t return to New York right away‑ he’d be a sort of field correspondent, helping to manage the flow of information from the ongoing fight against the dangerous homegrown forces who’d recently declared open war on American progress.

Noah’s original accommodations had actually been much nicer; a private suite on one of the upper floors‑ but his unsatisfactory performance in his first real work assignment had resulted in his lodgings being downgraded a notch.

This failed assignment had been pretty straightforward: He was to write up an in‑ depth piece for the news, outlining the inner workings of the recent homegrown conspiracy that had nearly led to the destruction of Las Vegas and San Francisco. The story was to be told from his own point of view as a courageous hostage and unwilling insider.

His first draft was rejected immediately; there’d been a consistent undertone in the text that seemed to paint the ringleaders, the Founders’ Keepers, in a subtly but unacceptably positive light. His second try wasn’t an improvement, it was even worse. The strange thing was, if only out of self‑ preservation, Noah had been trying hard to write what they wanted, but the stubborn truths just kept elbowing their way in.

After an informal inquiry, this first glitch was chalked up to the lingering effects of the Stockholm syndrome, that passing mental condition through which hostages sometimes develop an odd sympathy for the cause of their captors. For the time being it was determined that, until he was better, Noah would be given less‑ demanding duties and an additional editor to watch over his work.

There was no shortage of things to do, large and small. A lot of PR spin needed to be applied to the changes that were already well under way across the country. Noah was given a stack of small writing tasks, mostly one‑ liners and fillers that required far less of a commitment to the web of new truths being woven for consumption by the press and the public. For one of these jobs, he was to simply come up with a suitably harmless‑ sounding name for a new Treasury bureau that would be put in charge of the next wave of government bailouts for various failing corporations and industries.

This was the work of only a few seconds; Noah called it the Federal Resource Allocation & Underwriting Division. Nearly a truckload of boxes of letterhead and business cards had been printed before someone in production noticed the problem: The five‑ letter acronym for this new government bureau would be FRAUD.

They’d said they believed him when he told them it was an accident, but they’d also moved Noah to this more secure, probationary floor of the residence building just as a temporary precaution.

Once you know the truth, Molly had said, then you’ve got to live it. What she’d apparently neglected to add was that you’ll also tend to randomly tell it, whether it gets you into trouble or not.

Noah rearranged his pillows and lay down on his cot, not with an intention to sleep, but just to rest his eyes for a while and try to clear his head.

A thousand things were flying through his mind. It was a condition that his father referred to as a topical storm, a state in which so many conflicting thoughts are doing battle in your brain that you lose your ability to discern and to act on any of them. This state was regularly induced by PR experts to cloud and control issues in the public discourse, to keep thinking people depressed and apathetic on election days, and to discourage those who might be tempted to actually take a stand on a complex issue.

They’d given Noah a radio and a small TV, but he knew those wouldn’t help to clarify anything for him. On the contrary; the Emergency Alert System had kicked in shortly after the thwarted attack, and though some individual stations and networks were active again, the news still had the distinctive sameness of single‑ source coverage. While no real disaster had actually happened, the selected newspeople were breathlessly working 24/7 to puff up the disasters that might have happened, and what might still be looming ahead tomorrow. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt‑ the three most effective weapons in the arsenal of Arthur Gardner‑ were keeping the country in an uneasy state of tension and helplessness, much like his own.

“What can one person do? ” That was the passive, rhetorical question that kept people silent and powerless in the face of things that seem too large and frightening to overcome. It was the question in Noah’s mind, as well. Now I see the truth, and yes, I want to live it, but what can I do?

He decided to sleep on that, because so far he’d been unable to come up with a good answer.

Noah brushed his teeth and washed as soon as the bathroom was free, left the sink and the shower and the commode a lot cleaner than he’d found them, dressed for bed, and turned in. He rolled over onto his side and saw his first filled calendar grid, with the second empty one beside it on the wall.

Where would he be a month from now?

That answer seemed depressingly certain. But then, where might Molly be? Asking that question had become a nightly ritual at the end of these dreary days, and it was still on his mind as he fell asleep a while later on.

There was no hard transition between consciousness and the beginning of his now‑ familiar dream.

Noah opened his eyes and looked around. He was in the small, warm family room of a rustic little cabin. Surrounding him were simple furnishings, hand‑ made quilts, and corner shelves of keepsakes and photographs. Unlike the mass‑ produced, impersonal flash of the world he’d left behind, the things here had been built and woven and carved and finished by skilled, loving hands, things made or given by friends and family, made to mean something, to be passed on, and to last through generations.

Snow fluttered down outside the wide windows, big flakes sticking and blowing past the frosted panes, an idyllic woodland scene framed in pleated curtains and knotty pine. He was sitting in front of a stone hearth. A pair of boots were drying there, with space for another, smaller pair beside. A fire was burning low, a black dutch oven suspended above the coals, the smell of some wonderful meal cooking inside. Two plates and silver settings were arranged on a nearby dining table.

A simple evening lay ahead. Though it might seem nearly identical to a hundred other nights he’d spent with her, he also knew it would be unlike any other, before or after. It always was; being with Molly, talking with her, listening to her, enjoying the quiet with her, feeling her close to him, thinking of the future with her. Every night was like a perfect first date, and every morning like the first exciting day of a whole new life together.

Like Molly had said, such a simple existence certainly wasn’t for everyone. But the freedom to choose one’s own pursuit of happiness‑ that’s what her country was founded on, and that’s what she was fighting for.

Noah heard a sound at the entrance, and he turned to welcome her home again.

But when he looked, it was a different room he saw around him. He blinked repeatedly, but the reality he’d woken up to wouldn’t disappear so easily. The man from the hall was looking through the window in the frame, beckoning Noah to the door.

