NYT Editorial Sounds The Alarm

We are inching, ever closer, to living in a fascist dictatorship.

Despite the fact that many distinguished authors, historians, and experts of every stripe have recognized this threat for several years, it is only now that the main stream media is starting to catch on.

The threat goes beyond the president’s signing statements or the fact that it is now easier for him to institute martial law. It goes beyond the civil rights violations of the Patriot Act. It is, in fact, a disease which has infected our institutions, our way of thinking, and the ways in which we relate to the world, and to each other.

Lawrence W. Britt wrote an essay once, identifying the major characteristics of a fascist state. Let us go through these similarities now, and see if there is anything we would recognize:

THE FOURTEEN POINTS OF FASCISM

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. The recent snafu over flag burning is an example of this sort of nationalism–the symbols of the nation are more important than the deeper values those same symbols embody. Criticism of the President, or any of America’s actions are seen as an act of treason.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The United States has shown a shocking level of contempt for human rights, both at home and abroad. Prisoner abuse, widespread discrimination against women, blacks, Hispanics, and homosexuals are a few examples of those who have had their human rights trampled upon domestically. Internationally, the prisoner abuse at Gitmo and the “secret renditions” of political enemies are other examples.

3.  Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. Basically, anyone in the US who is not a white, rich, republican male is seen as a potential enemy of the state–the demonization of Muslims, Hispanics, and homosexuals, and the labelling of liberals as “traitors” by some of the more extreme elements of the right.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ever notice how the military is–at least on the surface–glorified by the Bush administration and its supporters. Supporting the troops means supporting the war–not whether or not those troops survive to come home to their families.

5. Rampant sexism. Women make 70% of what men earn for doing the same job. Despite the fact that the majority of women work, they still perform most childcare and household chores. Domestic violence is rampant, and yet women who seek help must often weigh the dangers of staying in an abusive relationship against a loss of financial security. Domestic violence victims–like rape victims–are often blamed for the crimes committed against them. The media portays women as sex objects, while religious groups try to limit birth control and abortion–pushing the view that a woman’s only purpose is to have babies and serve as a domestic slave to her husband. 

6. A controlled mass media. Ever notice how new outlets such as Fox news glorify anything the Bush Administration does?

7. Obsession with national security.Airport security–to the point of ridiculousness, the NSA wiretaps, and increasing invasions of Americans’ privacy are examples of how this country is obsessed with national security. Often, those put on the no fly list have nothing to do with terrorism–they are instead, individuals who have publicly disagree with something the government has done.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.The push for prayer in schools and the display of the ten commandments, and the inordinate influence the religious right has on the political process are examples of how religion and the state are becoming intertwined.

9. Power of corporations protected. Corporate welfare, anyone? Globalization continues to fatten the pockets of the country’s largest corporations, at the expense of workers. Corporate campaign donations count for more than the opinions of the majority of citizens when bills are up for a vote in Congress. The recent difficulty Democrats faced in raising the minimum wage showjust how powerfully the dollars of corporate America influence the government. In Appalachia, coal companies routinely destroy entire communities, and pollute the environment so badly that large portions of the population suffer from myriad health problems. When citizens complain, their concerns are often seen as frivolous by state and federal governments.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Unions are almost a thing of the past, and workplace safety rules are either eliminated or ignored. Often, the fines imposed for violations of worker safety rules are negligible.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. College professors who “step out of line” and openly voice dissent can face dismissal. Education is not seen as a process of enriching the mind–it is seen as a means of preparing the population to serve the money-making interests of corporations.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. The war on drugs has placed many non-violent individuals in prison–for long terms–while the torture and maltreatment of prisoners is overlooked or even cheered. Often, the poor and minorities are targeted by law enforcement agencies, while the wealthy break the law with impunity.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Enron. Halliburton. Tom DeLay. Tom Foley….

14. Fraudulent elections. Both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were rife with irregularities. Active attempts to suppress the votes of liberals–or anyone who might vote Democratic, such as blacks or women, are widespread.

The question is not whether or not we are living in a fascist society–the question is whether or not we will be like the “good Germans” who looked the other way as Hitler committed atrocities and ultimately destroyed his country. What will it take for America to wake up? 

Iran Attack Plans Revealed

Just as we all suspected–Bush has already laid plans to attack Iran:

US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country’s military infrastructure, the BBC has learned.

Alternatively, our correspondent adds, a high-casualty attack on US forces in neighbouring Iraq could also trigger a bombing campaign if it were traced directly back to Tehran.

