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Fascism

Wed, 02/09/2005 - 02:40 — kebernet

Bet you'll never guess where this comes from:

And yet the very fact that the f-word can be seriously raised in an American context is evidence enough that we have moved into a new period. The invasion of Iraq has put the possibility of the end to American democracy on the table and has empowered groups on the Right that would acquiesce to and in some cases welcome the suppression of core American freedoms. That would be the titanic irony of course, the mother of them all�that a war initiated under the pretense of spreading democracy would lead to its destruction in one of its very birthplaces. But as historians know, history is full of ironies.

Though.. I have been saying for a while now, Napolean was the last person to invade contries to "spread democracy" and we all know how that turned out.

Enjoy the read.

Comments

Wed, 02/09/2005 - 12:56 — wow (not verified)

RE: Fascism

My guess was way off but the article is well stated and I generally agree with it.

Its strange though that the author at this "conservative" site is so much against the Bush administration and he allies himself with others he thinks are in the same camp. At one point he even goes so far as to use the phrase "the side of a conservatism (or liberalism) that finds Bush’s policies reckless and absurd " and thus equates conservatism and liberalism (at least in this sense). Its just a strange feeling when the conservatives are in agreement with my views, and that entire site is a bit strange (read the about, conservatives are in general FOR open borders, but they are against it? wtf?).

Anyway, good read and some great quotes (mainly from others quoted in the article and not the article itself).


It is impossible to overstate my pleasure at being on the same side of the barricades with him today. That side is, of course, that of the antiwar movement; the side of a conservatism (or liberalism) that finds Bush’s policies reckless and absurd and the neoconservatives who inspire and implement them deluded and dangerous. In the past year, I had seen Stern’s letters to the editor in the Times (“Now the word ‘freedom’ has become a newly invoked justification for the occupation of a country that did not attack us, whose people have not greeted our soldiers as liberators. … The world knows that all manner of traditional rights associated with freedom are threatened in our own country. ... The essential element of a democratic society�trust�has been weakened, as secrecy, mendacity and intimidation have become the hallmarks of this administration. ... Now ‘freedom’ is being emptied of meaning and reduced to a slogan. But one doesn’t demean the concept without injuring the substance.�)

Thu, 02/10/2005 - 09:42 — atrox (not verified)

RE: Fascism

Speaking of this . . .

Heard on NPR this morning story about an American citizen arrested in Saudi Arabia and held without any charge or due process or so on. In addition there have been statements to the affect that he has been tortured.

Morning Edition, February 10, 2005 · The Bush administration is seeking to justify the imprisonment of an American citizen using secret evidence. The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to throw out the case based on evidence that is being withheld from the man's lawyers.

Sure bad stuff might happen in jail in Saudi (the great American ally that is a religious totalitarian monarchy where all sorts of heinous human rights crimes go on) but the significant part is that there is "considerable evidence" according to a federal judge that the US HAD HIM ARRESTED AND HELD IN SAUDI. (And that the FBI had access to him the entire time to interrogate and possibly torture.)

Some time back the case was brought to an American court by the citizens parents. The judge argued that such foreign incarceration would mean the government could circumvent any due process for an American citizen simply by moving them off American soil. The Bush administration countered tactfully with "and your point is . . .?". The judge ruled AGAINST the Bush administration and said "no sir dont like it". (And it just so happens it was a Bush sr "conservative" appointee, props to him, imagine had it been a "liberal" judge all the "activism" we would be hearing about).

So the Bush administration came back yesterday and filed a motion that the case be dismissed, and the man held indefinitely without a trial, based on "secret evidence". (Apparently secret evidence is a huge issue with the Bush administration.)

This marks the FIRST TIME EVER THAT THE US GOVERNMENT HAS ARRESTED AND NOW WANTS TO TAKE TO TRIAL A US CITIZEN WITH SECRET EVIDENCE (it has happened before but not for us citizens).

The end of due process is not on the way, its fucking HERE.

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