He sighed, got up, walked over, and turned the lock. It was only a formality, of course; it wasn’t as though the guy outside didn’t have a key of his own.

After the usual pleasantries the man in the hall offered Noah a tray from the rolling cart beside him.

“Looks like I woke you up. Sorry about that. ”

“That’s okay, ” Noah said. “What’s for dinner? ”

The man lifted the round stainless steel cover from the plate on the tray. “Sure looks like Thursday to me, ” he replied.

“Ah, my favorite. ”

The man had nearly returned to his cart, but he stopped and came nearer again. “Say, I see you here every day, and it occurred to me tonight, we’ve never been properly introduced. ”

Noah put down his tray on the side table inside his door. “I’m Noah Gardner. ”

The man nodded, and casually glanced left and then right down the hallway before he answered, quietly, “My friends call me Nathan. I’ve got a message for you, ” he said. “Would you mind if I came in for just a moment? ”

“Of course, come on in. ”

He stepped aside and closed the door as the other man walked past him into the room. Noah watched as he unplugged the TV, ran his fin gers along the edges of the desk as though feeling for something hidden, and then clicked on the radio and turned it up loud enough to establish some covering background noise.

“What is this‑? ” Noah began, and before he could finish that question he found himself pushed hard against the wall with a forearm pressed against his neck and the other man’s face close to his.

“You want to know what this is? ” Nathan hissed. “It’s a wake‑ up call. You’re in a valuable position, my friend, and we need for you to snap out of it and start doing the work we need done. ” He adjusted his grip on Noah’s collar, and continued. “Now listen closely. Tomorrow, at your job, you sign into your computer right before you leave for the day, but you don’t sign out. Here’s a key. ” Noah felt something shoved roughly into his pocket. “You’re going to leave it under the mouse pad on the desk two places down from yours, to your left. Got all that? ”

Noah nodded, as best he could.

“I hope you do, ” Nathan said. He took a step back, smiled and straightened his clothing as if the two of them had just been engaging in some mutual, spirited roughhousing. “To quote a good friend of mine, ” he added, on his way to the door. “If they’re gonna call this treason anyway, we might as well make the most of it. ”

“Wait, ” Noah said.

“Enjoy your dinner, ” Nathan said. “The meat loaf ain’t much, but I think you’ll like the dessert. ” With that, he left the room and resumed his walk down the hall, pushing his meal cart.

Noah closed the door and stared at the tray of covered plates on the table in front of him. He went right to the smallest of them, lifted the lid and found exactly what he was looking for inside: a lukewarm square of runny peach cobbler. He took the knife, cut down the center, and, just as he’d hoped, felt it hit something solid.

He extracted the object from the gooey syrup, took it to the sink in the bathroom, locked the door to the adjoining room, and held it under the cold running water until it was washed clean.

It was Molly’s silver bracelet.

He held it close to his eyes; maybe the words engraved there were a little more worn than they’d been before, but he would have remembered them even if they’d been gone completely.

She was alive. Whatever other message he’d been hoping for, whatever guidance he’d been seeking, this was better. Not just a plan, because a plan can be defeated. This was a foundation.

As he returned to the bedroom he remembered the key he’d been given and he pulled it from his pocket. It was wrapped in paper, and, as he unfolded it, Noah saw the simple words written there, in Molly’s familiar handwriting.

“We’re everywhere. Stay with us; I’ll see you soon. The fight starts tomorrow. ”

AFTERWORD

“Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. ”

– ANDRÉ GIDE

There’s a very good reason we called this book The Overton Window, and it’s not just because it’s one of the techniques that Arthur Gardner uses to push his objectives. We chose this title because it’s also a technique that, to one extent or another, we just used on you. (The key difference is, I’m openly telling you that’s what I’m doing; I don’t have a hidden agenda here. ) In the course of reading and thinking about this story, it’s simply my hope that you’ve spent a little bit of time entertaining ideas that you might not have considered before.

Remember, the Overton Window concept is that only the few scenarios that currently sit inside an established window of acceptable debate will be taken seriously by the public. To move the Window toward their ultimate goal, those pushing an agenda have to introduce radical ideas that fall outside of the current comfort zone. While those fringe ideas will normally be dismissed, the Window will also be subtly nudged in their direction. This allows ideas that would’ve previously seemed unthinkable to be introduced and, eventually, even seriously considered as solutions.

Applying this concept to our story, it should be obvious that we set out to create a plot based in reality, and then we pushed it to an absolute extreme. It’s one of the intriguing potentials of this sort of fiction: When your mind suspends disbelief, it may also become more willing to consider a broader spectrum of possible outcomes to the events and agendas that are playing out around us every day.

For example, fighter pilots often use flight simulators to train for real combat. In a safe environment, these simulators force pilots to consider a confluence of events that would otherwise seem ridiculous, like dual engine failure while being shot at and simultaneously having to land on an aircraft carrier in thirty‑ foot seas. It’s extreme, but it works. Many pilots who’ve been through a hair‑ raising mission in a live war zone come out saying that it wasn’t nearly as bad as what they’d faced in the simulator.

This book is your simulator. It’s unlikely that we’ll face anything close to the challenges that Noah and Molly are up against. But, after experiencing their scenario in its fictional setting, maybe it will become a little easier to have deeper conversations about the important forces that are actually at work in the real world.

As I told you at the outset, while I certainly used a lot of dramatic license, this story is loaded with truth. But facts can easily be manipulated, and that’s why we are including this section. I want you to decide for yourself exactly what is fact, what is based on fact, what is a common belief possibly based on a distorted fact, and what is complete fiction. Don’t stop at my sources; find your own. That way, you can determine where your own Overton Window should be located as we continue to debate what kind of America we want to live in.