That last thing is the clincher–Bushco has already been trying to make a case for claiming–on the flimsiest of evidence–that Iran has been supplying arms to the insurgents in Iraq. This will be the excuse they use–the troop surge will not doubt lead to a great loss of life among American troops–they will magically find evidence linking the death toll to Iran.

We Treat Our Soldiers Like Garbage

Years of Republican rule have taught us that the only people who matter in America these days are the ones who make the biggest campaign contributions. It should not surprise us anymore when we see blacks trampled upon, women derided, and poor people in general spit upon.

It should not come as a surprisethat the middle class can no longer afford to send their children to college, and face financial ruin in the event of injury or illness due to the unaffordabilty of health care.

But this story , published in WaPo, takes the cake. ..you would think that if anyone could expect to be treated with at least the minimum of decency and respect by our government, it would be our injured troops.

Instead, once released from the hospital, they are sent to stay in mold infested, rotting buildings that they share with cockroaches and mice. They, and their families, are given excessive amounts of run-around in order to get even the simplest of services. When they complain, they are told to suck it up and stop whining. These are not people suffering from minor injuries–these are troops who have lost limbs, suffered brain injuries–those who will have daily, physical reminders of their time in Iraq for the rest of their lives. Those who have sacrificed their youth, their vitality, their health, and their futures–for a war based on lies. For a war that does nothing but line the pockets of those who see them as nothing but cannon fodder.

Three of the Pilots Facing Kidnapping Charges In Germany Over “Renditions” Identified

Three of the pilots involved in secret CIA renditions of terror suspects to countries which allow torture have been identified by reporters with the LA Times. They have been charged with kidnapping and abusing Khaled Masri, a German citizen.

Follow the story at these links:

Pilots traced to CIA renditions

BREAKING: CIA “torture pilots” discovered

North Carolina Torture Pilots Discovered

Sadly, the real people responsible for these crimes will probably never be tried.

Murtha Is Right!

Ah…wingnuts on the march.

An editorial in WaPo today criticized Rep. Murtha for his statement regarding the debate that has been going on in the House.

 ”We have to be careful that people don’t think this is the vote,” the 74-year-old congressman said of the House’s 246-182 decision in favor of a resolution disapproving of President Bush’s troop surge. “The real vote will come on the legislation we’re putting together.”

The legislation he is putting together will help prevent the abuses that have been heaped upon our troops through “stop loss” measures that force them to stay in the military past their tour of duty, and will help to ensure they proper training. So what if it causes a “Constitutional crisis”? There has been a Constitutional crisis going on since Bush took office. We are one terrorist attack, one major natural disaster, one severe economic downturn away from living in a fascist dictatorship–Congress needs to do what ever is necessary to protect our freedoms, and undo the damage the “boy-king” has done during his time in office.

The author went on to claim that Murtha is “ignorant about conditions in Iraq” and went on to criticize Democrats who are opposed to the troop surge.

Interestingly, no author was attributed to this article. Given the opinion most Americans have of the war in Iraq, and those who support it, it’s no wonder.

New Orleans Residents Giving Up

The recovery in New Orleans is falling apart….and some residents are simply giving up. This, from the NYT:

Not because of some great betrayal — they had, after all, come back after losing everything in Hurricane Katrina — but a series of escalating indignities: the attempted carjacking of a pregnant friend; the announced move to Nashville by Ms. Larsen’s employer; the human feces deposited on their roof by, they suspect, the contractors next door; the two burglaries in the space of a week; and, not least, the overnight wait for the police to respond.

A year ago, Ms. Larsen, 36, and Mr. Langlois, 37, were hopeful New Orleanians eager to rebuild and improve the city they adored. But now they have joined hundreds of the city’s best and brightest who, as if finally acknowledging a lover’s destructive impulses, have made the wrenching decision to leave at a time when the population is supposed to be rebounding.

Their reasons include high crime, high rents, soaring insurance premiums and what many call a lack of leadership, competence, money and progress. In other words: yes, it is still bad down here. But more damning is what many of them describe as a dissipating sense of possibility, a dwindling chance at redemption for a great city that, even before the storm, cried out for great improvement.

