...from a fan of Democracy: April 2008

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Care to rephrase?

Buried on page A7, and available here, the Houston Chronicle reported today that President Bush has admitted he knew of meetings approving torture and that he himself approved those methods.

There are a couple of concerns here.

First, Shrub might want to rephrase or (at least) recall his statements that America does not torture.

Second, this is why it is important to read the papers on Saturday and Sunday. Government has long used the tactic of releasing sensitive news on Friday, knowing that most people pay little attention to the news on the weekend.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Sunrise Regulator...

These are from a recent PS contest on Fark. The original was the Yamaha drum machine. I thought of the ad first, then thought it would be cool to show The Sunrise Regulator at work. I first thought of putting it in a "Heavenly Office" with a sign saying, "Attention visitors! Please do not fuck with the Sunrise Machine. Thank you! God", but I never got around to putting it all together. I came across the picture of Coco the gorilla for another contest and kept it because I like the amused look on her face. I'm still playing around with the second image... Email me if you want a larger file.

War on the installment plan...

At the risk of becoming a (liberal) dittohead, here's a link to MoveOn's latest video. This one highlights how we've been told success in Iraq is nigh on top of us, sometime in the next six months... and if not then, the next six months... and if not then, well, soon... maybe after the next evaluation in six months...

Bottom line... Bush will be successful in keeping the Iraq war going as long as he is president. Just when I thought he was incapable of telling the truth...

America has a problem. It's current incarnation is called George Bush.

The 14 Points of Fascism

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. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
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 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 is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
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.

...from a fan of Democracy

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Care to rephrase?

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Sunrise Regulator...

War on the installment plan...

Me with Bozo

About Me

Links

The 14 Points of Fascism

Blog Archive

Counter