And remember, this list is only a starting point. If a passage or a statement in the book intrigued you but isn’t specifically mentioned here, take a minute and type some key words into your favorite search engine. (Try “KFC UN Security” from Chapter 17, for example…) You might be surprised at where your search will lead you.

– gb

In the Prologue, Eli Churchill mentions to Molly’s mother (did you pick up on whom he was speaking to? ) that, in the late summer of 2001, Donald Rumsfeld announced that the U. S. government could not account for $2. 3 trillion dollars. That actually happened. The date was September 10, 2001. A day later, some missing money (even trillions of it) didn’t seem quite so important anymore.

Rumsfeld announces $2. 3 trillion unaccounted for on September 10, 2001: “Defense Department Cannot Account For 25% Of Funds‑ $2. 3 Trillion, ” CBS News, January 29, 2002, http: //www. cbsnews. com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985. shtml

See also: A video of the CBS News segment, http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=3kpWqdPMjmo

A small side note: As you read this scene, if you were wondering what a phone booth was doing out in the desert in the middle of nowhere, this is an interesting location that actually existed until fairly recently. Google “Mojave phone booth” to learn more.

In Chapter 3 we are presented with a government memo outlining the “Growing Threat of Domestic Terrorism. ” This memo was, of course, was modeled after the real‑ life memo issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) that caused an uproar because of its over‑ generalizations on who might be a dangerous militia member.

Government Memo: “The Modern Militia Movement, ” Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), issued in February 2009: http: //www. scribd. com/doc/13290698/The‑ Modern‑ Militia‑ Movement‑ Missouri‑ MIAC‑ Strategic‑ Report‑ 20Feb09‑

Inside our fictional memo is a reference to a government program called “REX‑ 84. ” According to published reports at the time, this program involved emergency actions that would be implemented in the event of a national crisis. In 1986, the Associated Press reported on a FEMA directive that described a REX‑ 84 exercise preparing for the detention of more than 400, 000 Central American refugees in ten military detention centers located across the country.

A Miami Herald story from 1987 again addressed REX‑ 84, this time reporting that Oliver North had worked closely with FEMA to develop a contingency plan should America face a major crisis, like nuclear war or insurrection. That plan called for actions such as the “suspension of the Constitution, turning control of the United States over to FEMA, appointment of military commanders to run state and local governments and declaration of martial law. ”

In a “heavily censored FEMA memorandum” that was obtained by The Herald, the REX‑ 84 exercise was described as calling for the “activation of ‘emergency legislation, assumption of emergency powers… etc. ’ “A source familiar with the exercises said North was aware of the simulations and collaborated with FEMA and the Pentagon in producing them. While the simulations were in progress, the Pentagon staged the first of several annual large‑ scale military exercises in Honduras, deploying thousands of troops near contra supply bases.

“A Pentagon spokeswoman, Capt. Nancy LaLuntas, declined to discuss contingency plans or details of the FEMA‑ Pentagon exercises, citing ‘security reasons. ’ Yet she confirmed that the exercises, code‑ named Rex 84 Alpha and Night Train 84, took place April 5‑ 13, 1984. FEMA spokesman Bill McAda also confirmed the simulations and, like LaLuntas, declined to give details. ”

These days, REX‑ 84 is part of the everyday language of conspiracy theorists, and for good reason: There is not a shred of evidence to suggest that any of these exercises resulted in anything other than embarrassment for the government. On the other hand, given our government’s reaction to catastrophe in the past (i. e., the forced internment of more than 100, 000 Japanese Americans in 1942), it doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to understand that all of us need to be vigilant and ensure that the only document we look toward in the next crisis is the Constitution.

REX‑ 84:

Associated Press, “Administration Denies Existence of Detention Camps for Illegal Aliens, ” December 16, 1986, http: //news. google. com/newspapers? id=ueAlAAAAIBAJ & sjid=UPwFAAAAIBAJ & d q=rex‑ 84 & pg=6740%2C4955414

See also: Alfonso Chardy, “Reagan Advisers Ran ‘Secret’ Government” Miami Herald, July 5, 1987.

See also: Alfonso Chardy, “North Helped Revise Wartime Plans” Miami Herald, July 19, 1987.

To illustrate how public perception and behavior can be shaped over time, we used the story of bottled water, a product which seemed to come upon us out of nowhere to become a huge industry that’s nearly ubiquitous. How did it happen? Read Bottlemania for a great primer.

The marketing of bottled water: For the spirit of this scene, see Elizabeth Royte, Bottlemania: The Marketing of Bottled Water and Why We Bought It (Bloomsbury, 2008), http: //books. google. com/books? id=LwUUAQAAIAAJ

More from Chapter 3:

Tsunami warning system inadequate: Laura Smith‑ Spark, “Indonesia Tsunami System ‘Not Ready, ’” BBC News, July 19, 2006, http: //news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/asia‑ pacific/5191190. stm

Virtually the entire speech that Arthur Gardner gives in the boardroom is based on fact; of course, in keeping with his character, he presents his own version of those facts. Here are a few specific examples:

Committed $8 trillion to those that engineered the financial crisis: David Goldman, “The $8 Trillion Bailout, ” CNNMoney. com, January 6, 2009, http: //money. cnn. com/2009/01/06/news/economy/where_stimulus_fits_in/index. htm

Social Security is a Ponzi scheme: Jeff Poor, “Cramer: Social Security a Bigger Ponzi Scheme than Madoff’s, ” Business & Media Institute, December 18, 2008, http: //www. businessandmedia. org/articles/2008/20081218091211. aspx

