Starting the fight against fascism in America
-
Bob FertikWant to meet our members? Click 'Join' above!
Americans did not vote for fascism - but fascists now control all three branches of our government: the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court.
In 1935, Sinclair Lewis warned against the rise of an American fascism in It Can't Happen Here. Well, it can - and it will, unless we stop it now.
In 2000, the fascist-controlled media ordered us to "get over it" - the theft of the Presidency, that is. In 2004, the same media is ordering us to bow down before Bush's "mandate."
Like hell we will. Here at Democrats.com, we recognize that America in 2004 is like Germany in 1933, and Fascism is on the rise. In public, Bush lied once again, telling Democrats "I will need your support, and I will work to earn it." But in private, he revealed the truth as soon as woke up, long before John Kerry conceded:
Mr. Bush started calling winning Republican Senate candidates, telling Senator-elect Jim DeMint of South Carolina that he would strike quickly to move his agenda ahead. "Now is the time to get it done," he told Mr. DeMint, according to an account by Scott McClellan.
Confronted by the march of Fascism, We can't wait until the 2008 election, or even 2006. We must develop a plan to stop Fascism in America.
What exactly do Bush and the Fascists want? You won't read about Bush's true agenda in the newspapers, because the Fascists won't declare their goals openly; they know that if they did, the nation would rise up to stop them. But behind closed doors, here is Karl Rove's "architectural plan" for America and the world:
1. Global war for oil. The evidence is now clear: Bush's conquest of Iraq was planned long before September 11. Its origin was the PNAC plan to control the world's oil by using America's military power to seize control of the world's oil-producing regions.
2. Unlimited corporate power. Bush wants to eliminate every tax on corporations, and every regulation limiting their actions. He wants to make the people of America (and the world) little more than feudal serfs, with (perhaps) the illusion of freedom - but no power to challenge their corporate lords.
3. Christian theocracy. Bush wants to appoint justices at every level who believe a fundamentalist reading of the Bible trumps the Constitution. That means no more separation of church and state; instead, rightwing evangelicals will use the power of the state to outlaw abortion and indoctrinate schoolchildren. Even pro-choice Republican Arlen Specter, who will chair the Judiciary Committee, is worried; he held a press conference urging Bush to nominate judges who will preserve Roe v. Wade. This will make Specter a target of the religious right - a battle he could well lose.
4. A police state. In case the American people decide to resist #1 and #2, the "Patriot" Act was designed to give the Federal government absolute and unchecked power to watch us at every moment of the day. And if John Ashcroft simply says we have ties to "terrorism" (whatever he wants that to mean), he can send us to a "legal" CIA torture facility in an undisclosed spot on the planet where lawyers - and the Supreme Court - can't find us.
5. Elimination of all forms of government help. Bush wants the rich to pay no taxes, period. He wants working people to pay for items 1-4. That will soon leave no money for programs that help people: Social Security, education, health care, environmental protection, etc. When that happens, Bush will cite financial necessity as the reason to eliminate the government programs Americans take for granted.
So how do we fight this Fascism?
Let's start with an inventory of our strengths.
1. We are not alone. 55 million Americans voted against Bush, despite a massive propaganda campaign. We have enormous support from friends of freedom around the world.
2. We can communicate. We have the Internet (including outstanding blogs and enormous e-mail lists), some excellent publications and broadcast alternatives, a handful of friends in the mainstream media, and fast-growing Air America Radio.
3. We have money. Apart from George Soros - whom we hope will support the fight against Fascism, which he understands viscerally and has warned about - very few of us are rich. But nearly all of us have a few dollars we can spend every month to protect freedom. In 2004 alone, we collectively raised hundreds of millions.
With all of these assets, what can we do?
1. Protest Bush everywhere he goes. John Kerry had to concede under tremendous pressure from the media and the financial markets. But we - the 55 million Americans who voted for Kerry - do not have consider Bush a legitimate President until every vote be counted, every election crime is investigated, and every black box voting machine is audited. Until that work is complete, we truly will not know if George W. Bush won the 2004 election. In 2000, we protested the Inauguration and every Presidential visit until 9-11 because we believed Bush was not truly elected, and the facts ultimately proved we were right. We can - and should - resume our protests and continue our in-depth investigation of the 2004 election.
2. Investigate Republican crimes. Since 2000, Republicans have committed dozens (hundreds?) of crimes in politics and government. They have been caught at a few, notably the outing of Valerie Plame. One of the most powerful aspects of the Internet is how it facilitates in-depth investigations by loosely organized networks of dedicated researchers. The Stolen Election of 2004 is a complicated mystery, but I am certain that Internet researchers will eventually expose it - and hopefully send the perpetrators to jail. With free blogging sites (including Democrats.com), it is remarkable easy for a committed individual to launch a focused investigation and attract experts to help find the truth. Ultimately, we should aim to turn such investigations into hard, indisputable facts that a prosecutor can use in court.
