The sole purpose of COINTELPRO was to destroy individuals and groups perceived as threats to the status quo in the United States. COINTELPRO was “officially” ended in 1971—although it never really ended. After the 911 attacks, the government went at it again, but this time with a scared and more dumbed-down complicit public. Exactly forty-six days after the towers came crumbing down Bush signed the USA Patriot Act. This virtually eliminated restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records. What we used to consider illegal eavesdropping is now reclassified as something else -- an emergency. According to an official DOJ report, the use of “emergency”, warrantless requests to ISPs for customer communications content has skyrocketed over 400% in a single year. No outrage, no accountability. The majority of people are now more concerned about how to feed their families; civil liberties will just have to take a back seat until things improve.
The majority of voters voted for Obama in 2008 because they wanted change. The word "change" did resonate in the hearts of Americans, but, unfortunately, the people were once again bamboozled. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Voting appears to be the least viable solution; the more productive path is to organize locally. The following list of books contains sources not often cited by mainstream media . . . and there is a reason for that. These books promote critical thinking, revisit the coverups of history, and promote individual empowerment. They should be read widely in order to raise awareness of the situation facing America today, so that we can take back what has been taken from us.