With apologies to Lewis Carroll: The time has come to speak of many things
of sails and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. Well, maybe not but I
have a big announcement. All the pieces are coming together for the launch of a
new website designed to bring visibility to the issue of fascism. I would like
everyone's advice on what should be included on a website designed to provide a
unifying issue for as many people as possible.
Let me start with the
soundbite version of tonight essay. While I know there aren't many fascists, do
you know that if the conservatives got everything they wished for, this country
could become a fascist state?
That's the question we should be presenting to
everyone.
I hear you saying, “Has Tom lost it?” “C'mon Tom, last week you proved
that conservatives were fascist,.” and “Tom, for two months you have been the
most vocal anti-fascist out here, you are even trying to start an anti-fascist
movement.” You can all stop worrying about me. The fact that there are no
fascists is the secret behind the entire movement. We have to show the country
that while there may not be any fascists, except for one reportedly Ann-orexic
Coul-dhearted syndicated columnist and a few other well known broadcasters, the
groups that have aligned together to form the conservative movement, when taken
as a whole, could very easily create a fascist state without anyone realizing
it.
The conservative movement in this country actually consists of
disparate groups who have aligned themselves together. While many people fit
into multiple categories I doubt there are very many that fit every category to
the point of being completely fascist.
The first group is what I
will call the American supremacists. You know this group by their more accepted
name, neocons. These people believe that America deserves to be the leader of
the world because we are America. They want to use our economic and military
might to dictate terms to the world because if we don't the world will dictate
its terms to us. With America's economic might dwindling they are pushing harder
with the military might. Their motto would be might is right.
The
second group is the social Darwinians. These people believe the constant
competition of a dog eat dog world improve the country. They want to completely
eliminate social programs in the belief that since everyone has the same
opportunities everyone can succeed. They fail to realize that the playing field
is not level but actually becoming more and more slanted every day. They also
want to eliminate all welfare programs because they only allow people to survive
without contributing to the greater good. Their motto would be root hog or
die.
The third group are the theocrats. These are the ones who want
their own version of Biblical Law to become the law of the land. They want to
revise history to justify their contentions that this country is something it is
not. These people want a Christian nation under Jewish law because they believe
that is the only way God will bless the country.
The next group is
the scared rabbits. These people live in their rabbit holes and are scared to
the point to which they gladly allow the Government to do whatever it want to do
in order in give them some sense of safety.
The last group are the
corporatists, who believe money is power and will do anything to maintain that
power. They only care about their profits today and have persuaded the others
that strong corporations will ensure a strong country.
These groups
have come together because their individual agendas are mutually exclusive in
that they can all get what they want while allowing the other groups to get what
they want.
The first goal needs to be to show as many people as
possible that this threat is real and then getting a larger coalition to join
together to bring some balance back into government. The proof is all around us,
but the challenge comes in presenting the facts of the possibility of fascism in
such a way that enough people can be drawn into that larger
coalition.
I try to present these facts in a way as not to turn away
anyone who may believe. I ask for everyone's critique as to how well I have been
doing and ask for suggestions in how to continue.
New
Readers note These are the main Diaries, with commentary, from
the last few days that relate, in my opinion, to the possibility that this
country is becoming a Corporate Nationalistic Anti-Communistic State. I want to
remind everyone that is just part of a much larger series and the citations here
only reflect a few days. The entire series presents many more events that have
occurred in just the last three months. If you missed the previous editions
click here for
them.
And now back to your regularly scheduled diary
listings
Mosquito Pilot, who ran
for Congress as a libertarian, informed us that
Sunshine defeats
fascism. The conclusion is exactly what I have been trying to convey:
To save this country, we must talk with one another.
Agree to listen. Agree to disagree. Fascism wins through assumptions that
everyone agrees and fear to confront a perceived majority. Talking to one
another here on Daily Kos is a great start, but we have to get out of the echo
chamber and talk to our friends, neighbors and coworkers.
This is
how we defeat fascism, one conversation, one person at a time.
These
people do not want a fascist country. We must break the grip of fear and the
only way to do that is one person at a time.
1. Powerful
and continuing expression of nationalism.