3. Boycott fascist promoters and funders. In October, when Sinclair Broadcasting announced its plan to broadcast the lie-filled film "Stolen Honor," progressive activists responded immediately with a spontaneous boycott against Sinclair Broadcasting and its advertisers. After two weeks of lost advertisers and falling stock prices, Sinclair buckled. This was a huge success, and we should now broaden this boycott to all right-wing media networks, especially FOX, ABC talk radio, Clearchannel, and NBC. We should also broaden it to the corporations whose owners contributed hundreds of millions to the Bush campaign and its 527 allies. Let's get started: who wants to create BoycottFOX.com?
4. Adopt (and promote) a Progressive Democratic Agenda. On the bread-and-butter domestic issues, many (or most) of Bush supporters actually preferred Kerry's plans to Bush's. For example, at the same time as Floridians allegedly gave Bush a 52% of their votes, they passed a minimum wage increase with 72%. Let's take the best (and most popular) of Kerry's proposals and package them together as the Progressive Democratic Agenda and start signing up Bush voters to help us push them through Congress. When the Republican Congress blocks us, we can appeal to these same voters to elect a Democratic Congress in 2006.
- Bob Fertik's blog
- |
- Login or register to post comments
- |
-
- |
Top Actions
-
23,210 of 30,000
-
42,758 of 60,000
-
94,686 of 100,000
Comments
Waste
This is all wasted time and energy. The real issue is the democratic message. The majority of the country is conservative. The dems message is the same..higher taxes, more abortions, more government...as shown, this cannot win elections....
Although a Bit Radical: He has a point
All of the points mentioned are powerful and correct. We need to focus on two things:
1. Recruiting More Voters
2. Exposing the Republicans Whenever
Recruiting means going after the old and the young, the minorities and the disenfranchised. I was very disappointed that the young vote, representing 18 million people did not vote. The polls showed that they were for Kerry. But, an exit poll in Ohio showed that only 10% of the 18-29 group voted. We have to reach these people. Then, there are the old. We have to show them that Bush is hurting them.
Exposing the Republicans will take time and effort. Get involved in action groups like Public Citizen and Move-On, at least while they are legal. We will have to find another way to fight back if this becomes a problem. Americans may have the attention of a fruit fly but if you show them how they are being hurt by the Republicans they will turn around.
More things we need to do!
1) In order to discourage the dirty-tricks that effected BOTH democrats and republicans from being repeated next election, the following is absolutely vital....ALL dirty tricks that were reported this election MUST be investigated and prosecuted if possible. If this is not done, it is inevitable that the same exact operations will be conducted next election. The dirty tricks that were ignored after last election were repeated in this one...that can't be allowed to happen again. If prosecution is not possible by current laws, the people who did the dirty deed should be exposed to the public!
2) Efforts to ensure that ALL voting methods generate a separate, verifiable method of recording the vote should continue. The target should be, ALL votes must be independently verifiable by next election!
Wasted effort
This is one of the problems that the Democratic party has to overcome. They waste a lot of time and effort recruiting and reaching out with a message they think will appeal to groups of "voters" that don't even care enough to actually vote. While at the same time losing touch with the majority of American voters who actually do vote.
Lies!
Lies Lies Lies... the majority is NOT conservative. That's the biggest lie of all. Republicans were doing dirty tricks in all the swing states for several weeks before the election. If the majority of the country were conservative, they wouldn't have had to do that.
But if they hadn't done that, Kerry would have won so big that they wouldn't have been in a position to steal it on election day. So they HAD to do it. And then they had to do everything they could to get that so-called 51%. Find out everything you can about Florida and Ohio, and pay attention to New Mexico too. Probably some other states as well.
Anyone who says "Bush won -- Get over it" is working for the fascists.
Par you sound like you are 10
Par you sound like you are 10 years old reading from a manual. Here are two instances of dirty tricks I know about:
1. Several GOP "get out the vote" cars had their tires slashed to preven their use to get out the vote. I can't prove who did that, but I am pretty sure it was people who weren't in favor of Bush.
2. In PA, one of the states US Senator went to a prison parking lot and confiscated absentee ballots from college students. The students were collecting them from prison inmates. 3rd party delivery of absentee ballots is illegal, and fraudulent.
Not saying that the GOP were angels, just actually giving you some examples of democratic dirty tricks as opposed to spitting out "mass voter fraud, mass voter fraud" with nothing to back it up (did you hear it from your sisters friend who heard it from her boyfriend who heard it from his fraternaty brother who heard it from somone at a party last week or something?)