A hundred thousand billion dollars: Also known as “$100 trillion, ” this is a chilling estimate of our unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities. Pamela Villarreal, “Social Security and Medicare Projections: 2009, ” National Center for Policy Analysis, June 11, 2009, http: //www. ncpa. org/pub/ba662

Nationalizing General Motors: Kimberly S. Johnson, “GM to reorganize in government‑ led bankruptcy, ” AP Foreign, June 1, 2009, http: //www. guardian. co. uk/world/feedarticle/8535026

$17 billion in underfunded union pensions: Nick Bunkley, “Automaker Pensions Underfunded by $17 Billion, ” New York Times, April 6, 2010, http: //www. nytimes. com/2010/04/07/business/07cars. html

We’re borrowing $5 billion a day from Asia: Statement of C. Fred Bergsten, Director, Institute for International Economics, February 2‑ 4, 2005, http: //www. uscc. gov/hearings/2005hearings/transcripts/05_02_3_4. pdf

In Chapter 10 we meet Molly’s mother for the first time as she gives a speech at the bar. Much of what she references is accurate, including:

“The happy union of these states…”: James Madison, edited by Gaillard Hunt, The Writings of James Madison (New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1910): 357, http: //books. google. com/books? id=V7jGAAAAMAAJ

“The most basic question is not…”: Thomas Sowell, Knowledge and Decisions (New York, NY: Basic Books, 1980): 79, http: //books. google. com/books? id=4kqTMrEKWXoC

Carroll Quigley’s book Tragedy & Hope makes a few appearances in this novel, and for good reason: the premise that he outlined, Mutually Assured Destruction, is now a reality. But it’s not just military destruction that we’ve got to worry about, it’s economic destruction as well. Economies have become so intentionally intertwined that a collapse anywhere else in the world has major ramifications for us. Quigley’s book is a must‑ read if you want to really understand the theories of a man who was inspirational to many leaders, including President Bill Clinton.

Carroll Quigley: Carroll Quigley, Tragedy & Hope: A History of the World in Our Time (G. S. G. & Associates, 1975), http: //books. google. com/books? id=KQZxAAAAIAAJ

Herbert Croly: Herbert Croly, The Promise of American Life (New York, NY: The MacMillan Company, 1909), http: //books. google. com/books? id=EoxIAAAAYAAJ

Thomas Jefferson: “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God”: Willard Sterne Randall, Thomas Jefferson: A Life (New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1993): 275, http: //books. google. com/books? id=jxh4rGiz7GgC

35, 000 registered lobbyists: Jerry Kammer, “A Steady Flow of Financial Influence, ” Copley News Service, August 25, 2006, http: // www. pbs. org/now/shows/234/money‑ politics. html

Spent almost $3. 5 billion last year: Oxford Analytica, “Lobbyists’ Sway in Washington, ” April 13, 2010, http: //www. forbes. com/2010/04/12/lobby‑ politics‑ elections‑ washington‑ business ‑ oxford. html

The incredible 67, 000 page tax code: “67, 204‑ Page Code Confounds Taxpayers, yet Congress Sits By, ” USAToday. com, April 4, 2007, http: //blogs. usatoday. com/oped/2007/04/post_7. html

IRS involved in the health care legislation: Kim Dixon, “U. S. budget office: 4 million likely to pay health fine, ” Washington Post, April 22, 2010, http: //www. washingtonpost. com/wp‑ dyn/content/article/2010/04/22/AR2010042204286. html

Treasury enforced Prohibition laws: “Narcotic Bill Now Law: Hoover Signs Measure Creating a Bureau in the Treasury, ” The New York Times, June 15, 1930, http: //select. nytimes. com/gst/abstract. html? res=F30910F73D5C14738DDDAC0994DE405B80 8FF1D3

“The power to tax involves the power to destroy”: “The Supreme Court: The Power to Tax, ” Time, March 17, 1958, http: //www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0, 9171, 863135, 00. html

100, 000 federal employees owe back taxes: Devin Dwyer, “Tax Scam Uncle Sam? You Oughta Be Fired! Says Utah Rep. Chaffetz, ” ABC News, March 18, 2010, http: //abcnews. go. com/Politics/Tax/100000‑ federal‑ employees‑ owe‑ irs‑ back‑ taxes/story? id=10125860

Treasury Secretary owes back taxes: Jonathan Weisman, “Geithner’s Tax History Muddles Confirmation, ” The Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2009, http: //online. wsj. com/article/SB123187503629378119. html

John Adams: “A government of laws…”: David McCullough, John Adams (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2001): 378, http: //books. google. com/books? id=GHMnz8G0GTcC

“No lie can live forever”: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by James Washington, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., (New York, NY: Harper‑ Collins, 1986): 230, http: //books. google. com/books? id=k8uPHtrU8BsC

In Chapter 11 we hear from spirited conspiracy theorist Danny Bailey for the first time. Danny is the kind of guy who likes to string together a variety of facts in an attempt to make something crazy sound plausible. His speech is important because it shows how selected facts and truths can be used as the foundation for an overall thesis that is entirely fictional.

Bailey starts by citing some unemployment data that differs significantly from the official government estimates. Those statistics, and a lot more, can be found at a website called Shadow Statistics that is run by economist John Williams.

