I appreciate tomtech's diligence in tracking signs of possible fascism in our society. There is so much information. I felt I needed to reorganize it a little to make it more useful (to me at least) as a one-stop anthology. tomtech based his organization on the 14 signs of a fascist society. from Free Inquiry Magazine. I used the seven categories from Robert Paxton's article, "The Five Stages of Fascism," The Journal of Modern History 70 (March 1998) p. 6,7, 22, 23). I chose Paxton's categories because fascism is
Paxton's field of expertise. His new book,
The Anatomy of Fascism came out last year. The most salient feature of fascism is the primary importance of the group to which individuals and individual thought must be subordinated. Cults share this extreme groupism with fascism.
Surprisingly, the grassroots right wonders if we should be keeping an eye on Europe for sign of a reemerging fascism there.
Events are listed in mostly reverse chronological order.
Another analysis of pre-emergent fascist trend can be found here.
The main purpose of this anthology is a tool to keep an eye on developments. Through activism, some developments may be reversed. Items will be added and deleted as appropriate. This is a work in progress; please feel free to suggest additions, elaborations, change of category, or comments.
I."The primacy of the group, toward which one has duties superior to every right, whether universal or individual." Every member has the duty to promote the group. Criticism of the group and its leader is characterized as, at best, unpatriotic, at worst, treason.
A. Importance of Loyalty
1. Christopher Smith (R-NJ, 4th Dist. booted off vets panel (Story link leads to registration screen)
- Constitutional amendment prohibiting desecration of flag.
- Torture witness shipped off as "insane" and here.
- Retaliation for refusing to falsify reports http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49647-2004Dec8?language=printer
- Nine out of fifteen cabinet officers replaced
- The CIA purges
- Sibel Edmonds and [the 9/11 coverup
- Tom Delay protected by fellow Republicans
- Former Bush officials now free to lobby for Bush agenda
New 10. Gonzales helps
Bush cover up his DUI
New 11.
Felons for Bush
New 12.
Keeping on eye on media sources
New 13. Private Social Security accounts ensure loyalty to corporations, thus
ensuring loyalty to Republican power
B. Nondisclosure and deception
- The rest of the 9/11 report.
- False reporting on Iraqi arms
- Social Security misreported. Reporting recently more even handed.
- Misplaced emphasis in Rathergate
- CBS News president Andrew Heyward summoned?
- Clear Channel refuses to air dissent ads.
- Media refuse to release exit poll data.
- Bush wants to condition our thinking on Social Security.
- Lack of news on Iraqi body count.
- Importance of free press
- CIA knew there were no WMD's
New 12. A scramble to
fire a whistleblower
Media Control
New 1. A number of pundits paid to promote Bush policies http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/28/paid.columnists.ap/]
New 2. NYT kills story detrimental to Bush.
New 3. Pro-Bush "journalist" planted at press briefings
New 4. Pentagon propaganda web sites
New 5. Distortion of news not against the law
II."The belief that one's group is a victim, a sentiment which justifies any action against the group's enemies, internal as well as external." Bush let the cat out of the bag on this one, when during the debates he said we went to Iraq because they attacked us. The White House continually conflates the war on Terrorism with the war in Iraq. One of the three legs of the war stool was that Saddam had connections with AlQueda.
A. Dealing with enemies, real or imagined
1. Efforts to oust Mohamed ElBaradei.
- CIA kidnaps muslims overseas.
- CIA torture flights. The CIA has a long history of supporting governments which slaughter their citizens with all sorts of ethically questionable tactics.
- A case of rendition.
- More abuse of Iraqis.
- Harsh methods at Guantánamo.
- Long-term detention plan. "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" (emphasis tomtech's)
- We could just vaporize them all.
- FBI criticized torture practices.
- Cameras and microphones on street corners
- Employees fired for secret reasons
- Suspected terrorist 11 years old
- Tenet calls for control of internet
- Internet surveillance
- Congressman objects to restriction of information flow
- FBI terrorist entrapment websites
- Conyers' reaction to Ohio court sanctions move
New 18.
"I've been chumped" and
contorted rationalization.
B. Domination of World Affairs
1. US warns against European GPS system.
New 2. US to determine appointees to Iraqi cabinet
III."Dread of the group's decadence under the corrosive effect of individualistic and cosmopolitan liberalism." Liberals are ruining the country, don't ya know.
A. Vilification for anti-war sentiments
1. Reaction to Al Neuharth's op-ed.
- Anti-war protest gets organizers kicked out of park but the park managers apologized later.
- Smearing of Seymour Hersh
B. Dealing with the evidence of "sin"
1. Using HIV kids as
guinea pigs.
2. Expelling
gay teen.
3. Gays as the
new Jews. Personally, I think Muslims are the new Jews. One Kossack said it's the same anti-semitism since both Jews and Muslins are descended from Abraham.