Now, let's look at your last statement. "Anyone who says "Bush won --Get over it" is working for the facists." Wow, you really won that debate. Although I don't generally tell anyone to "get over it", Bush did win. Now Par, I DO NOT work for any facists. Your statement, blanket nature and all, really say something about you. From what I've read about Nazi Germany, people who didn't agree with the party were branded in kind of the same light. So a controversial artist or musician might be labled communist for example, and whether that was true or not, they would be hauled away, and quite possibly their family too. It's a fairly common tactic in that type of society (kind of like your statement there Par). An term for the enemy is created, and anyone who doesn't agree with the position is pushed into that term. You may say conservatives have used the term "liberal" in that way. But really, they don't. Liberal is a concrete definition, supported by facts. When conservatives brand someone a "liberal", they use facts to support it, people get to see those facts laid out, and then they make a decision. You seem to be the kind of person who would take the first approach, and I'm just basing this on your generic post up there. If you want to get some credibility, how bout posting some facts instead of your current approach, and stay away from the ineffective "NAZI, NAZI, NAZI!!!!!" finger pointing.
OK, Twipsy: Good call. I am
OK, Twipsy: Good call. I am not ten and I was not reading from a manual, but after re-reading my previous post, I can see that I must have been way too upset to say what I really meant. I'll take your word for it when you say you don't work for any fascists. I probably owe you an apology too? Well no problem. I apologize.
Let me be clearer about the dirty tricks: I've been reading news from all over the country -- all over the world -- for a long time now. In the month or so prior to election day, I was seeing 'dirty trick' stories every day, and they were coming from all parts of the country. Most -- no! all -- of them concerned tricks played against the Democrats. I kept wondering: Why? Is this a coordinated effort to suppress the Democratic vote? Or am I seeing only one side of the story?
I hardly ever watch TV, but a few times I did see TV news that mentioned dirty tricks and of course they always had representatives from each party on, and of course the host always tried to be fair, and so there was always the question: "What about the Democrats? Have they been up to anything dirty?"
My ears perked up when I heard that question, because all along I had been suspecting that I was missing something. Surely the Democrats were up to no good too? What would the republicans say?
Both times they said the very same thing, virtually word for word: "They keep saying that there's going to be a draft, even though we have assured them that it's not true. They will say anything to get elected."
I sorta figured that if the republicans had anything to say about Democrats pulling dirty tricks then they would have said it. Right then and there. Why pull punches?
These interviews happened before election day. And the incidents you reported, Twipsy, happened on the day, so maybe they really didn't have any mud to sling at that time. They have a little bit of mud now.
But on the other hand, Greg Palast estimated that republican dirty tricks before election day had disenfranchised at least a million voters who would have voted for Kerry. That's a heck of a dirty trick!
It ain't easy to make a million votes vanish. But it sure is tough to win an election when your opponents can do it.
Hey, Twipsy, I don't think you're a Nazi. I never even used the word "Nazi". I said "fascist". There's a difference. Not all fascists are Nazis. Here's a link to an article about the characteristics of fascism. See if you recognize any of them.
http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm
Maybe we see things a bit differently; I am in a foreign country, after all. But from here it seems that the last free and fair Federal election in the USA was 1998.
And if I came across as a bit too strident in my last post, it's mostly because it makes me so upset to see the 'world's greatest democracy' now unable to hold free elections. Is that worth getting upset over? I think so. But many Democrats apparently do not. And that really bugs me, Twipsy.
Meanwhile, the republicans, whenever they weren't saying "mandate" or "landslide", were saying "Get over it!"
Considering how closely the administration's agenda seems to reflect the characteristics of fascism, and considering that it is THEIR supporters who have been saying "Get over it", I don't think it's a big stretch to say that those who echo their message are doing their work. Maybe they're not doing it intentionally, and maybe they are doing it for different reasons, but they are doing it all the same.
Remember during the 60's when protesters used to chant "The Whole World's Watching"? It was true then and it's even more true today. The whole world IS watching. And wondering. What is wrong with the Americans? When are they going to wake up?
Better questions would be: What is wrong with the Democrats? When are THEY going to wake up?
"Get over it" sounds a lot like "Go back to sleep".
Wake up! Your electoral system is broken. It was broken deliberately, and for political advantage. People all over the world can see this. And most of us hope you will never decide to "Get over it".
We hope you will decide to fix it.
My List!
1) In order to discourage the dirty-tricks that effected both democrats and republicans from being repeated next election, the following is absolutely vital....ALL dirty tricks that were reported this election MUST be investigated and prosecuted if possible. If this is not done, it is inevitable that the same exact operations will be conducted next election. The dirty tricks that were ignored after last election were repeated in this one...that can't be allowed to happen again.
