July 21, 2006

Coulter, the Republican War Machine, God and Country - War is Never Far Away

For those of you out there who believe that Democracy is a simple pill to swallow and that it will by itself "right " things, you all need to understand that the only way to right things is to be informed, to particiapte and to hold government accountable for its actions. The only way to sustain a Democracy and to sustain peace is to look through unobjective lenses at the politics unfolding around us. Otherwise, all can be lost. 

For those who believe that extreme partisansip is the only asnwer, read below:

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

Tags:   Coulter, fascism, voting, war Bush War Machine

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Posted on 7/21/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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July 14, 2006

Ann Coulter and her strange Connection to Hitler

Alegra, you make some good points.  But there is much more to all this than most Americans are willing to admit.

 http://www.nyc.com/people/AlegraDemos/blog/4783/Ann_Coulter_Issues_Fatwah_Against_the_New_York_Times

 Ann is a Fascist - there are no two ways around this definition of her rhetoric.

Like Hitler, who was appalled at what he saw as a lack of conviction among Germans during World War 1, especially those who declared themselves “anti-war", Ann coulter is equally appalled by those Americans currently opposed to the war in Iraq.

Like Hitler, Coulter is convinced of an anti-war conspiracy, this time spread through the media, rather than the Jews.

Like Hitler, Coulter seeks to inflame the passions of the working class, telling them that all of their problems, and indeed all of the Country’s problems, are the fault of those she views as “anti-American”, a definition that clearly parallels what Hitler called “anti-Nationalist”.

Coulter knows the lessons of history well – in order to create a conspiracy theory and to inflame the underclass, she must give them an enemy. For her the enemy consist of those who disagree with her and the media outlets that allow these same people to voice their views.

Like Hitler, Coulter finds that many in the Republican Party are not right-wing enough, that they do not go far enough and that therefore they are part of the conspiracy. It is her belief that dissent is proof of anti-Americanism and that dissent puts the Nation at risk. By seeming to arouse patriotism and the use it to bolster her notions of what Democracy is, she hopes to create an environment whereby the majority has the absolute right. In her models of government, due process can be sidestepped when conspiracy threatens the state. She believes that she able to identify and define conspiracy and its product, treason.

Like Hitler, Coulter has been dismissed by many pundits. However, we all must remember that the more hysteria there was in Germany, the more notoriety Hitler gained from that hysteria. Coulter in the same way attracts attention to herself by attempting to create hysteria around the media.

Hopefully, all this furor will prevent anyone from rising up as Fuhrer, but don’t count on it. In an open Democracy, voices have to be heard, questions asked and the public informed. Coulter and others like her would have the Democracy closed. That is the current danger.

Tags:   Ann COulter, Ann Coulter and HItler, fascism, Hitler

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Posted on 7/14/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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July 12, 2006

Voter ID Cards, or Poll Tax Redux - Fascism marches on in the Red States

Several states have begun passing laws that require an official Voter ID Card in order for Citizens to cast a ballot. 

This requirement is nothing more than the Poll Tax reborn within the current climate of xenophobia and neo-911 authoritarianism.

Those in favor of such ID requirements argue that this will eliminate rampant voter fraud. However, there is no current evidence of such rampant fraud.

The clear and negative impact that these restructive laws will have is that they further complicate the lives of and strike at the self-esteem of the poor, the illiterate, the disabled, the new citizens and those who live in remote areas. But mostly these laws are a slap in the face to the poor. What further burdens shall be places on those who live in grinding poverty, who have no access to healthcare, who live hand to mouth, who have the poorest schools and no access to better education, who have no one who really represents them?

Poverty is not a moral issue. But the Bush administration, his cadre of neo-cons and the many powerful business lobbies who direct policy have all joined forces to blame the individual for the sins of the society and to shout out to the citizenry, "If you are poor and underclass, you are morally bankrupt, and like your brethren in the penal system, you not deserve a vote."

