The administration of George W. Bush/Richard B. Cheney is fascist-yes or no.

[bobthedrummer]

No options, this is a fascist administration-yes or no.

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

[hedgetrimmer]

1. 90% of the whole f*cking government is. N/T

[bobthedrummer]

2. "Privatization" is a big part of this

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

[Greyhound]

21. "Privatization" of government is the definition of fascism. n/t

:kick:

[bobthedrummer]

24. .

:)

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

[niceypoo]

29. Look and decide for yourself: The 14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:


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. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to 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 and letters is openly attacked.
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.

*snip*

I am hard pressed to find one that DOESN'T fit the Bush administration.

[illinoisprogressive]

3. I keep checking my copy of the Rise and fall of the 3rd Reich these past 6 years.

[bobthedrummer]

6. "The Weimar Republic and the Third Reich"

http://dmorgan.web.wesleyan.edu/materials/weimar.htm

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

[man4allcats]

7. A great book that should be read, especially now.

As many have said, "Those who do not remember history will be condemned to repeat it." Regrettably, we are repeating it. Serves us right for being ignorant.

[wundermaus]

4. Interpol Must Arrest Bush & Cheney...

And turn them over to the Hague for crimes against humanity.

[tailwind]

5. 14 Points of Fascism.

In his original article, "Fascism Anyone?", Laurence Britt compared the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet and identified 14 characteristics common to those fascist regimes. This page is a collection of news articles dating from the start of the Bush presidency divided into topics relating to each of the 14 points of fascism.

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

[Echo In Light]

28. Never underestimate the power of denial

Never thought I'd see the day when all of those flags would give me the creeps...

[Recursion]

8. Fascist leaders are eloquent

Just a thought

They tend to be somewhat competent at governing, too (the whole "trains ran on time" thing). That may sound flippant, but I see that as a real and important difference.

[GreenArrow]

16. more aptly, fascist leaders are persuasive

.

[Clintonista2]

9. Yes, and one thing my 1st year Politics prof said has stuck with me:

He said that fascist governments operate by building a myth. Hitler had the "jews are at the root of all problems", and now Bush has the "terrorists are going to kill each and every one of you" myth.

[leveymg]

10. Here's their dirty little secret: they took power when FDR died, and have killed, coopted, or

marginalized everyone who would challenge them thereafter.

[baldguy]

22. The fasces have been used as a symbol of the power of the state for 2000 yrs

In America, the power of the state is in the hands of the people. Thats why its on display in the House of Representatives. Thats why it was on the obverse of the dime. George Washington wasn't a "fascist", he was the person selected by the people to wield the power of the state in their name.

It wasn't until the 20th century that "fascists" co-opted this symbol and took its name.

[leveymg]

23. Most of the fasces symbols were installed in DC during the 1920s and 1930s.

You are correct, however, the original Jean-Antoine Houdon statue of George Washington dates back to the late 1780s.

A large percentage of official Washington architecture dates from the New Deal years, and I have noticed fasces on a number of buildings from that era, including the Commerce Dept, the Supreme Court, and the Lincoln Memorial. That symbol wasn't publicly proclaimed after 1941, but it didn't disappear, either. Much like Washington's fascists.

[blm]

26. BCCI was a gawddam BLUEPRINT of what was to come. Jackson Stephens, China, Dubai,

WalMart, Bin Ladens, Bushes, AQ Khan, Marc Rich,..... and the list of enablers is enormous....

[democrank]

11. Yes. I`m with tailwind....

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

[Perry Logan]

12. I call them "nazoids." They have the fascist urge...but they're just too flamingly incompetent.

Under nazoid rule, the trains don't even run, much less run on time.

[Hippo_Tron]

25. I think that's the best description I've ever heard of the Bush Administration

Thank-you for that. I'll be using it in the future.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

13. Of course not, no more than it is feudalist or communist.

There are all sorts of bad forms of government; fascism is just one of them. It doesn't have much in common with the current American government.

Saying so is just political name-calling, not a serious attempt to engage with reality.

At some point (sadly, I don't have time right now) I must post a thorough debunking of Dr Lawrence Britt, and his "14 points", which are neither universal in not unique to fascism, and were clearly put reverse-engineered to try and claim that the US is fascist rather than intended as a serious attempt to characterise fascism.

[Kelly Rupert]

15. Going to second this post. n/t

[bobthedrummer]

14. .

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

[tailwind]

17. The Rise of Fascism in America.

Naomi Wolf Schools Stephen Colbert on The Rise of Fascism in America.
September 28, 2007

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/63860

The author of "The End of America" points out disturbing parallels between the Bush administration and fascist dictatorships throughout history.

The clip features writer Naomi Wolf on The Colbert Report talking about her book, The End of America, A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, which outlines ten steps that "fascist, totalitarian, and other repressive leaders seize and maintain power, especially in what were once democracies.”

The ten steps are:

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy

2. Create a gulag

3. Develop a thug caste

4. Set up an internal surveillance system

5. Harass citizens' groups

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release

7. Target key individuals

8. Control the press

9. Dissent equals treason

10. Suspend the rule of law

[satya]

18. self-delete

[OneBlueSky]

19. is there a stronger word than "fascist?" . . . because that's what they are . . . n/t

.

[donheld]

20. Not one teeny tiny question about it

They, and their friends, are fascist!

[tailwind]

27. : )

Unfortunately by the time the sheeple have woken up to it - it will be too late.