2) The use of new voting machines this election necessitate the following...all precincts that utilized a voting machine with no paper trail should conduct an Audit of the recorded vote, comparing the results with equivalent precincts using paper-trails or manual voting. All voting machines should be secured for possible future inspection for some period after the vote to ensure that no post-election changes can be made to the machine in order to conceal possible evidence of tampering.
3) All efforts should continue to be made to ensure that ALL valid votes are counted. Just because Sen. Kerry has conceeded does NOT mean it is any less vital that we have an accurate count of all valid votes. Any attempt to invalidate provisional or absentee votes should STILL be fought.
4) Efforts to ensure that ALL voting methods generate a separate, verifiable method of recording the vote should continue. The target should be, ALL votes must be verifiable by next election!
I Won't Back Down
After the Republican Convention, when polls showed Bush with a significant lead ... and I was quite depressed about it ... I turned on the radio on this song came on. It is even more appropriate today.
Tom Petty
I Won't Back Down
Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of Hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down.
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I will stand my ground.
And I won't back down.
Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down.
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I will stand my ground.
And I won't back down.
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I won't back down
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I will stand my ground
And I won't back down.
No, I won't back down.
re: waste
awww.... we've been freeped!
clues - use of buzzwords, absolutely no links to back assertions....
you should check the dKosopedia if you really are here to learn anything. starting at [kos:Republicans for Kerry 2004] might help.
Bush Wars 2 and 3
Bob,
I think we have to get past this and start worrying about the next four years. There is an impending crisis with Iran and Israel that might draw us into another war within months. Absent that, the neo-cons are already pushing for regime change in Syria. I hope Bush proves me wrong and somehow finds the capability to deal with the problem before it gets out of hand. My fear is that he will go back to four-hour work days and afternoon naps while the world burns.
Actually, 35% of the voters w
Actually, 35% of the voters were self-described conservative (unfortunately, so many of them don't even begin to understand the meaning of the term). Swing voters made up the other 16% that Bush won. The problem is that the hard-core Bush voters were very poorly informed, and a great many centrists stayed home.
Abortions have increased under George Bush after decreasing steadily under Bill Clinton. Government size has increased under George Bush (1 million new government jobs), after reaching a 40 year minimum under Bill Clinton. Federal taxes have decreased, state taxes have increased, and the national debt is going through the roof - which will eventually lead to high interest rates when Red China gets tired of buying our debt.
Can we please discuss the black boxes???
Can we please, now, or sometime very soon, discuss as a nation that supposedly has free elections, black box voting fraud? I have been screaming down a black hole for the past three years about the absolute irrelevance of WHO you vote for if your vote is "counted" by a machine that is wholly owned by the Ramjac Corporation (Kurt Vonnegut, are you out there? You were right..) or one of its subsidiaries that gives massive amounts of money to the GOP. To date, there hasn't been word one - nada - spoken that I'm aware of about the "irregularities" that led to "upsets" at the mid-term elections and how massive voter turnout could lead to this. TV last night was pure Orwell. I had a hard time listening to Kerry's concession speech about healing. Healing? Puhleeze. I want audits of these machines. Am I alone??
Smd
You are not alone!!!
I feel exactly the same way. In Florida, Repug Secretary of State Glenda Hood fought tooth and nail against having a paper trail with the touch screen voting machines...why??
You just don't get it
I have never seen people more bitter, uninformed, pathetic and generally disgusting than people posting on this board. The entire democrat party just had their asses handed to them and you still don't get it. This party has degraded Bush personally for four years. People like Bush as a person. Embracing michael moore, george soros and moveon.org cost this party more than you realize. By the way, Bob Fertik, democrats like you are why this party continues to lose every election cycle. Bob, you are a freakin idiot just like the rest of this party's leaders. You don't understand average Joe in middle america. The stupid, vitriolic drivel that you spew here and repeat elsewhere is exactly what will keep democrats from winning anything in the South, Mid-West and Southwest. Your effete, northeastern NY liberal attitude that seems to engulf the entire party will doom you everytime. You keep repeating the same mistakes. Remember the Paul Wellfare funeral? This party got creamed after that hate-fest was shown on TV. America saw the real democrat party and they can come here and see it too. It's not a very appealing party.
Whatever
Yeah...we don't understand the "average Joe". That's why Paul WellSTONE was leading in the polls just before his death. Which leads me to wonder if his death was accidental.
are you kidding? how could
are you kidding? how could it have been an accident? think about it for a minute or less.
Organize or Die
Look, I will admit that MOVE-ON is a bit out there! They have an unvarnished appeal to young voters and it is understandable that the DNC would court them. I have criticized them for their point of view. What are we to do? Dumb-down the Democratic party so we can appeal to those mindless idiots who are too dumb to vote anyway and won't show up if there's a good football game on! We are winning the middle over to our view. It takes years! Get used to the idea of working on the middle slowly. Even bubba can understand and will change his views if we give him some ideas to chew on. And, part of the problem, as always is presentation: keep your voice calm, sound enthusiastic. Don't sound like the class tattletail who just caught the class bully beating up some geek! Bubba might want the beating to stop, but he won't vote the tattletail class president.
