State of the Union

numan said:

If you only knew how weird you look to people who are sane! ---

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numan said:

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The United States has been fascist---or, at least, totalitarian---ever since the Second World War.

"The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it."
---Adolph Hitler

14 defining characteristics of fascism

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism....both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy....

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights....Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted....

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause....

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources...allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute....

5. Rampant sexism....

6. A controlled mass media.... The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes' excesses....

7. Obsession with national security....It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints....questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous...
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8. Religion and ruling elite tied together...
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9. Power of corporations protected....The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way not only to ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests....

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless....

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts....politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed....

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse....

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption....the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections....Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

How different, how very different! from good ol' Ameriky! ·

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Click to expand...

numan said:

'
The United States has been fascist---or, at least, totalitarian---ever since the Second World War.

"The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it."
---Adolph Hitler

14 defining characteristics of fascism

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism....both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy....

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights....Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted....

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause....

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources...allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute....

5. Rampant sexism....

6. A controlled mass media.... The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes' excesses....

7. Obsession with national security....It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints....questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous...
.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together...
.
9. Power of corporations protected....The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way not only to ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests....

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless....

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts....politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed....

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse....

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption....the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections....Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

How different, how very different! from good ol' Ameriky! ·

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numan said:

I am saying that it happened decades ago, you dunderhead!! ---
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numan said:

'
The United States has been a monstrous, ravening Hell-Hound only since World War II. December 7, 1941 was the death-day of the decent United States.

Before then, most decent Americans (and there were quite a few of them in those days) would have been horrified at a standing army, especially one constantly at war. They would have considered such a monstrosity a violation of everything the United States was supposed to stand for. And this view went right back to the Founding Fathers.

And look at Americans today! What an irony that they would consider me anti-American, when they have sunk so far into the abyss of raping the fundamental principles of their fore-fathers!!

I don't think I would be nearly as irritated by Americans if they were just plain, honest Nazis -- if they came right out and said "We're going to plunder, rape and use the rest of the world, and just let anybody try to stop us!"

What really riles me is the hypocritical, goody-two-shoes act they put on to convince themselves (not many other people are taken in by it) that they are just so wonderful, noble, kind and sweet!
.

Click to expand...

numan said:

'
The United States has been a monstrous, ravening Hell-Hound only since World War II. December 7, 1941 was the death-day of the decent United States.

Before then, most decent Americans (and there were quite a few of them in those days) would have been horrified at a standing army, especially one constantly at war. They would have considered such a monstrosity a violation of everything the United States was supposed to stand for. And this view went right back to the Founding Fathers.

And look at Americans today! What an irony that they would consider me anti-American, when they have sunk so far into the abyss of raping the fundamental principles of their fore-fathers!!

I don't think I would be nearly as irritated by Americans if they were just plain, honest Nazis -- if they came right out and said "We're going to plunder, rape and use the rest of the world, and just let anybody try to stop us!"

What really riles me is the hypocritical, goody-two-shoes act they put on to convince themselves (not many other people are taken in by it) that they are just so wonderful, noble, kind and sweet!
.

Click to expand...