I should also mention that I hate this b*st*rd.
(unsworn)
Well well I do believe youre ranting Kev..LOL..but every word of your post is true..sigh..ex-pressies should go play golf somewhere and leave decision making to the ones actually elected!..
Yeah, I couldn't help it. I was on the road yesterday and Rush read the whole interview with Der Speigel. I just got angrier and angrier. Carter is a very bad person imo, and is now resorting to hurting America from foreign soil.
I despise him.
Ummm there is no such thing as islamofascism. It is called theocracy. The term islamofascism is one of the new talking points that attempt to divert attention away from the fact that Bush is trying to set up the same kind of theocratic rule only based in Christianity rather than Islam. Do you call Bush a christianofacist? He is simply a fascist.
No! you say?
Cambridge dictionary: a political system based on a very powerful leader, state control and extreme pride in country and race, and in which political opposition is not allowed
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The in
wow too much for one comment I guess...
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Not all of these apply to the Bush regime. Arguably, Condi is a woman and a minority, but we all know she is an alien. Listen to her speak. It sounds like a computer. The savage brutality that she displays, that look as if she (in her natural body) could bite your head clean off and suck out your innards before you hit the floor...
So stop with the "islamofascist" tag. Just tell people that you hate Carter. They'll get it.
You're barking up the wrong blog here Scot. I've read the 14 defining characteristics of fascism. They're woefully incomplete, and extremely overly inclusive if you are liberal enough with the 14 rules. You might even be misled into believing that Bush is fascist. In fact, you did!
Many theocracies are fascist, but it's not a necessity. That's why the term 'islamofascist' was coined - to separate it from a regular theocracy. But how can you really tell if you are living under fascism? Here's a quick test. Make a big sign that says, "Christians are homosexuals and eat the corpses of people they murder!" Walk around with that sign and see how long it takes for you to get arrested, or harmed. Then try it in Iran, but change the religion to muslim. Which one of the two would you survive unharmed?
People who believe that those 14 rules define fascism really don't understand fascism. It doesn't result in the government listening in on phone calls you make to suspected terrorists. It results in you being taken from your home in the middle of the night, never to be seen or heard from again. It doesn't result in a statue of the ten commandments being displayed in a courthouse, it results in you being told propaganda all the time. And nothing but propaganda. Don't believe me? Ask a very old German or Italian. Ask an old European Jew. They would scoff at your view of fascism, if not slap you for your disgusting use of moral-relevance of comparing America today with a fascist regime.
The funniest definition of the whole group is that fascism requires national pride. Oddly, so does every other form of government. Stable ones at least. National pride is one of the most important reasons that America has stayed so great (except of course in the Carter years. Man, they were bad). Suddenly, it's looked upon as a bad thing. Go figure.
So if you become aware of someone being taken from their home in the middle of the night and 'disappeared'in America, please let me know. Until then, I'll not buy into the wild-eyed conspiracy theories that say our rights are being systematically destroyed.
I'm not saying our rights are being destroyed. I am making an observation of how Bush and his cabal have behaved. Does the Bush administration support corporations over individuals?
Do they engage in propaganda?
Do they support the military over every other aspect of government?
Yes to all is how it seems to me.
Fascism is not defined soley by the states ability to dissapear people. That is only one aspect of a totalitarian government. We do have cases of this though. We call it extrordinary rendition.
I didn't say we were a totalitarian state. We are still transitioning from a democracy so it will take them a while to dismantle the infrastructure. The difference between being there and here is time. Hopefully we will be able to pull out of the nosedive and regain our greatness. As for Rush (never met a percocet I didn't take)Limbaugh, he is a gassbag. But if you believe him I feel sorry for you. Check your facts and watch what they are doing not what they are saying.
And I say to you again that you are confusing a nation at war with a nation trending towards fascism. I doubt you'll ever understand the difference because I suspect you are a liberal, and liberals are notorious for not looking at historical evidence.
The minor inconveniences to our privacy are nothing compared to the liberties we had suspended in other wars. They are also nothing compared to the horrors carried out by fascism in the very first year of Hitler's reign. Fascism doesn't trend evil. It's instantly evil and horrible, and just gets worse after that.
"Does the Bush administration support corporations over individuals?"
I'm not sure, but I definitely hope so. Corporations contain thousands of individuals and give 90%(?) of Americans jobs. They're pretty important to our well being.
"Do they engage in propaganda?"
Sadly, yes. And almost to the level of Michael Moore and Nancy Pelosi.
"Do they support the military over every other aspect of government?"
I don't even know how that would be possible. Are you asking if he's shut down other departments to give the military more cash or something?
As I said, these things do not point to fascism, they point to government. It would be quite possible for the answer to each of the 14 factors to be 'yes' and you would still be living in a non-fascist peaceful democracy. The list is bogus. Stick with the freedom of speech rule, or the 'disappeared' rule.
Scot also forgets the human nature aspect of what makes Americans distinct from every other nation/people on this planet: Individualism and the right of liberty and freedom. That freedom results in something spectacular in how it affects the American mindset: We are guaranteed 'freedom to' and 'freedom from'. That is what liberty is all about.
Does anyone in their right mind actually think Americans would roll over and willingly give up that liberty?
Not. a. chance.
.
Ahhh, a fine rant, Kevin! I did my own little rant on Jimmuh, too.
He's a waste of skin!
Commenting by HaloScan
