POLICE STATE / MILITARY - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
The 63 Characteristics Of Fascism And America's Development As A Fascist Nation |
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by joyfulwalker Age of Tyranny News Entered into the database on Saturday, June 24th, 2006 @ 18:06:26 MST |
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1) Exuberant nationalism: the nation’s greatness leads
it to be involved in wars; “a greater responsibility” raises the
nation above constitutional law and international law. In the culture, patriotic
symbols abound: there is a constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols,
songs and other paraphernalia; flags are seen everywhere, flags in public displays,
flags on vehicles and clothing. 2) Both a disdain for and the sacrifice of Human Rights. Public
officials manifest disdain for human rights. Speeches from government officials
often mention the word “sacrifice”; 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 be insensitive to or even approve of assinations, holding individuals
without charge, secret tribunals, long-term incarcerations of prisoners and
summary executions. Media fails to report torture and people overlook torture
as documented in the article: Death By Torture: US Media Ignores Hard Evidence
(prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/031205torture.htm). 3) Enemies or scapegoats are identified as a unifying cause
of societal ills and turmoil: the people are rallied into a patriotic frenzy
over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat. Foes become racial, cultural,
ethnic, religious minorities, liberals, communists, socialists, terrorists,
etc. Once a scapegoat or enemy is found, then profiling begins and dragnets
implemented to collect and detain the threats. Collective punishment is meted
out. 4) Presidential ebullience; The President becomes a Messiah
figure who declares a national destiny: the President gives glorious and stirring
speeches often using words such as purpose, prosperity, security and freedom.
The President speaks in terms of great leadership. 5) The nation is ruled by a Supreme Executive who exercises
the supremacy of the president. Anyone who speaks against the President is said
to undermine his credibility and places the nation at risk. 6) National Destiny becomes the Nation’s Ethic and the
World’s Object Lesson. This is described in the article Arrogant Nation
(.axisoflogic.com/cgi-bin/exec/view.pl?archive=93&num=17211). 7) Religious leaders and their institutions are tied together
with the Ruling Elite: 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 tenants
of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies
or actions. 8) Dearth of independent media; the institutional media suppresses
the truth in all unrighteousness with filtering standards, such as refusing
to print anything that is pejorative to business or government; war stories
and pictures are strictly censored. Also, news managers capitulate to government
pressure and turn over names of confidential sources of information. Lacking
access to the facts and lacking an independent media, people’s perceptions
and convictions are easily molded with the result being deception and people
calling “good evil” ,“evil good” , “left right”,
“up down” and “down up”. 9) The rule of a democratic leader is substituted for the
rule of law: the nation’s constitution becomes considered as a relic of
a bygone era; historical law are abandoned; and there is a pyramidal chain-of-command.
The will, the word and the way of a “sovereign president” becomes
the law of the land; the president exercises “presidential supremacy”.
10) Glorification and supremacy of the military over culture,
education and human services; even when there are widespread domestic problems;
the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding; military
procurement is expanded; and the domestic agenda is neglected. 11) Police are militarized with gear, weapons and technology
with that equivalent to the military. 12) Obsession with National Security: there is a consolidation
and sharing of previously independent military, police, border, and foreign
spy agencies. Both the military, via the Counterintelligence Field Activity,
or CIFA, and the super spy agency, National Security Service, employ thousands
of workers to maintain dossiers on potentially subversive individuals. 13) Corporations are shielded; corporate power is protected
and corporations and government become one: the industrial and business aristocracy
of a fascist nation often is the one who puts the governmental leaders into
power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power
elite. 14) 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. 15) Disdain for intellectuals and the arts: academics is censored,
curriculum is populated with courses developed with government friendly topics;
liberal professors are let go or are executed. Arts are not funded. Only authorized
text books are used. Eventually home-schooling becomes illegal. 16) Obsession with crime and punishment. Lower income, ethnic,
religious and cultural minorities form an ever increasing prison population.