Real unemployment past 20%: John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics, Shadowstats. com, http: //www. shadowstats. com/ alternate_data/unemployment‑ charts

The job ad that Danny cites is a great example of how fact can fuel conspiracy thinking. Is there really a job ad posting for an “Internment and Resettlement Specialist”? Yes‑ and it’s right there on the public goarmy. com website. Why would they list such an incriminating job publicly? Simple… because it’s not incriminating at all. The Army has detention facilities all over the world that need to be staffed. If they posted a job opening for an “Experienced Sniper” would people jump to the conclusion that they want to assassinate Americans on U. S. soil? Of course not, yet that’s what some people immediately think when they read “Internment Specialist. ”

Internment and Resettlement Specialist: Job listing posted at goarmy. com, http: //www. goarmy. com/JobDetail. do? id=292

25% of world’s prisoners in U. S.: Jim Webb, “Why We Must Fix Our Prisons, ” Parade, March 29, 2009, http: //www. parade. com/news/2009/03/why‑ we‑ must‑ fix‑ our‑ prisons. html

Army Regulation 210‑ 35: Civilian Inmate Labor Program, http: // www. army. mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r210_35. pdf

In 1987, as Oliver North was testifying before a Congressional Committee on the Iran‑ Contra affair, the Miami Herald ran a series of articles detailing North’s participation in emergency‑ response contingency planning. In a piece published July 5, 1987, the Herald wrote about a memo outlining emergency plans that apparently bore a resemblance to a college paper written by the then‑ FEMA director:

“The scenario outlined in the Brinkerhoff memo resembled somewhat a paper Guiffrida had written in 1970 at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., in which he advocated martial law in case of a national uprising by black militants. The paper also advocated the roundup and transfer to ‘assembly centers or relocation camps’ of at least 21 million ‘American Negroes. ’”

“A memo from 1970…”: Alfonso Chardy, “Reagan Advisers Ran Secret Government, ” Miami Herald, July 5, 1987.

Agitator Index (ADEX): Earl Ofari Hutchinson, “The Dangerous New FBI, ” June 4, 2002, http: //www. salon. com/news/feature/2002/06/04/cointelpro/print. html

You may be a terrorist: “Missouri Report on Militias Draws Fire, ” The Associated Press, March 14, 2009, http: //www. fox4kc. com/wdaf‑ story‑ militia‑ report‑ 031409, 0, 5591136. story

Last declared war in 1945: “The Declaration of War: One for the History Books? ” National War College, 1998, http: //www. dtic. mil/cgi‑ bin/GetTRDoc? AD=ADA441475 & Location=U2 & doc= GetTRDoc. pdf

The same Miami Herald article that uncovered the FEMA director’s college paper also detailed the drastic continuity‑ of‑ government proposals that FEMA was formulating:

“FEMA’s clash with (Attorney General) Smith occurred over a secret contingency plan that called for suspension of the Constitution, turning control of the United States over to FEMA, appointment of military commanders to run state and local governments and declaration of martial law during a national crisis.

“The plan did not define national crisis, but it was understood to be nuclear war, violent and widespread internal dissent or national opposition against a military invasion abroad. ”

Orwellian continuity‑ of‑ government provisions put in place: Alfonso Chardy, “Reagan Advisers Ran Secret Government, ” Miami Herald, July 5, 1987.

Presidential Decision Directive 51: National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, whitehouse. gov, http: // georgewbush‑ whitehouse. archives. gov/news/releases/2007/ 05/20070509‑ 12. html

See also: Charlie Savage, “White House Revises Post‑ Disaster Protocol, ” Boston Globe, June 2, 2007, http: //www. boston. com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/06/02/white_house_revises_post_ disaster_protocol/

Presidential Decision Directive 67: Enduring Constitutional Government and Continuity of Government Operation, October 21, 1998, http: //www. fas. org/irp/offdocs/pdd/pdd‑ 67. htm

See also: Francie Grace, “’Shadow Government’ News to Congress, ” CBSNews. com, March 2, 2002, http: //www. cbsnews. com/stories/2002/03/01/attack/main502530. shtml

Constitution Free Zone: Ellen Nakashima, “Citizens’ U. S. Border Crossings Tracked: Data from Checkpoints to Be Kept for 15 Years, ” Washington Post, August 20, 2008, http: //www. washington post. com/wp‑ dyn/content/article/2008/08/19/AR2008081902811. html

See also: Ellen Nakashima, “Expanded Powers to Search Travelers at Border Detailed, ” Washington Post, September 23, 2008, http: // www. washingtonpost. com/wp‑ dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092202843. html

See also: Fact Sheet on U. S. “Constitution Free Zone, ” The American Civil Liberties Union, http: //www. aclu. org/technology‑ and‑ liberty/fact‑ sheet‑ us‑ constitution‑ free‑ zone

Free Speech Zone: Marcella Bombardier, “Boycott Is Planned in Free‑ Speech Zone, ” Boston Globe, July 25, 2004, http: //www. boston. com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/07/25/ boycott_is_planned_in_free_speech_zone/

In Chapter 12 the meeting at the bar is disrupted by someone referred to as a newer member of the organization. This, of course, is inspired by those who have publicly stated their goal to infiltrate the Tea Party, the 9/12 Project and other like‑ minded organizations and stage violent acts or hate speech. According to one anti‑ Tea Party group, their mission is to “act on behalf of the Tea Party in ways which exaggerate their least appealing qualities. ”

One other important note on this scene: While Noah initially thinks that the instigators were New York City policemen, he is quickly proven wrong. If there is one thing that virtually every group fighting for our rights and freedoms agrees on, it’s that those entrusted with the public safety, from local cops to federal agents, are on the side of the good guys.

