Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal had this to say in a recent telephone conversation:
"In my lifetime, especially the 21st century, the US has become the country of thought control and oppression. The USA today bears no resemblance whatsoever to the country I grew up in. I feel like I am living in a foreign 20th century police state. I have told Press TV (Tehran) and the BBC World Service (London) not to call me any more about controversial issues as, if I speak the truth, it could result in my arrest. Free speech is no longer an American right."
The rest of the article is here. His observations are spot on, sadly.
http://lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts354.html