Cold Fusion04 hit it big
with an excellent diary on the right wing ideals that
Hard Work Will Set You
Free. He was able to pin down the source of a new ad campaign that is
promoting fascist ideals as Christian billionaire
Philip
Anschutz. This ad campaign seems like the stuff you would have seen popping
up in Italy and Germany during the 1930s when they were energizing the masses
with the virtue of fascism.
2. Disdain for the importance of
human rights.
Meteor Blades hit it
big, as usual, with the observation that
Torture Isn't the
Crime; Publicizing It Is. Jonah Goldberg did a
phone
interview with Salon's Mark Follman regarding why the right has been so
quiet on the issue of torture. His conclusion that torture is actually a good
way to get information and those who use it were justified. The problem comes
when we publicize torture and give our enemies a propaganda victory. After
reading the responses I added that “the wingers don't care about torture, they
don't understand that when Christ was sent to be tortured, before returning to
Pilate for sentencing, it was because he claimed innocence and Pilate wanted Him
to admit to His "crimes" before sentencing Him.” which received some very good
feedback.
Susan
Hu decoded a message from
Bagram to Abu Ghraib:
"Aren't you kind of babying them?" The leading citation in the diary was:
[Chris] Mackey [a former interrogator at Bagram] says
... "[T]here was horrible incompetence at the leadership and oversight level.
[The prison] was practically a Disney ride, with lots of higher-ups and
officials coming through. But the common response we got was, Aren't you kind
of babying them?"
So the senior officers thought Bagram's
detention facility where interrogation techniques were developed and tested was
a “Disney ride” before the unit was at Bagram was sent to Abu Ghraib. Susan
gives a much better presentation that brings together many other disturbing
reports that indicate that Abu Ghraib was not just a few rogues having a frat
party. I can't do justice to her story with a few lines so I encourage everyone
to
read the entire diary.
3. Identification of
enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
C. Delia wants to make sure we
Don't Trust the
Census. The Census Bureau has provided the Homeland Security Department
breakdowns of how many people of Arab descent live in each city along with a
detailed listing of total Arabs by Zip Code broken down by nation of origin.
This is the type of information that was used to round up the Japanese at the
start of WWII. The Electronic information privacy center
(Epic.org) has
the specifics and copies of the related documents. The theocrats and the scared
rabbits would be the first to call for the lock-up of the
Arabs.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
Mike Dallas
23 let us know that his
Repub. Congressman
says that we should nuke Syria. Rep. Sam Johnson during a meeting with
President Bush and fellow Rep. Kay Granger actually said "Syria is the problem.
Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I
can fly an F-15, put two nukes on `em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to
worry about Syria anymore." He is drunk on the Kool-Aid. It seems the President
didn't let him in on the secret that the Russians didn't move the WMD's to
Syria. I called my Congressman Louis Gohmert's office to express my displeasure
at this. We need to get the truth of this out for all to
see.
5. Rampant Sexism.
If you believe that
since nothing is listed here it does not exist you need to see my
previous editions.
6. A complaisant mass media.
Incertus has discovered
The Power of Headlines
to Piss Me Off. It appears that MSNBC's web site is running a headline that
“GOP, Dems seek Social Security middle ground” but when you read the article
there is no indication that either the Democrats or the Republicans are actually
seeking middle ground on Social Security. This plays to those who only read
headlines to make them believe that there is a compromise being worked on. Now
when no action is taken on Social Security reform the Democrats can be blamed
for not seeking compromise.
STOP George has found
Further Evidence of
Blatant Censorship by MSM. Over 300 newspapers pulled Boondocks from their
papers for mentioning the Doug Wead tapes that show President Bush insinuating
that he used Marijuana as well as Cocaine. The Chicago Tribune stated that the
reason was that the comic strip did not present a proven fact. When newspapers
decide that they must present only print proven facts they will become extremely
thin.
7. Obsession with national security.
RN in NC
presented the case of a
KY Teen Arrested as
Terrorist for Writing Fiction. This boy's story about zombies taking over a
High School is somehow interpreted as a terrorist manifesto. I guess the Dept.
of Homeland Security has to crackdown on voodoo practitioners who control the
zombies. I wonder why Buffy's writers aren't in jail. The local newspaper,
The
Winchester Sun, said the boy was actively recruiting others to take over the
school which, if true, would make this a planned Columbine. The question of
whether this belongs under obsession will not be settled until more facts are
presented.
