Self-Sustained Protectorate: Is an SSP a Police State?

On today's show I briefly cover some of the news coming out of the Missouri riots and give my take on it. Alternative media outlets frequently use the term "police state" without providing an actual description of what a police state is. I provide an accurate description of what a police state is, and I will let you decide whether or not the U.S. is a police state. My opinion is that it is not a police state since the people continue to enjoy more freedoms than 98% of other countries on the face of the planet. The U.S. still allows for the private ownership of weapons, even fully automatic weapons (although they are expensive and licenses are difficult to get) whereas many other westernized and eastern countries do not allow their populations to own any sort of firearms. The general population of the U.S. still has the ability to travel freely by whatever means they can, whereas in a police state (think North Korea) mobility and travel are highly restricted. Although I do not believe that the U.S. is a police state (even though it could potentially end up that way at some point in the future), I will say that the U.S. is a surveillance state where every word typed into a web page, or every text message or phone call, e-mail is tracked, traced, recorded, stored, and warehoused by the U.S. Government. Thanks to the revelations of Edward Snowden, we know that this show you are listening to is subject to recording and monitoring via the NSA. Another point frequently glossed over by the alternative media is the consideration of the police in the U.S. as being "militarized". Keep in mind, many media hosts have never served a day in either law enforcement, the military, or both. I'll go more into detail and ask the hard questions that the media ignores in regards to the police throughout the U.S. Just imagine yourself put in their shoes on the thin blue line. Thanks for listening in! -Adam