Agents provocateurs inside Tea Party events: Valerie Bauman, “Foes of tea party movement to infiltrate rallies, ” The Associated Press, April 10, 2010, http: //www. washingtonpost. com/wp‑ dyn/content/article/2010/04/12/AR2010041203358. html

See also: Brian Montopoli, “Tea Party Foes Target Movement ‘Morons, ’” CBSNews. com, April 13, 2010, http: //www. cbsnews. com/8301‑ 503544_162‑ 20002377‑ 503544. html

These next two statistics are related in a pretty amazing way: While Congress’s approval rating continues to be abysmal, historically more than 90 percent of incumbents are still reelected. People always want to know how they can help change the course of America. This is it! While the answers are undoubtedly more complicated than they used to be, the easiest solution is still the best: Turn your back on those who’ve turned their backs on you by voting them out. Actions speak louder than words, and right now our actions are showing that we tacitly approve of the lies and corruption.

Congress’s Approval Rating: Gallup. com, http: //www. gallup. com/poll/127343/Congress‑ Job‑ Approval‑ Rating‑ Improves‑ Low. aspx

Congressional reelection rates: “Reelection Rates Over the Years, ” http: //www. opensecrets. org/bigpicture/reelect. php

In Chapter 14 Noah and Molly have a conversation in the limousine. Several things cited during this talk are factual, or based on real events.

U. S. Senator out west about to be involved in an ethics scandal: Eric Lichtblau and Eric Lipton, “Senator’s Aid After Affair Raises Flags Over Ethics, ” The New York Times, October 1, 2009, http: // www. nytimes. com/2009/10/02/us/politics/02ensign. html

The Rev. Al Sharpton (fried chicken and waffles) at Amy Ruth’s: Amy Ruth’s Menu, http: //www. amyruthsharlem. com/dinnermenu/waffles/wafflemenu01. html

Edward Bernays served as one of the inspirations for Arthur Gardner. Several sources below reference Bernays, but if you really want to understand the reach and power of public relations (and why Joseph Goebbels found Bernays to be so instructive) then be sure to read Bernays’ own book Propaganda, which includes this assertion right on the cover:

“As civilization has become more complex, and as the need for invisible government has been increasingly demonstrated, the technical means have been invented and developed by which opinion may be regimented. Democracy is administered by the intelligent minority who know how to regiment and guide the masses. ”

Edward Bernays, Woodrow Wilson and United Fruit: Larry Tye, The father of spin: Edward L. Bernays & The Birth of Public Relations (New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 1998), http: //books. google. com/books? id=Dk0SPKpYCsQC

If you’re interested in reading more about a real‑ life example of a modern force in public relations, take a look at John Rendon. His company is a leader in “perception management” and, according to Rolling Stone, “fills a need that few people even know exists. ”

PR push behind the Iraq War/Rendon Group: James Bam‑ ford, “The Man Who Sold the War, ” Rolling Stone, November 17, 2005, http: //www. rollingstone. com/politics/story/8798997/the_man_who_sold_the_war

Guatemalan Coup: Central Intelligence Agency Freedom of Information Act document archive, http: //www. foia. cia. gov/guatemala. asp

80 million gun owners: Wayne LaPierre, “Sotomayor’s Bias, ” CBSNews. com, July 15, 2009, http: //www. cbsnews. com/stories/2009/07/15/opinion/main5162054. shtml

Bernays’ book: Edward Bernays, Propaganda, (New York, NY: Ig Publishing, 1928), http: //books. google. com/books? id=JlcPgPt17KcC

Bernays’ book on Goebbels’ shelf: Larry Tye, “The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays & The Birth of PR, ” PR Watch, Second Quarter 1999, Volume 6, No. 2, http: //www. prwatch. org/prwissues/1999Q2/bernays. html

In Chapter 15: This may not exactly be the most critical fact in the book, but Eliot Spitzer’s father really is a real estate mogul, and at one time Spitzer really could have run into Noah and Molly in that elevator car on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Eliot Spitzer lives in his father’s building: Douglas Feiden, “Empire of the Son. How Dad’s Real Estate Fortune Pays Spitzer Benefits, ” NY Daily News, October 29, 2006, http: //www. ny dailynews. com/archives/news/2006/10/29/2006‑ 10‑ 29_empire_of_the_son_how_dad_s. html

In Chapter 17: Tom Clancy’s book Debt of Honor included a sequence where a plane loaded with fuel is hijacked and flown into the U. S. Capitol. Some conspiracy theorists might say that this means Clancy was involved in planning 9/11, but the rest of us realize that this shows just how outside‑ of‑ the‑ box thriller writers think. Clancy himself has talked about meeting with an Air Force officer during the writing of that book and asking the officer about the planes‑ as‑ weapons scenario he was spinning. The officer replied, “Mr. Clancy, if we had a plan to deal with this, it would be secret, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you about it. But to the best of my knowledge we’ve never looked at this possibility before. ”

Clancy writes about crashing planes into buildings: Steve Bradshaw, “A Warning from Hollywood, ” BBC, March 24, 2002, http: // news. bbc. co. uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_24_03_02. txt

In Chapter 18: Rudyard Kipling was fifty‑ three when he wrote the poem I excerpted in the book. As Noah explains, Kipling had lost his son in World War I and his daughter prior to that, and he was in a dark place in his life. The “Copybook Headings” he refers to are the headings from the handwriting‑ practice notebooks that used to be distributed. In these, a famous quotation or commonsense adage would be printed at the top and the student would practice their penmanship by rewriting that sentence over and over, all the way down the page. This would accomplish two things: handwriting practice (obviously), and a subtler reinforcement of practical knowledge and life lessons from history. As Noah says, the entire poem is well worth a read.

Rudyard Kipling’s poem: Rudyard Kipling, “The Gods of the Copybook Headings, ” See the full text here: http: //www. kipling. org. uk/poems_copybook. htm

Kipling’s biography: Harry Ricketts, Rudyard Kipling: A Life (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2001), http: //books. google. com/books? id=x4sTAiRqhKMC

In Chapter 19, we see the term “COINTELPRO” included in the agenda that Noah and Molly discover. This term seems to have now been adopted by conspiracy theorists, but before you write it off it’s worth looking at what this real government program was originally intended to accomplish.

