The F-Ugly face of facism...Updated 6/7/06
Current mood: mischievous
Category: News and Politics

Eeewwww, That Smell......Smells like...Facism?!

O.K...O.K...
I've held it back as long as I could. (It's like trying to hold back a tidal wave....) Upon hearing about the lame-ass attempt by our (Thankfully Temporary, but, unfortunately) current leader to use some sleight-of-hand trick to call all of our attention away from the enormous and bloody disaster they created in Iraq, I am happy to say I refuse to remain quiet about it a moment longer:

George "Can you say nuk-ya-ler?" Bush:

"Ladies and Gentlemen...Looky, here...Ahhh......Umm...Never you mind those vicious murders of unarmed Iraqi men, women and children by some of our boys in the military! Never mind the (thankfully failed and) obvious attempts to cover these heinous crimes up and claim that those killed were insurgents (children?) or were killed by IED's! Never you mind the ongoing foreign oil dependency/ga$ price$! Heck! Why don't ya just go trade in your SUV or Hummer for a nice little hybrid? Ehhhh...Never mind that Global Warming is melting glaciers and ice sheets and that polar bears are DROWNING(!) cause they can't find somewhere to climb out of the water! Heh! Heh! I mean.... Who needs polar bears, anyway, am I right? Looky here...Rummy Dumbsfeld and I have, uhhh...Well, we've mulled over these ahh, crises, ahh...long and hard (ha!) and we have come up with a solution:...We've decided to, ahhh, CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION (!) so that our LGBT brothers and sisters can be treated like 2nd class citizens in every state... not just the ignorant ones. Heh! Heh!... And that way, the judges that have been overturning laws against gay marriage, on the grounds that such laws are...uhhh....unConstitutional, that's right, unConstitutional... will be stopped from their evil-doing. (?) Heh! Heh!...Just like our Heavenly Father, in Heaven and my evangelical christian and fun-da-mental-ist base want it! Heh! Heh! Sorry, can't tell ya'll anymore than that...it's a...uhhh...National Security issue. Thank You. And, uhhh...God Bless America!"

....So, in honor of the repugnican party, I offer this.......with lol....Not!

Thanks to:
Dr. Lawrence Britt, who 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:

(Pssst....Any of the following sound familiar????)

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. (You are either with us or the Terrorists!)

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. (Where to begin? Abu Ghraib...Gitmo...secret interrogation centers...)

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, (Under the Bull-crap regime... add the LGBT community.)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. (The pentagon gets the money...but soldiers were having to buy their own body armor...)

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. (Condi Rice is a two-fer!)

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to (sic) 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. (See: Fox/Faux News.)

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. (Raise the terror warning to orange...what? Well, a uhh...higher Orange. / Anyone else ever notice how no two "new threats" are never for the same target??? Hmmm...)

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. (Apparently, 'Manifest Destiny' isn't dead...And God Bless America!)

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. ("America: Bend Over for Business!")

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. (But, hey...they are spending a lot of $$ looking for that Hoffa fella!)

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. (Or attacked as "Unpatriotic".)

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. (Budget for "Corrections" is TWICE that of Homeland Security!...Do you feel safer?)

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. (What're friends in high places for??)

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. (Ha!Ha!Ha!...No!....Stop.... Yer killin' me....Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!...)

Oh, yeah...
If you live in Kalifornia...Tomorrow/Tues. 6/06/06(coincidence?!...actually, I don't believe in them.)is the Primaries...Please...Vote! (And if your county uses electronic/sabotage-friendly/paper-less voting machines)...Vote Absentee!
Merci beaucoup!
xo
L