8. Religion and ruling elite are tied together.
Rose
Eriter brought us an interesting source that supports my position in
Discipleship Vs
Democracy. From
Rev. John
Dear.
Most North American Christians are now becoming more
and more like these hypocritical Pharisees. We (Christians) side with the
rulers, the bankers, and the corporate millionaires and billionaires.
We
have become a mean, vicious people, what the bible calls “stiff-necked people.”
And we do it all with the mistaken belief that we have the blessing of
God.
The theocrats who wish more that anything else for God to Bless
this country have become disciples of the Pharisees and not the
Christ.
Chilly Willy1126 found
for us this tidbit from Tom
DeLay: No Separation
b/t Church and State. I guess he forgets that there is this thing called the
Establishment Clause in the first Amendment. The Ten Commandment monuments,
posters, and plaques that are being put up in government buildings are nothing
but an establishment of religion, period!
9. Power of
corporations protected.
If you believe that because nothing is
listed here it doesn't exist, you need to see my
previous
editions.
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
If you believe that since nothing is listed here it does not
exist you need to see my
previous
editions.
11. Disdain for the arts and Intellectuals.
Snowbelt,
at my urging, developed some
More Arts numbers.
This time the numbers include percent of GDP which show the US is even further
behind the rest of the world when it comes to support for the Arts. The $6
Dollars per capita is only 0.02% of GDP compared to Germany's 0.36%, France's
0.26% and Finland's 0.47%.
12. Obsession with crime and
punishment.
If you believe that since nothing is listed here it
does not exist you need to see my
previous editions.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
Modigliani announced that the
PAC formed by House Majority Leader Tom
Delay Used Illegal
Money to Wing Texas Legislature. The story which appears on
Yahoo
is about how the defeated Democrats in Texas has filled a civil suit which
accuses DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority of funneling funds from
corporate contributors to races of republican state house candidates in 2002.
DeLay is placing the blame on John Colyandro, the committee's executive
director. I hope they can put enough pressure on Colyandro to finger
DeLay.
Animaux
added to this story with the fact that a
Former Bush adviser
says GOP political action committee broke laws. The Austin American
Statesman reported that the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission,
Trevor Potter, testified Tuesday that Texans for a Republican Majority violated
state election laws. And he is a Republican. This hopefully will lead to the
whole truth behind where the money came from that turned Texas red.
Krazy Puppy added an
interesting tidbit to this story with
4 PRESS: Tx Speaker
SHREDS Delay Docs! According to the
NY
Times on Monday;
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick was excused from taking
the witness stand after he acknowledged through his lawyers that his office had
distributed $152,000 in donations raised by the committee to Republican
candidates in the months before his election as speaker, and after conceding
that he and his staff might have shredded documents about the committee. The
interesting part is that Craddick was running for speaker at the time so the
donations were illegal under Texas Law. Here is the link for the latest
New York Times
latest article
Staying Positive
informed us that
More than 1,000
whistleblower cases dropped. In just the last year the Justice Department
has dismissed or discontinued the investigations of over 1000 cases. The reason
given was incomplete paperwork:
"According to Scott Bloch [Bush-appointed Special
Counsel] there is no waste, fraud or abuse in the federal government that
deserves investigation," stated Ruch [Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility Executive Director], noting that there may be even more
dismissals than Bloch reported because the numbers cited above are limited to
what was defined as a backlog and do not include new cases.
In order to
speed dismissals, Bloch instituted a rule forbidding his staff from contacting a
whistleblower if their disclosure was deemed incomplete or ambiguous. Instead,
OSC would simply dismiss the matter. As a result, hundreds of whistleblowers
never had a chance to justify why their cases had merit.
SP forgot the
link so I am providing the link to the
Common Dreams
Article that brings all the sources together.
Murshed Z gave us an
ACTION ALERT: Call
Congress to Lobby for Paper Trail Ballots. I called both my Senators and
expressed support for S-330 and my Congressman to support HR-550. Since they are
all Republican's I doubt it did any good.
14. Fraudulent
elections.
If you believe that since nothing is listed here it
does not exist you need to see my
previous
editions.
Class Warfare.
R Spear wants to know if you
believe that the Bankruptcy reforms are just a case of
Robbing Peter to Pay
Enron? The corporatists and the social Darwinians will assuredly praise this
Legislation.