COINTELPRO: Ed Gordon, “COINTELPRO and the History of Domestic Spying, ” National Public Radio, January 18, 2006, http: //www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=5161811

See also: Michelle Goldberg, “Outlawing Dissent: Spying on Peace Meetings, Cracking Down on Protesters, Keeping Secret Files on Innocent People‑ How Bush’s War on Terror Has Become a War on Freedom, ” Salon. com, February 11, 2004, http: //www. salon. com/news/feature/2004/02/11/cointelpro/print. html

See also: David Horowitz, “COINTELPRO’s Overdue Return: The New FBI Will Be Able to Investigate Americans Who Pose a Threat to National Security‑ and That’s a Good Thing, ” Salon. com, June 4, 2002, http: //dir. salon. com/story/news/col/horo/2002/06/04/cointelpro/index. html

More from Chapter 21:

“Cherish, therefore, the spirit…”: Thomas Jefferson, Merrill D. Peterson, The Political Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Foundation, 1996), http: //books. google. com/books? id=MlhB2iCTq60C

Washington, wooden dentures and the cherry tree: “Facts and Falsehoods about George Washington, ” http: //www. mountvernon. org/visit/plan/index. cfm/pid/808/

“These are the times that try men’s souls. ” Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, http: //books. google. com/books? id=vDq6AAAAIAAJ

Many in Washington want us to start looking at regulation as a good thing, but here’s an example of what can happen when government gets to regulate existing law. Sure, the Second Amendment says that you are allowed to own a gun, but it doesn’t say that it has to be easy! In New York City they’ve taken that to the extreme by crafting an application process that can take well over six months and cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Obtaining a gun permit in New York City: NYPD Handgun Licensing Information, http: //www. nyc. gov/html/nypd/html/permits/handgun_licensing_information. shtml

See also: NYPD Licensing FAQ, http: //www. nyc. gov/html/nypd/html/permits/gun_licensing_faq. shtml

See also: A first‑ person account of the licensing process: Glenn Beck, Arguing with Idiots (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2009): 49.

See also: An internet account of the licensing process: http: //angrynyer. com/? p=422

The militia was every citizen: Jonathan Elliott, The Debates in the Several State Conventions of the Adoption of the Federal Constitution 425 (2nd ed., J. B. Lippincott 1836).

See also: James Madison, “The Federalist Number 46, ” in The Federalist Papers, eds. George W. Carey and James McClellan (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2001): 244.

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again”: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, http: //books. google. com/books? id=e0oqAAAAYAAJ

Jonathan Mayhew “No taxation without representation”: Raja Mishra and LeMont Calloway, “Vandals Tear a Bible in Half, Ransack Old West Church, ” Boston Globe, August 12, 2006, http: // www. boston. com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/12/vandals_tear_a_bible_in_half_ransack_old_west_church/

In Chapter 22:

Nuclear materials flown from Minot to Barksdale Air Force Base: Michael Hoffman, “Commander Disciplined for Nuclear Mistake, ” Military Times, September 5, 2007, http: //www. usatoday. com/news/military/2007‑ 09‑ 05‑ b‑ 52_N. htm

In Chapter 23:

For entertainment purposes only we present the Orange‑ box hacker tool: http: //www. artofhacking. com/files/ob‑ faq. htm

In Chapter 27 we reference John O’Neill, the former FBI antiterrorism expert who had been sounding alarm bells on al Qaeda. O’Neill began his new job at the World Trade Center in New York City on August 23, 2001.

John O’Neill and al Qaeda: “The Man Who Knew, ” Frontline, http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/

In Chapter 31:

“A Republic, if you can keep it”: Michael Richards, A Republic If You Can Keep It: The Foundation of the American Presidency (Westport, CT: Greenport Press, 1987), http: //books. google. com/ books? id=ItOARcaN54sC

“Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys”: Robert Tait, “Turkish Girl, 16, Buried Alive for ‘Talking to Boys, ’” The Guardian, February 4, 2010, http: //www. guardian. co. uk/world/2010/feb/04/girl‑ buried‑ alive‑ turkey

“… the useless eaters on the savage side of the bell curve”: This quote is modeled after many of the real life arguments in favor of eugenics, in all of its many faces and forms.

George Bernard Shaw: “I think it would be a good thing to make everybody come before a properly appointed board just as he might come before the income tax commissioner… Just put them there and say ‘sir, ’ or madam, ‘now will you be kind enough to justify your existence. If you can’t justify your existence, if you’re not pulling your weight in the social group, if you’re not producing what you consume, or perhaps a little more, then clearly we cannot use the big organization of our society for the purpose of keeping you alive, because your life does not benefit us and it can’t be of very much use to yourself. ’”

– From Shaw’s speech as shown in Glenn Beck’s

“The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free or Die, ”

http: //www. foxnews. com/story/0, 2933, 583732, 00. html

Theodore Roosevelt: “Society has no business to permit degenerates to reproduce their kind… Some day we will realize that the prime duty, the inescapable duty, of the good citizen of the right type is to leave his or her blood behind him in the world; and that we have no business to permit the perpetuation of citizens of the wrong type. ”

– From a letter to Charles Benedict Davenport on January 3, 1913

Margaret Sanger: “The mating of the moron with a person of sound stock may… gradually disseminate this trait far and wide until it undermines the vigor and efficiency of an entire nation and an entire race. This is no idle fancy. We must take it into account if we wish to escape the fate that has befallen so many civilizations in the past. ”