Under fascist regimes, police are given extreme law enforcement powers. The
people overlook police abuses, and forego traditional civil liberties in the
name of patriotism or security. Eventually there is a national police force
with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. 17) Rampant cronyism; and corruption goes unchecked: 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 government leaders to use national resources; treasures and treasuries
are appropriated or even stolen outright. 18) Elections are stolen via gerrymandering and ballot tampering:
fascist nations typically use their judiciaries to restrict eligible voters
or modify district boundaries; the software in voting machines is accessed and
voting records changed to manipulate the vote outcome. 19) Doublespeak abounds: leaders say one thing, but their
policies bring about just the opposite. For example, President Gorge Bush Speaking
in Guatemala on 01/16/2002 said: "Citizens and businesses must know that
the town hall is free from bribery, and cronyism and all forms of corruption.”
(usembassy.state.gov/guatemala/wwwhfte5.html. 20) Denial of judicial due-process and denial of habeas corpus.
An example described in the news article In Terror Cases, Administration Sets
Its Own Rules, Eric Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University who has
consulted with lawyers for several detainees, relates that: “the position
of the executive branch is that it can be judge, jury and executioner....the
courts have given the executive branch substantial but not total deference,
often holding that the president has the authority to designate enemy combatants
but allowing those detained to challenge the factual basis for the administration's
determinations. Currently, as of the date of this journal entry, both US citizen
Jose Padilla and several foreign nationals are being held as enemy combatants.
21) Omnipresent surveillance: monitoring of peoples takes
place through field or camera observation. 22) Permits become mandatory; permits become less and less
frequently issued and they become more involved. A current example is that of
construction contractors are fingerprinted and must pay large upfront bonds
and fees. 23) On-going newspeak: leaders simply say the same thing over
and over again, with the result being their speech is perceived as the truth.
24) Nature tampering: bioengineering. genetic modification,
cloning and weather modification become government funded. 25) Government sets up its own news bureau and staffs it with
psychological operatives who manufacture an appealing version of reality; propaganda,
disinformation or misinformation is the norm; and denial of facts and evidence
is commonplace. An example is documented in: Bush Administration Pushes False
Propaganda, Condemns It (thinkprogress.org/2005/11/30/false-propaganda); and
another example: Military Defends Paying Iraqi Newspapers (prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/011205militarydefends.htm). 26) Falsification of the past; documents are withheld from
public viewing. 27) Thought police and snitches: agents go through library
reading lists; emails and internet activity is monitored; people are encouraged
or paid to report on others; failure to report on others becomes grounds for
going to prison. 28) Torture and assination. Torture at Guantanamo was documented
by three witnesses: the ACLU, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Many die under interrogation as revealed by the document: 21 Detainees Killed
In US custody Overseas, ACLU Rreports. Some die under suspicious circumstances;
such as William Colby former CIA Director (arlingtoncemetery.net/wcolby.htm).
29) Secrecy is demanded and becomes normal: The workings of
government become increasingly hidden. Questioning of authority is discouraged
at all levels of society. Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests are consistently
denied (total411.info/2005/12/fbi-again-denies-access-to-pentagon.html). Loyalty
to the government and one’s superiors takes precedence over obedience
to truth and lawfulness (base.google.com/base/items?oid=8540963829309034437)
30) Cover-up of governmental misdeeds: When misdeeds are discovered,
it is only sometimes that the perpetrators are given a public rebuke. Most of
the time, the perpetrators are protected, not reprimanded and are often given
promotions not demotions. 31) Intimidation of whistleblowers and journalists. Journalists
are told to reveal their confidential sources or face jail time. Inquisitive
individuals are summarily dismissed and there dismissal cases are not open to
review as indicated in the article: Hundreds of Whistleblower Cases Dismissed
Improperly, Group Charges (newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2654).