Norwood discovered an example in
FL: Resegregation
goal is reached in Tampa schools. It appears that the school choice program
in Florida is allowing upper and middle income students to go to the best
schools where lower income and minority students who live closer to the best
schools actually have to go to the under performing schools. While choice
programs sound good the problems come when more money is pumped into the higher
performing schools and the families who have the means to transport their
children to the better schools are undoubtedly the ones to do so. You take a
nice area and build a school with room to grow and instead of allowing the lower
income students from the fringes of the district in you allow those who have
means to bring their children from other middle and upper income areas to the
best schools. While the social Darwinians believe these programs allow the cream
to come to the top the truth is that those who do not already have the means to
get to these schools are the ones left behind.
Silence broke down to inform us
about
More
Community Reinvestment Act changes. In a Friday afternoon, as usual, press
release the Treasury Dept. announced proposed changes to the Community
Reinvestment Act that exempt many mid-sized banking institutions and to redefine
community investment. This would be a win for the corporatists if we can't stop
it.
Silencing Dissent
DavidNYC posted a front page
story that quoted
Rep. Gibbons (R-NV):
Liberals Should Be Human Shields in Iraq. Even though
Anglico touched on this with a
recommended diary that came out a half hour before David's piece that said
Ed Schultz challenges
blogosphere. Ed Shulltz is calling on us to take on Gibbons Comments that
Republicans should have sent liberals to Iraq to be human shields. He basically
wished the liberals would have been killed off during the bombing and invasion
in Iraq. That may not be silencing dissent but it shows that Gibbons regretted
the fact that the Republicans didn't. I think what this actually shows is they
are running scarred.
Propaganda
Lawnorder sent me an E-mail
recommending inclusion of his diary on
Hippo Eats Dwarf,
German post War resistance same as Iraq's. This is about the Pentagon's
attempt at revisionist history when they tell us about all the insurgents in
post WWII Germany and Japan. I wish we could have had a chance to ask why the
“insurgencies” after WWII which produced
zero casualties is being used to
mitigate the Iranian insurgency? Sometimes you just understand why those in
power don't want the populace to know history.
Nscda found the official report
that the
Soc. Sec.
Admin. is Undermining Public Confidence. Senate Democrats have produced a
report on
Politicization
of the Social Security Administration that concludes:
A careful review of the public communications of the
Social Security Administration reveals a systematic change in emphasis. Although
the solvency of the Social Security system has improved over the last four
years, the public communications from the agency have grown more dire.
Assurances that Social Security will “be there” and is a “foundation on which to
build your financial future” have been replaced by warnings that the system is
“unsustainable” and “under funded.” The new tone of the communications echoes
President Bush’s message on Social Security, raising questions about the
political independence of the Social Security Administration.
Does
anyone think that this is not Government Propaganda?
Dave Weigel found a perfect
example of GOP propaganda when he found that the
RNC publishes
fabricated Dean quote. Instead of getting a correct quote from the official
transcript of Howard Dean's comments at Cornell University the
Republican National Committee
published Bob Novak's misquote from CNN's Inside Politics where Novak
accused Dean of saying that Social Security recipients “would lose 80%” of their
benefits instead of having their benefits “reduced to 80%.”
D Day added on Tuesday that
The heavens open: CNN
corrects Novak quote. CNN's Judy Woodruff apologized and said "we're happy
to make the correction."
Jillian discovered that
The Governator Uses
Fake News Story to Push Agenda. Governor Schwarzenegger sent a government
created tape to local news offices with instructions on how to make the tape
appear as an actual news story. The tape promotes legislation to eliminate
mandatory lunch periods for hourly employees. It seems our favorite Austrian is
learning from the best.
There is hope! Here are some
articles on a way to fight back.
This section is devoted to
those who have done something and are sharing their stories, those who have
suggestions for ways to be active, and those who cry out for immediate action. I
do what little I can. I am becoming active in my local blue county in the
biggest red state. I plan to do as much as I can when called upon. I'm sure I
missed many of these Diaries this week so my apologies to all.
David W in S. F. wants
us all to do a small part to
Help stop torture -
support Markey's bill. We need to all contact our representatives and voice
our support for "The Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act" which Re. Markey is
introducing. The Bill is available at House.gov as
HR
952 and has over 30 Democratic Co-Sponsors. This is the perfect type of
ammunition to follow and then use against the Republicans if they don't let it
into or out of Committee.