– From Sanger’s book “The Pivot of Civilization, ” page 176

In Chapter 34:

Paraquat: “Facts about Paraquat, ” U. S. Centers for Disease Control, http: //www. bt. cdc. gov/agent/paraquat/basics/facts. asp

In Chapter 36 we use some dramatic license to show how the other half flies when they’re forced to travel commercially. And who knows, Natalie Portman might even be able to actually fly without an ID if she found the right TSA agent:

Airline VIP liaisons: Gabe Weisert, “How the celebrities fly, ” Forbes Traveler, October 11, 2006, http: //www. msnbc. msn. com/id/15133601

In Chapter 37:

“I have sworn upon the altar of God…”: Thomas Jefferson, John P. Foley, The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia: A Comprehensive Collection of the Views Of (Funk & Wagnalls, 1900), http: //books. google. com/books? id=ZTIoAAAAYAAJ

“I shall now enter on the duties to which my fellow‑ citizens…”: Thomas Jefferson, John P. Foley, The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia: a comprehensive collection of the views of (Funk & Wagnalls, 1900), http: //books. google. com/books? id=ZTIoAAAAYAAJ

In Chapter 38, we again see Danny Bailey’s conspiratorial side come out. He mentions, for example, that there was a training exercise going on in London on the morning of the 7/7 bombings. That is completely true, but this is a good example of the difference between something being a fact and an assumption that is based on fact.

The facts of this incident in London on 7/7 are hardly in doubt: A crisis management company, run by a man with Scotland Yard ties, held a terror‑ drill exercise on the morning of July 7 involving multiple subway bombings. Later that day, the drill played out in real life in almost exactly the same way and in almost exactly the same locations.

No one disagrees on those events, yet those facts are interpreted in widely varying ways. For example, Danny Bailey recounts those events to FBI Agent Kearns as though the corporate drill might’ve been some kind of “cover story” for the British government’s own role in the real bombings. But slightly more research into the exercises held that morning reveals why the mainstream media didn’t find that to be such a plausible scenario.

In a Channel 4 News article titled “Coincidence of bomb exercises? ” (see: http: //www. channel4. com/news/article. jsp? id=109010), Nicholas Glass points out that the bombing scenario that morning was one of three that the company was working on. More important, there were no physical resources deployed anywhere in the city, and the drill involved a few people sitting around a conference table talking about how they would respond. In other words, if this drill was supposed to be the government’s alibi, the perpetrators would probably be serving life in prison right now.

In response to the 7/7 conspiracies, Peter Power, the crisis management executive who ran the drills, issued a fairly clear‑ cut statement in which he responded to what he called the “inaccurate/naï ve/ignorant/ hostile” accusations being made. Of course, no matter how persuasive his statement was, conspiracy theories always have the same convenient response to fall back on: Of course he said that, he’s probably a government agent.

My point is that there is great danger in the way facts can be spun or strung together to give credibility to what is otherwise a wild‑ eyed conspiracy theory. It is our responsibility to look at everything with a skeptical eye, and also to be aware that many will try to twist reality to serve their own agenda or reinforce their worldview.

Terrorism drills run in London on morning of 7/7 bombings: Judi McLeod, “Business Exec Confirms Same‑ Time‑ as‑ Attack Underground Bombing Exercise, ” Canada Free Press, July 14, 2005, http: //www. canadafreepress. com/2005/cover071405. htm

See also: Peter Power interview on ITV News July 7, 2005: http: // www. youtube. com/watch? v=JKvkhe3rqtc

Haroon Rashid Aswat tried to set up terrorist training camp in Oregon: Alan Cowell, “Briton Sought on U. S. Terror Charges Appears in London Court, ” New York Times, August 9, 2005, http: // www. nytimes. com/2005/08/09/international/europe/09london. html

Mohamed Mohamed el‑ Amir Awad el‑ Sayed Atta: Terry McDermott, “Seeing What We Want to See; How Could It Be That, Despite the Facts, People‑ and Computers‑ Place One of the Sept. 11 Hijackers in Places He Probably Wasn’t? ” Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2005.

In Chapter 39:

“We have no choice” on the financial bailouts: There are many great examples of panicked reaction from our leaders as the financial crisis unfolded and wore on. For example, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said: “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday. ”

See also: Joe Nocera, “36 Hours of Alarm and Action as Crisis Spiraled, ” New York Times, October 2, 2008, http: //www. newsweek. com/id/197810/page/1

Bailout recipients: “Tracking the $700 Billion Bailout, ” The New York Times, http: //projects. nytimes. com/creditcrisis/recipients/table

“Let justice be done, though the heavens fall”: “The States: Though the Heavens Fall, ” October 12, 1962, http: //www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0, 9171, 829233, 00. html

“In America, the law is king”: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, http: //books. google. com/books? id=e0oqAAAAYAAJ

“The desire of dominion…” Thomas Jefferson, “A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, ” Boston Gazette, 1765.

“If you love wealth greater than liberty…”: William Vincent Wells, The life and public services of Samuel Adams, (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1865).

In Chapter 46:

Freedom is the exception: Thomas Sowell, Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One, (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2004): 31, http: //books. google. com/books? id=0AShGTKZzWgC

As I said before, this list is far from complete, so I hope you’ll continue exploring on your own. We’ve also started a website, the address of which is listed somewhere in this book, that will link to many of the sources we used and will also serve as a repository for new information as it develops. Happy hunting!

Glenn Beck

***

[1] [1] This list is provided as a representative sample, and is far from comprehensive. See Appendix R, pp. a321.

[2] [2] See Appendix N, subsection 10. 3.

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