We, the Democrats, are fighting an uphill battle against corporate greed. Our enemy is better-funded but their ideas are built on sand and even Bubba will understand that once we make it clear to him.
slow your roll
While I espouse to many of your points I would ask that you not spew the same vitriol. It is counterproductive to progress. I personally have voted for Democrats, Republicans and Idependants. I have heard many sides of many issues. If the casual observer would research back in our nation's political history you will see many of these same arguments with a sense of deja vu. What is important is that we understand that a two (some would argue three) party system is absolutely necessary to ensure that a tertiary system of checks and balances is assured. It also vitally important that we do not stray too far to either extreme too quickly. Change is not effected overnight but is achieved over time, which is what we are seeing here in our great nation.
Not Liberal, Just an Idiot
Democrats did very well, considering the cheating and crimes the GOP used, the reich wing media helping Bush and attacking / lying about our candidates, and the rigged voting machines. If you cheat you lose. The GOP cheated, and will ever be losers.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Media Watch Project - http://democrats.com/media
MikeHersh.com - http://www.mikehersh.com/
A "Winning Personality" Does not Equal a Good Leader
I don't think you get it. Just because somebody can be so called charming and have such a great "personality" does not mean that person can be a leader. You have obviously been duped by the Dubya. It's a sad fact that so many people chose their leader based more on charm that can be faked and religious beliefs, versus intellect, leadership skills, ability to express ideas and work with others. The Democrats did not attack Bush personally over these past 4 years. They, as well as many of us Americans, BELIEVED the president when he said that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It's been 4 years now. WHERE ARE THEY? It's also been 4 years with Osama on the run. WHERE IS HE? It's time to open your eyes and see that our nation has been lied to by the "Chosen One." Bush claims to be just a regular ol' guy - but he can hardly be when he comes from a very wealthy and privileged family and, as quoted in his very own words, "is just a white Republican guy who does not understand what the poor people in this country are thinking." Yeah, that's a real ideal candidate to have to be President of America. A guy who doesn't understand the needs of the needy in this country. Yeah, he sure is a regular ol' guy. You deserve what you get in these next 4 years.
Re: waste
Amen to that. Once dems realize that these issues will never win elections, you may stand a good chance to win an election. You should take a few pages from Clintons book to realize that. I guess all I can say is better luck next time. W baby!
Thank god!
I'm glad some of you are starting to see the real picture. Moore is a waste of human life and move on .org is a waste of democratic money. Lets be united instead of being divided these next 4 years, and hope that we will bring our nation back to the standards it was buit on.
fight this so-called election
"Lets be united instead of being divided these next 4 years, and hope that we will bring our nation back to the standards it was buit on."
"Let's be united" is code for "abandon all hope". When Bush demands unity he means "you all agree with me now". Please don't drink that KoolAid.
The current un-elected administration has done its best to shred "the standards our nation was built on" and if we give it another 4 un-elected years, with no worries about getting re-un-elected, they will surely shred the rest of them.
If we don't fight this so-called election we may never see another one.
double vision
when a group of people subdivides into two groups,
and these two groups take on contrasting views,
it is only a matter of time before the split becomes decisive.
if history has taught us anything, we are headed down an ugly path.
It's time for a Progressive Party...
It's time to purge the blue dogs and republican supporting dems from the party. Do not turn toward the center, which is actually the right. Russ Feingold voted against the war, against the Patriot Act and votes his conscience...he stands by his word. He was re-elected with 66% of the vote. It's time to take some issues off the table. Abortion should not be used as birth-control...it should be used to save the life of the mother, and as a response to rape and incest...period. Guns...stop talking about gun control and talk about stiffer penalties for anyone using a gun during a crime. Crimes of violence should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Crimes of a 'moral' nature should be purged from the books. This country is a community. We have a social obligation to 'provide for the common welfare' of our citizenry. That includes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Health and education. Stop trying to outdo the Republicans on war...etc. Give them the evangelicals and let them be the 'faith based' party. Encourage moderate Republicans (like Olympia Snow of Maine) to jump ship. I agree that we should boycott...Fox in all of its incarnations, and their advertisers, while writing/e-mailing the advertisers. Boycott WalMart. Boycott Exxon-Mobil...BP, from what I understand, doesn't use Middle Eastern Oil in their gasoline. To even have had a Zell Miller as a Dem was embarrassing. Senility caused him to have a 'vision' and find god. The M/I complex will bust this country. Daddy Warbucks and his cohorts are laughing all the way to the bank. Support Progressive Radio, Television and Print Media. I'm disappointed. Had Kerry kept to the beliefs that drove him to speak to the Congressional Hearing in 1971...about the madness that was VietNam...he would be President today. Love the Petri dish and then drop cluster bombs on civilians...men, women and children...and evangelical 'Christians' still vote for you? This is wacked. Jesus would turn over in his grave...oh yeah, I forgot.