Journalists are arrested or turn-up dead. 32) National IDs become mandatory: one must carry and present
upon request national citizenship papers. 33) Profiling and screening. An example is, the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights, that reports that Bush administration policies have “facilitated”
racial profiling, despite the president’s vow to eliminate the practice.
34) Patriotism is expected and developed through intimidation
or indoctrination. (infowars.com/articles/ps/school_washington_pupils_given_patriotism_test.htm)
35) Subordination of the individual and all social groups
to the political machine: Newspapers are bought out by national investment groups
or tycoons. Internet servers of independent news media are seized and offices
of NGOs are broken into and documents carted-off. Protestors are fenced off
and kept away from sites where they seek to demonstrate. 36) Criminalization of dissent beginning with a denial of
opportunities for political demonstrations; then as time progresses, protestors
are quickly arrested, found guilty of such things as endangerment and unlawful
gathering and given hefty fines and prison sentences. 37) Checkpoints are built and internal travel permits are
required which over time results in a full blown checkpoint society. 38) Legislative bodies rubber stamp legislation submitted
by the executive branch which has been developed through consultation with commerce
and industry. 39) Judiciary tends to become active in support of state views.
40) Governmental activities are contracted out to service
providers who provide specialized services; and contracts are written so that
contractors cannot be sued for injury or misdeeds. 41) Those deemed risks to the state are sought and transported
back to the homeland for prosecution; these prisoners go unidentified and held
incommunicado; they: have no legal rights ordinarily guaranteed by International
Law, are not given defense counsel of their choice or given no counsel, are
subjected to torturous interrogation, taken to a kangaroo court, found guild
and held indefinitely. 42) The President rises to power and maintains goodwill by
soliciting sympathy from military academies, think-tanks and conservative voters.
Once in power these lavish honor and enthusiastic support for him at conventions
and at speaking engagements. An example is that President Bush received “sustained
applause and repeated ovations” while delivering a satellite message to
a Southern Baptist convention. 43) An emphasis on the ruthlessness of the enemies in order
to justify ruthless treatment of others. 44) Development of collaborative allies, that is a “coalition
of the willing,” in order to give the impression of a broad popular alliance.
45) Intolerance of dissenting views demonstrated by eliminationist
speech toward political opponents either directly or by proxy. Talk show hosts
Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh often come out with eliminationist speech; one
article being O’Reilly Threatens Dissenters (.manzellanews.com/id248.htm)
and another article: Limbaugh On Kidnapping Of Peace Activists in Iraq: "I'm
telling you, folks, there's a part of me that likes this" (prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/031205Limbaugh.htm)
46) In addition to scapegoats, the government manufactures
alleged villains: “penguins” and “bogeymen”. Penguins
are villains rise to reputed feats of epic, even mythic, proportions…much
aided by various mainstream media outlets; these “penguin” characters
become the supposed masterminds of great evil and serve as the basis of dragnets
for police-state arrests of their “accomplices”. This is known as
the Zarqawi Phenomena and is used to describe the events of one Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
described on Alternet at: alternet.org/mediaculture/23359. The article, Who
Is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?, found on Judicial-Inc at Judicial-inc.biz/Zarqawi.htm,
reveals the alleged terrorist is an Israeli media creation, emanating out of
Jordan. Bogeymen are dissenters who are developed and deployed for nefarious deeds,
once used and no longer needed they are demonized and then tracked down by the
government. 47) Food Patent and Safety Laws restrict the cultural planting,
growing, processing and distribution of indigenous seeds, crops and foods. National
and international codes govern and limit dietary diversity; only multinational
companies and their food choices are available, and this at a cost substantially
higher than the cultural norm. 48) Militarization of the police who brutally and savagely
act to quell dissent, meetings and social gatherings. 49) Economic power becomes so utterly concentrated that the
bulk of all economic activity falls under the control of a handful of men. These
support political action committees which support right wing politicians; and
these reduce taxes and regulations on their friends in industry. Corporations
purchase influence and obtain contracts through lobbyists as documented in the
article: Abramoff, Lobbyists Linked to Troubled Multibillion-Dollar Homeland
Security Contract. Thus, through “corporation welfare” a cabal of
political and economic power rules the nation. 50) Congress caters to the interests of war-profiteers and
energy companies as documented by Corpwatch (corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=176).
