> its too weak of a definition, else we would have to reclassify many things as "police states", including our most favorite "liberal democracies". No, if the

> its too weak of a definition, else we would have to reclassify many things as "police states", including our most favorite "liberal democracies". No, if the shoe fit... Basically the US have a bureaucracy and part of its judiciary system that prevents it from matching 100% that definition, but it's a really close thing, and i think that calling it "mostly police state" or "half police state" is fair (and by the way, France, my country, is the same way, with exactly the same defense except the bureaucracy is a bit stronger thanks to internal unions, and the legislative branch a lot weaker than i thought it was 5 years ago). Singapour match 100% of that definition, there is no branch of the government that work against the state in civil right cases.