New Orleans is dying, but it’s not from lack of trying by those who have sacrificed so much in order to make a go of it there. It’s because our formerly republican controlled government was too worried about making sure their wealthy friends get the maximum in tax breaks, corporate welfare, and juicy government contracts. Too busy sacrificing the lives of our young people in wars of aggression–than to worry about the suffering on the Gulf Coast. Too obsessed with figuring out ways to trample on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights–than to insure that the children of New Orleans are able to go to school. Too concerned about pandering to sexual phobias of the religious right–than to worry about doing anything about the crime that threatens the very lives of the citizens still trying to make it in New Orleans.

Thousands of people are suffering because of the criminal neglect the Bush Administration has shown towards the victims of what is the worst natural disaster in US history–and yet, despite the way he and Cheney have abused their positions, we still allow them to hold office.

When does the insanity stop?

The Most Hated Woman On The Internet

People like Michelle Malkin just don’t get it. You can’t be a blowhard who openly and joyfully approves of stuff as revolting as torture, interment, and racial profiling and expect normal, sane, reasonably moral people to not be repulsed by your views. Is she really so naive that she thinks people hate her simply  because of her looks or ethnicity?

From WaPo:

“They’ll ridicule my looks, ridicule my ethnicity, go after my family,” the 36-year-old blogger says of her critics. “They’ve attacked my husband relentlessly. There’s a strong sexist strain among my liberal critics, who think it isn’t possible I could have gotten anywhere without my Svengali husband, or some white man, embedding ideas in my head.”

She is symbolic of the belligerent, hate-mongering filth that has infested the right since the rise of neoconservatism. The real trouble with someone like her is not the fact that anyone with a brain would take her seriously–it’s the fact that there is a sizeable portion of people in this country who are so uneducated, bigoted, and morally bankrupt that they treat the obvious lies she spews on a regular basis as gospel.

Proposed Tennessee Bill Encourages Terrorism Against Women

Good lord–just when you think you’ve heard it all…

This, from an article published on MSNBC:

Legislation introduced in Tennessee would require death certificates for aborted fetuses, which likely would create public records identifying women who have abortions.

Republican Stacey Campfield touts the bill as a way to keep track of the number of abortions performed in the state. It was, of course, applauded by the Tennessee Right To Life.

But this bill has nothing to do with keeping track of the number of abortions performed in the state. What it really does is expose women in Tennessee to violence and harrassment. No doubt, given the record of violence of many anti-abortion groups, the persecution suffered by women in Tennessee would be horrible.  

No doubt, those who would back such a bill are aware of the implications such a law would have for Tennesssee’s women. But what’s a little violence, a few deaths among evil whores who have abortions if it gives anti-abortion groups the ability to terrorize all women in Tennessee?

This bill shows that “pro-lifers” really aren’t about promoting life–they are all about the domination and exploitation of women.

A big hillbilly thank you to R o o k over at Daily Kos for digging this article up.

Military Granting More Waivers To Criminals

It looks like the military is really getting desperate for cannon fodder these days–according to an NYT article, the number of waivers given to new recruits with criminal backgrounds has risen 65% over the last three years.

During that time, the Army has employed a variety of tactics to expand its diminishing pool of recruits. It has offered larger enlistment cash bonuses, allowed more high school dropouts and applicants with low scores on its aptitude test to join, and loosened weight and age restrictions.

It has also increased the number of so-called “moral waivers” to recruits with criminal pasts, even as the total number of recruits dropped slightly. The sharpest increase was in waivers for serious misdemeanors, which make up the bulk of all the Army’s moral waivers. These include aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and vehicular homicide.

The number of waivers for felony convictions also increased, to 11 percent of the 8,129 moral waivers granted in 2006, from 8 percent.

The difficulty the Army is having finding qualified recruits says a lot about how the American people feel about this war. That we are scraping the bottom of the barrel says a lot about the priorities of the Bush Administration. Notice that drug users and non-violent offenders received fewer waivers than individuals convicted of violent crimes like assault and burglary. You have to wonder–could it be that the military gives preference to the type of people who would be less likely to have a problem with torture, or killing in general over, for example, individuals who are otherwise very decent people–except for maybe getting caught once with a joint?

You have to wonder how many of the individuals involved in torturing people at Gitmo and other such installations had a criminal background–or if the increase in the number of violent offenders allowed in the military has anything to do with the reports of violence against innocent civilians we occasionally hear that American troops had a hand in.

More McCain Flip-Floppery

I just saw an awesome little video over at therealjohnmccain.com via a diary  by Davefromqueens over at Dailykos.

Go check it out…he’s such a bad liar he can’t keep his story straight within even a single conversation at times.

Now go and spread this far and wide–voters need to see what an enormous hypocrite he really is.