51) Criticism by insiders is bought-off via bribes. For example,
The Yahoo News Article, Ex-DeLay Aide Cooperating in Bribery Probe, reveals
Michael Scanlon, former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty in a federal
bribery probe. 52) Criticism by pastors is bought off either by threat of
intimidation or by the tax-free advantages of 501(c)3 non-profit status whereby
donations are tax exempt to churches and tax deductible to individuals. 53) Farmland becomes owned by a relatively few and the actual
farming is carried out by a landless peasantry or migrant guest-workers. 54) Both mass enthusiasm and mass fear is whipped-up. For
example, immediately after 911, development of mass enthusiasm came through
Standup For America's patriotic emblems, marches, rallies and merchandise; and
promulgation of mass fear via the color-coded terror alert system, the false
statements made to the U.N. before the invasion of Iraq. 55) International journalists are restricted from speaking;
for example on Sep. 21, 2005, U.S. immigration officials banned Robert Fisk,
an internationally renowned British journalist, on his way to deliver a speech
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from entering the United States of America due to incisive
criticism of the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war. 56) Security forces become death-squads which carry out kidnapping,
torturing, vanishings and executions. Insightful articles include: Riding with
the Bad Boys - The rise of Iraqi Death Squads (globalecho.org/view_article.php?aid=6006)
57) A so called “educational system”, which is
in reality an “indoctrination system”, dumbs-down individuals so
that students ever-study, never coming to a knowledge of the truth. It relegates
important topics such as the study of the U.S. Constitution to just one day
a year; and it never inculcates critical thinking skills. It substitutes teaching
of values-clarification for the development of moral conscience. 58) Heinous Thought Crimes are defined and offenders are extradited
from nations around the world; offenders are held in solitary confinement, tried
and subjected to harsh sentences as in the case of Ernst Zundel (rense.com/Datapages/zunddata.htm)
59) Mercenaries become more corporate, more visible, and more
concerned with projecting a responsible image and form trade groups such as
the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA) which describes itself
“the most ethical and effective voice of the Peace and Stability Industry.”
IPOA spokesperson Doug Brooks says "I think the industry is a huge resource
that should be tapped; there are times when government won’t send their
own troops, but they are willing to write a check." 60) As greater use is made of alternative media, independent
websites and radio programs, government spokespeople marginalize them as having
conspiracy-theories or having hate-speech; then they are demonized as reprehensible
and finally closed down for “incitement” despite their intended
purpose of “insight-ment” as encouraged in the bible which advocates
spurring one another on to love and good deeds. 61) People in fascist societies experience “mind blindness.”
Lacking investigative desire and critical thinking skills, these “sheeple”
simply believe whatever the media, or government or pastor says. Thus they wait
to be told what to believe. Without asking or questioning, they take both insight
and direction from “the authorities.” 62) As the power of the fascism grows, people's fear of persecution
and intimidation increases. Fear acts on he "truth valve" of the mind
to turn off a person's investigative reasoning. Thus even logical and occupationally
successful people, after doing investigation, will say such things as the Reichstadt
was caused by “Communist arsons” or the 911 Twin Towers "burnt
down". 63) Patriotic youth are indoctrinated, called to national
loyalty and stirred to nationalistic fervor by political speakers Recognition to Lawrence Britt for his article: The 14 Characteristics
of Fascism whose work was seminal in preparing this list: http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm
______________________ Read from Looking Glass News Fascism
in America: Are We There Yet? Warning:
agents provacateur at work ''Papers,
please': I smell the long-forgotten rot of fascism' |