C. Liberals are the problem
1. Liberals are like terrorists. See quote at end of story.
New2. Help Mom! There are Liberals Under My Bed from World Ahead Publishing
IV."Closer integration of the community within a brotherhood (fascio) whose unity and purity are forged by common conviction, if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary. " The common conviction, in this case, appears to be the idea that God is on their side and they are advancing God's will. This view has become know as "dominionism", thus managing to unify white supremacy groups, survivalists and and other fringe "bible-thumping" groups.
A. Dismissal of World Opinion
1. Kellyanne Conway "what the hell do we care, what Europeans think about us"
2. World climate conference and here.
B. Propaganda
1.Film: No True Glory: the Battle for Fallujah starring Harrison Ford. We'll have to see how this comes out.
2.Soldiers given "talking points".
3.Pentagon weighs use of deception
4.Silencing of dissidents
5.Dissidents are mentally ill
6.Terror alerts to cause unnecessary fear
7.Negroponte tries to refashion reality
8.
C.Education
- High School Naval Academy. No big deal in and of itself, but bears watching.
- Teaching of revisionist history
V."An enhanced sense of identity and belonging, in which the grandeur of the group reinforces individual self-esteem. " The group is the smartest, most moral, most ethical subset of citizens in the country, so if I belong to this group I'm smart, moral and ethical, too, regardless of personal failings.
A. Symbolic and Ceremonial Reinforcement
1. Tsunami relief
a. Bush "one-ups" the UN and EU.
b. Bush's new coalition. Although some are arguing that the "core regional group" is nothing but Bush's cynical attempt to take over the aid program for the PR kudos and glory of American generosity, it is probably self-defeating to ascribe evil motives to every little thing. Let's see if the aid materializes.
VI."Authority of natural leaders (always male) throughout society, culminating in a national chieftain who alone is capable of incarnating the group's destiny." Seems to be a perfect description of Bush and his followers.
A. Government by Decree
1.President authorizes torture in FBI memo.
2.AG appointee Gonzales says president above the law http://slate.msn.com/id/2111962/].
3.HR 418 to suspend all law http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/query? See [Section 102.
4.
B. Political Theater
- Bush at Pendleton
- Medal of Freedom debased.
- Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball costing $50 million in private donations.
- "Mission Accomplished" photo op
New5.
Inauguration speech January 20, 2005 with it ringing tones of freedom which both Bush and his father backpedaled from.
New 6. Staged townhall meetings
excluding possible opposition
C. Blaming others
1. Nothing is ever Bush's fault. For balance, I googled "Clinton blames" (997 hits, some are actually Hillary hits) and "Reagan blames" (20 hits).
- Iraq is Clinton's fault.
- Iraq is the voters' fault.
D. Distraction from important issues
- Pelosi's little problem to distract from Delay's big problem
- Kos' little problem vs. Armstrong William's big problem
- Rather's little problem vs. Bush's big problem (no WMD's)
- Christmas [http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/261528p-223885c.html] vs the 2004 election.
D. Nepotism
1. Jeb Bush represents the US in Indonesia. Maybe he knows something about water disasters and maybe he doesn't.
VII."The beauty of violence and of will, when they are devoted to the group's success in a Darwinian struggle." Might makes right, after all.
A. Just Following Orders
1.Graner's defense and subsequent conviction for torture. We must remember that these soldiers are being convicted. War supporters argue that the convictions show that the US is committed to protecting human rights, and that it was, as they said, a few rogue soldiers. We must continue to keep an eye on Abu Gharaib news.
2.But if Rumsfeld ordered torture and Bush ordered torture, then we're talking about something more than a "few bad apples."
3.Guantanamo Prison.
B. Nation-Building
1. goal to "help the Iraqi people build a democratic, free, and peaceful future." Funny thing, though. The Iraqis did not ask for help.
- Next stop Iran
- Then Syria
- All that oil in Venezuela, the world's 5th largest oil exporting nation. This diary explains why.
C. Because We Can
- US sinks boats.
- Pentagon wants to break environmental rules.
- War profiteering
D. Nationalism
New1.
American Exceptionalism.
New 2.
Pax Americana or New Caliphate? A new CIA report.
E. Population Control
- Citizen processing center in Fallujah
- 44% of Americans favor limiting freedoms of Muslim-Americans. Didn't we learn anything from the internment of Japanese-Americans?
- Internment of Muslim-Americans recommended.
- National ID cards a possibility especially if they do away with Social Security.
- National ID cards here?
- Search without probable cause
- Homeland security state
- Bread and circuses--well, mostly bread
- The Mark of the Beast?
10.
F. Interfering with free and fair elections.
- Much of the information is collected here
- Hood and Martinez implicated in criminal ballot case
- Phantom votes in New Mexico
- Vote flipping in Florida
- Rent-a-riot
- Another great collection of election issues
- One more comprehensive summary
New 8. So Bush supporters really are not
more tight-lipped
New 9. More
Ohio fraud allegations