We are moving ever closer to two classes of citizen - the Imperial and the Plebian. In a fair and reasonable society, where the common good is not sacrificed for the vulgar pursuit of ostentatious wealth, it is up to those who have to protect those who have not. It is time for all Americans to stand up and shout down this horrifying chipping-away at the Bill of RIghts.

Write letters now; join an organization; write a letter to the editor; do something, but for the love of Democracy, do not wait until it's too late!

Tags:   Bill of Rights, Bush, business lobbies, fascism, neo cons, red states, Viter ID cards, voter fraud, voter registration

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Posted on 7/12/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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July 07, 2006

On the DIrect Path to Neo-Democracy, or Republican Visions of the Future

Everyone should be following very carefully the immigration bills festering in both the House and Senate. 

Aside from the fact the both are so short-sighted as to be blindly myopic, the drivers behiond them represent xenophobic states with long histories of willful disregard of Civil Liberties.  But don't try talking to them.  If you speak the words "Civil Liberties" to them, they will label you a Liberal and eviscerate you and your unborn on Fox News.  They continue their assualt on the Others by finding reasons to jail them, and to prevent them from participating in an open society.

You cannot reason with these people.  They have a clear view of what they want the US to be.  It is this:

1. White majority
2. Christian-based education
3. Christian-based laws
4. English only
5. Heterosexual only
6. Free of any social programs for the underclass - the underclass are morally responsible for their own underclass-ness
7. Disenfranchisement of those who cannot pass the litmus test - and that test changes with the whim of the day
8. Free of knowing what those abroad think of us
9. One President, forever and ever
10. Oil-based ecnomony free of pesky endangered species

The immigration bills now circulating are the first step towards creating the ideal Republican society.

Please note, and this is very important - the bills seek to re-define the whole notion of "citizenship by birth".  If your parents are not citizens at the time of your birth, then neither are you. 

This is a very serious bit of legislation that befits countries like Malaysia and Germany.  That means no rights, no votes, no nothing, and deporation at the drop of a hat.  What a disgusting way to wrap up an already repulsive administration's day on the job.

This is xenophbonia at its absolute worst!

Tags:   Bush, citizenship by birth, ciudadano por nacimiento, droit du territoire, illegal aliens, immigration bill, xenophobia, zenophobia

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Posted on 7/7/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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July 05, 2006

The Meaning of the Revolution

Every revolution needs meaning, begs for it, chases it like a snake's tale.  Cuba has been having one continuous revolution for three or four generations now, depending on whom you ask.  The American Revolution was a mercantile one, arguing that Free Enterprise is a basic Human Right.  It was not a revolution based on solely on a set of ideologies determined to deconstruct and then reconstruct a system, a set of principles and social mores.  It was about Business.

America is still all about Business.  The Bush Administration has circled the wagons around Big Business, treating these massive Corporations as thought they were rugged pioneers settling the heathen.  The rest of us, of course, mean nothing.  No one in the Bush Administration is circling the wagons around the average Joe. 

If the Founding Fathers could see us now, they would worry that Monarchy and its entitled privileged class has been replaced by Big Business and its privileged Lobby class (the only Americans with direct access to Lawmakers); they would worry that the Presidency is now conferred rather than duly elected; they would be shocked that gross excess has replaced the notion of hardwork and fellowship; they would be alarmed by the self-celebratory pop culture that dominates the news and the media; they would be more alarmed at the media for being the weakest link in the chain of democratic ideals; they would be sickened by the sheer number of graduating High School seniors who are functionally illiterate; they would be heartbroken by the likes of Cheney, who has ruined America's image abroad; they would be devastated by a war of aggression in a foreign land; they would cry at the gutting of the balance of power and the packing of the Supreme Court with mediocrity and ideologs placed there not to be a beacon to Constitutinal Law but rather to gut that very document; and last but not least they would be horrified at the litigious society that we have allowed to fester under the guise of Justice.

What would they be proud of?  I wish we could ask them.  But if they were alive today, Fox News would no doubt attack and eviscerate them for the sake of ratings.

Tags:   Bush, Cheney, imperial presidency, revolution

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Posted on 7/5/2006 ( Permanent Link )
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