The United FASCIST State of America,,,,

Dr. Lawrence Britt's 14 defining characteristics of Facism-:

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, [or during a corporate created disaster in the Gulf] is very common. [Some say that Obama has the WORST record of any President when it comes to protecting whistleblowers.]

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. [Latest example is BP--the criminals get to cover up--"clean-up."]

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.

Who would have thought that President Obama would be leading us deeper into fascism?

Obama's NOT Transparent

Obama seems to be acting like a soul brother to George Bush and Dick Cheney when it comes to government secrecy. IF A GOVERNMENT IS A DEMOCRACY THEN WHISTLE BLOWERS ARE PROTECTED AND REWARDED NOT IMPRISONED!!

We need a real progressive in the White House not someone using this as a cover up for the same old Bush/Cheney brand.

Hat Tip to Glenn Greenwald.

Obama's Pharma Deal

Support Real News because a democracy needs truth to function.

Countering the Propaganda

Propaganda works...that's why the corporate media uses it a lot to promote the interests of the private insurance industry over the interests of the American People. Propaganda (to borrow a phrase from a recent comment on my blog) "exploits the stupid" and it does it effectively. This is why less than corporations own the

Health Care Truth Telling

FM EXEC Calls Republican John McCain Out

I worked in government relations for Fannie Mae for more than 20 years, leading the group for most of those years. When I see photographs of Sen. McCain's staff, it looks to me like the team of lobbyists who used to report to me. Senator McCain's attack on Senator Obama is a cheap shot, and hypocritical.

Sincerely,

William Maloni
Fannie Mae Senior Vice President for Government and Industry Relations (1983-2004)

So much for distorting the truth to tie Obama to Wall Street.

Republicans love to point fingers....John McCain is running on his pointed finger. If John McCain ran on "truth' and told Americans what he planned to do if elected...he would not stand a snowball's chance in hell of being elected.

In Fact, the more folks research Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin the more they are concluding that McCain?Palin policies are WORSE than what we have suffered under Bush policies. We need real change not 177 lobbyists (83 are Wall Street Lobbyists) in our White House.

Buzz...Buzz....

$11 Trillion--The True Cost of the Iraq War

The Worldwide cost of the Iraq War is $11 Trillion Dollars.

The costs to the United States is $3 Trillion Dollars.

It's all detailed in the book, “The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict” by noted economists Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes.

As Robert C. Koehler stated, "If we truly face up to what we’ve done, we’ll never go to war again."

Now think about our three current Presidential contenders. McCain and Clinton are definitely more trigger happy than Obama. It's time for a President who is not so quick to use the military to resolve conflicts and will use our military only when it is absolutely necessary....