Pounder provided the details on
How to build a
local progressive organization.
Rena R.F. gave us a look at her
letter on
Propagannon: My Letter
to the Editor.
Kossacks in Action: Running for Office
or Working for Candidates.
NEW INFO ADDED
WEEKLY!
[new]
Jeff Seemann
For Congress is back in action since he's
running for US House
in 2006. Jeff made his announcement that includes
his website and his
blog.
Susie Turnbull who is a new
DNC Vice Chair wanted to send a personal
Thank You from Susie
Turnbull.
Kt. in
TX let us know that
His Father Filed for
Office Today in Texas. On Monday
Tom
Musselman officially filed to run for the City Council of Fredericksburg,
Texas. K.T. is encouraging everyone to publicize his father's web site;
Tom Musselman for Fredericksburg City
Council
Simon Rosenberg, who
has had a DailyKos account since Dec. 23, 2004, produced a diary to tell us,
Fellow Kossaks,
that he was dropping out of the DNC race and endorsing Howard Dean. Let him know
you still support him and thank him for the gesture. Also thank him for being
willing to be called a
Fellow
Kossack.
R.C.
Vanoz also announced that
She's running for
Congress! This came soon after Dr. Matt's announcement (only one diary
separated the two). She followed up with
Shout out to Colorado
Dems! (w/ poll) where she wants to know who is in Colorado and where they
are to see if she can find local support from fellow Kossacks. It seems on four
people were in Colorado. If your there let her know.
[new]
Byron Miller is running for the
House in Pennsylvania and this week asked us to
Take Democracy to
Lunch. He is asking for donations to his Campaign no matter how
small.
[new] Tim,
ttagaris, Tagaris wanted to
know if you
Got
Five Minutes? Here's how you can help right now. Tim believes that somewhere
out there, there is a video of Rick Santorum tripping over a chair while racing
out of a room after being confronted by PFLAG members. Nothing says leadership
like falling on your face. Kind of like he did during his Social Security
town-hall meetings. Go find it for them. Tim added that
The Time Is Now: It's
About Progressive Values (PA Sen.). With Barbara Hafer and Bob Casey Jr's
possible entry into the Pennsylvania Senate race it's time to push Chuck
Pennacchio who is not only a Kossack but the progressive
candidate.
[new]
Chuck
Pennacchio for US Senate has finally posted his own Diary to give us
A Personal
Introduction. Go get to know Chuck. Chuck spent a lot of time answering
questions and discussing issues and strategy in the diary.
Thank you so much
was the first diary from Senator
Barbara Boxer, who is
now an official Kossack. You need to
subscribe in order to
not miss any of her posts.
[new] The
Senate
Democratic Communications Center gave us a well documented analysis of
Bush's Budget: Hiding
the Cost of Privatization while Increasing the Uninsured. I
subscribed
to them so I would not miss out on anything they post. And so should
you.
Some Excellent Series'
Advisor Jim is having a field
day with his
Confessions of a Dittohead.
J.R. Monsterfodder is
still doing his new series on how
Wal-Mart Deceives the American
Public
MH in
PA has started
PILR: Progressive Infogeek Listserv
Roundup.
Scott Bateman is good for a
laugh and some thought with
Today's Bateman cartoon
Pam in Durham has her weekly
LGBT News Roundup. This provides news on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transsexual war fronts against the right wing Republicans and other
bigots
Pastor
Dan has started a
"What's in the Bible" series to go with his
W
eekly Sermon and
Religious News Roundup.
Jeffrey Feldman's
Frameshop is open again.
Seattle Liberal has
started the
Nerd Network News (This Week's Science Diaries) too try and
keep everyone on top of the Nerd's. Go see what's there.
Rub DMC's Iraq War Grief Daily
Witness (photo) series if you "can handle the truth" and give mojo
too.
Newsie8200 Does an excellent
job with
Newsie's Week In Reviewsies and
Newsie's Media News
Monday!
While I stand by my comments as my opinion based on
available evidence I cannot vouch for the opinions expressed in any diary titles
since they were presented as quotes from the Authors. Unless otherwise noted I
do not necessarily endorse the opinions contained within the diaries I have
listed.