Progressive Party comes later
it's time to un-steal this so-called election.
Fascism in America -- Why didn't we see this coming through??
I am new to this site but would Like to respond to this very interesting post titled "the fight against fascism in America".
Let me just pose to you a question I was debating with my wife today.
What if? Just What if? The elections in IRAQ where really allowed to be run free? What if? Do you think we would end up with puppets? No Sir. IRAQ would end up becoming the second Islamic Sheiite Run Gountry in the Region, just like Iran. Iraqis would actually elect religious leaders not puppet politicians.
Wholy smokes, did I just say religious leaders? Is Bush any different? Come on friends. I have learned my lesson now to respect the will of evangelical Christians, but has Bush learned to respect the will of Sheiite Muslim Iraqis. You take your guess. When one group elects to give the freedom of selection to a certain religious domination, and forbids another -ironically, where they want to spread democracy- from making their own selection this not only Fascist, its just too scary. While it may take a few more days to absorb the enormity of what happend,
I hope that Americans will see the true face of this adminstration, and the ideology behind it. A fascist, religous based Administration. No different from that of Iran.
See this is a perfect example
See this is a perfect example of why people wont follow you mkordy. You are actually saying that The USA is no different than Iran (USA being represented by the administration that the people voted in). When was the last time someone hauled your family off for speaking against the state (happens every day in Iran)? When was the last time your sister was executed as punishment because she let herself get raped (happens all the time in Iran)? The comparison of the Bush administration to nazis and totalitarian regimes doesn't fly and the louder you say it the further people will flock away from you.
You seriously missed the point
Twispy,
First lets bring the fact out. I am a Canadian born in Egypt. My point was about denying people to choose what they really want in IRAQ and how that compares to the US or any other Democracy.
I asked why shouldn't the Iraqi's be allowed the same right that the White evangelicals are allowed. My conclusion was, the Iraqis would surely elect a religious Sheiite based government. But the democratically elected Bush Can not allow that. Does that tell you anything about who's interest he represents? on religious group is now dominating the life of another's
And by the way let's get serious please, I don't want any followers. This is a hot discussion as you can see the title is about fascism. I think it is truly fascistic to allow the white race to choose a religious based government in one country, and deny another race the very same right -where you are supposed ot be speading democracy.
FYI I took no offese at your point, but I wasn't looking for followers, and completely missed my point.
Twispy, Americans need to become more and more aware of world opinion. After all, the second part of Kerry's slogan was "Respected in the world"
Please enlighten me as to who I should compare this administration to. Wow, the bush administration is not totalitarian? Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Rice, are not totalitarian? They make totalitarian look inocent. At least totalitarian rulers are known to be so by the blunt use of their power. This administration, on the other hand is telling the rest of the world, including half of the U.S. that we are crazy, shallow, don't understand how the world runs. This is the most mentally opressive regime ever known! Masters of SPIN.
Come on. Nazi, who said anything about Nazis. But I quote the is the administration of the "Crusaders". Isn't that the word the Bush later tried to erase.
Let me also add that I don't have sisters. I will tell you however that I feel for the women that have been raped and killed by troops in Iraq. Evenmore, I feel for every U.S. citizen whose freedoms are going to be ripped off of them by the powers of the democratic "Patriot Act 2"
Come and live up here in Canada for a while and I am sure you will see the world differently.
More extreme talk
Lets face it. You are the problem. You and the rest of the extremist left.
extremist left?
'extremist left?' Hell, no! It's the sound of a reasonable person who has finally woken up.
Wake up all your friends. Tell them to wake their friends up too.
It may not be too late. But it's getting close.
Thank you, nmonst. I just saw
Thank you, nmonst. I just saw on Buzz Flash that B. Harris has filed a freedom of action action about an audit on voting machines. I hope we are kept up to date on the alternative news, because it will never be discussed in the mainstream press. I think this issue is very important and it isn't a partisan issue. It goes to the very heart of the voting process. Corporations should not own and operate voting machines.
I don't know who these folks are who are posting the anger, but they should be happy - and go to their own web site and post kudos for their likeable candidate. However, I forgot. The one thing that that "waste of life" (interesting term for people who are so generally vocally interested in preserving it) Moore pointed out via the Fresno peace group is that you can count on more groups being infiltrated a la the 1960s. But frankly, I don't understand posting vitriol on a progressive site anymore than I'd think to go to a hawk site and spew it even if I were so inclined.
Back to my issue - if the black boxes are ignored, our country is truly in a world of hurt.
Smd
Black box voting is not partisan - get rid of the vitriol
Thank you, nmonst. I just saw on Buzz Flash that B. Harris has filed a freedom of action action about an audit on voting machines. I hope we are kept up to date on the alternative news, because it will never be discussed in the mainstream press. I think this issue is very important and it isn't a partisan issue. It goes to the very heart of the voting process. Corporations should not own and operate voting machines.
I don't know who these folks are who are posting the anger, but they should be happy - and go to their own web site and post kudos for their likeable candidate. However, I forgot. The one thing that that "waste of life" (interesting term for people who are so generally vocally interested in preserving it) Moore pointed out via the Fresno peace group is that you can count on more groups being infiltrated a la the 1960s. But frankly, I don't understand posting vitriol on a progressive site anymore than I'd think to go to a hawk site and spew it even if I were so inclined.
Back to my issue - if the black boxes are ignored, our country is truly in a world of hurt.
Smd
Abortion
is not birth control. Its not killing babies either. Abortion is about a womens choice. Goverment has no right to invade into our private lives.
Second keep religion private and out of public lives . If we dont we will become another taliban.
Its not fascism
I agree that we should not condemn the Republicans. We must tolerate all views even if we disagree with them. Lets be the true democrats - the party that embraces all views and people - be it gays,women or even republicans. Democrats are about tolerance.
They Like it That Way
The Republicans have become the party of the conservatives. They are for big business, small government (So nobody watches them!), right-wing christians, and the un-informed masses. Democrats are not perceived by this group as tolerant. They think we are trying to turn America in a moral sewer. They have been blinded Karl Rove into watching one thing while something more important is going on.
To beat the Republicans, we must find a way to sell the message to the un-informed masses. If we deprive the 35% hard-core Republicans of the 15% un-informed, we can take over. Add our 42% to that and we have 57%. It is that simple. We need to put a spotlight on GB and the Republicans and keep it up! Several times during the last three months, I saw people in the middle change their minds. It can happen! Let's not dumb-down the Democratic party. Let's present a simple massage: Democrats are tolerant and Republicans are special interest. Kerry was sounding pretty good towards the end; another few weeks and we would have had it. We need to get the debates in earlier; Bush would have been toast!
tolerance
Tolerance is where you live peacefully with your neighbors even though they think differently than you do.
Fascism is something else. Read about it here:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm
No real democrat will tolerate fascism. And fascism will not tolerate a real democrat either. So WAKE UP AMERICA! Do NOT allow another election to be stolen!
More things we need to do!
1) In order to discourage the dirty-tricks that effected BOTH democrats and republicans from being repeated next election, the following is absolutely vital....ALL dirty tricks that were reported this election MUST be investigated and prosecuted if possible. If this is not done, it is inevitable that the same exact operations will be conducted next election. The dirty tricks that were ignored after last election were repeated in this one...that can't be allowed to happen again. If prosecution is not possible by current laws, the people who did the dirty deed should be exposed to the public!
2) Efforts to ensure that ALL voting methods generate a separate, verifiable method of recording the vote should continue. The target should be, ALL votes must be independently verifiable by next election!
dirty tricks
"In order to discourage the dirty-tricks that effected BOTH democrats and republicans"
The dirty trick is a republican tactic. The vast majority of dirty tricks that made the news in this election cycle were done by republicans. The one exception that I know about was [get this!] a hoax perpetrated by republicans to make it look as if Democrats were registering illegal voters. This happened in Ohio but was only reported in Florida. How convenient for the republicans!
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/shared/news/politics/stories/1...
The evidence out there. Dig more of it up. Do not 'get over it'.
This is our last chance, America. If we sit back and allow a rigged election to legitimize another rigged election, we will never see an un-rigged election again.
The Majority is Liberal/Progressive/Moderate
I agree with Bob's agenda. We also have to focus pressure - boycots, protests etc. - on the media. We should urge deep pocket Democrats to buy Sinclair, cable outlets, radio stations and more. See: http://democrats.com/media
I agree with Dirk in part - although polls show the majority of voters are Liberal/Progressive/Moderate, not conservative - we should craft a better, clearer message. We have to boil down our talking points to single, simple sentences. We have to avoid needlessly complex and convoluted statements which confuse voters. We cannot let nuance turn into ammunition for the right wingers.
We must never run on increasing tax no matter what. We should never endorse tax hikes, it's better not to mention taxes at when trying to win an election than talk about raising taxes. Even when we say we're only talking about 1% or 2%, it's too easy to twist into tax hikes for all, or job-killing tax hikes for small business. Why even open that door? It's stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Re: Abortion, we should mention them only to say we have proven ways to make abortions unnecessary - the morning after pill, sex ed, contraception. Under right winger Bush, abortions increased. Under Clinton, they decreased. Oh, and Bush paid for an abortion.
Re: More Government, the idea the GOP is against that is anachronistic. Republicans Reagan and Bush expanded it - the size and relative cost of government. President Clinton cut government.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Media Watch Project - http://democrats.com/media
MikeHersh.com - http://www.mikehersh.com/
Bush Cheney Fascism
Most Republican VOTERS aren't fascists, but the Bush Occupation is.
See the factual analysis proving this:
http://www.mikehersh.com/Bush_Cheney_Fascism_Failed_America.shtml
http://www.mikehersh.com/Liberalism_vs_Conservatism.shtml
http://www.mikehersh.com/What_scares_right_wingers.shtml
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Media Watch Project - http://democrats.com/media
MikeHersh.com - http://www.mikehersh.com/
it doesn't matter
It doesn't matter whether the voters who supported the fascists are themselves fascists or not.
They voted for the fascists and now the only thing we can do is get out and show everyone that blue voters are the majority and we will not stand for another rigged election.
It's not about four more years any more. It's a matter of months now.
More Republican Lies, Lousy Policies
Re: We Look Marvelous!!! by maxsand
http://blog.democrats.com/node/91#comment-418
Most Hispanics voted Democratic. People "of faith" who don't think for themselves voted GOP, but millions of religious people who use their brains not just the Bible or Koran voted Democratic. People who act like al Qaeda maniacs voted for Bush.
Of course your party gets away with lying this way, but the facts show your policies hurt all the people you list, and all the states - red, blue and split/stolen states like Ohio and Florida. You are correct about one thing, smarter and better educated people vote Democrat. Those who can't or won't think for themselves - like you - blindly follow the extreme right wing.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Media Watch Project - http://democrats.com/media
MikeHersh.com - http://www.mikehersh.com/
Important Quotes as we Fight as Fascist Regime
...So often the darkest hour is that hour that appears before the dawn...
–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
"It's not a matter of whether the war is not real, or if it is, Victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia but to keep the very structure of society intact." ~George Orwell
Come to Europe
In 1933, many people who had figured out how dangerous Hitler was left our country before it was to late and went to America.
Today, when your country is in the hands of a fascist regime you are welcome to flee to Germany.
Everybody over here is really shocked about the election results in your country. Nobody can even begin to understand how it is possible that somebody like Bush could ever get (re?)elected and it's really hard for me to keep believing that not all Americans are braindead idiots.
But this website keeps up my faith that there are still some people over there who are not completely retarded.
I really hope that even the dumbest redneck will come to realize someday that bush goes the wrong direction and I hope that it doesn't take another war, your economy totally fucked up and your international credibility completely down the drain.
Luckily YOUR country helped to rescued mine in 1945, but unfortunately nobody seems to be powerful enough to rescue yours.
p.s.: Worst of all is that the democratic party didn't even challenge bush's fraud in 2000 or the stupid idea to have voting machines without paper printouts or even the voter knowing what was really going to be written into the database in 2004!
I wish you the best and may the world awake from this nightmare as soon as possible.
Cheers from Germany
Germany
I'm dying to move to Canada or Europe. Actually, I'd prefer Europe. I hadn't really thought of Germany, but I am of German descent. My father was 100% German; his grandfather emigrated here and both his parents were German.
I've always felt out of place here, but then I blame the greater part of that on being in the Midwest instead of one of the coasts. Still, I have a lot of admiration for Europe as a whole. Our cultural heritage is there, and the roots of a wisdom with which we are out of touch, IMHO.
But I'm a person of modest means. What's a person with BA only going to do for a living there? What is the job market like in Germany, for instance?
Job market
I sorry to say that I'd lie if I said the job market looks great in Germany. Outsourcing is everywhere. The federal government, the states, the counties, everybody has to save money.
It depends on what you want to do.
Still, as long as yu have some kind of college degree you could try to apply somewhere. You've got the advantage that you can speak english as your native language.
You don't make as much money in Germany but you still have good health care and social security.
But of course Europe is not only Germany! In Sweden or the Netherlands and most surprisingly in Ireland the economy seems to be a bit better that here while they also have decent social systems.
You might also take a look at Great Britain. Health care is a mess there but still far better than in the US plus you are making more money there than here. AND you know the language.
ebook link to "It Can't Happen Here"
Here is a link to the book and it is downloadable.
If pure religion is the criterion to denominate candidates, those who make a noise about it must be rejected; for their wrangle about it, proves that they are void of it. ~John Leland, July 5, 1802.
Totally agreed!
There is no voice for the democrats anymore. This is following too closely to the the rise of Mussolini in post war Italy... I'm terrified!