Is the US a fascist state?

[glasnost]

Fourteen Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Source Free Inquiry.co
5-28-3

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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, is very common.

1. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

1. 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.

1. 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.

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.

From Liberty Forum

On the basis of this is the US a fascist state? And the UK? Italy undoubtedly is.

Simmer down you two!

Glasnost you shouldn't tell people to "scuttle off", you shouldn't call someone a "nomark". And publicly accusing someone of "transference issues" is just downright arrogant. And "unimaginative". You are kindding yourself if you assume that ranting at someone will change anything.

Now I find I'm taking sides, I really don't want to...

Yes I am "kindding" myself. Good new verb which serves to remind me that to be kind to myself I should desist from replying to certain posters.

So

Geddit?

I think you should be more kind to others actually, particularly the ones you call names. And those that do typos.

Oh just let it lie adenbrot. I meant i re. the new verb.

I'm calling quits on this thread now as the sad fact is MN Politix just isn't ready for it. Back to the same old same old.

It's not a new verb, it's a typo.

I thought this thread might end up with self-destruction...

Still after starting this thread I've come to the conclusion that intellectual fascism is alive and kicking its jack boots on MN.

Not self destruction. Just a bid to shake off pesky types like you, adenbrot, who bring zilch to the discussion.

"shake off pesky types like you" makes me sound like some kind of insect.

Perhaps I should be gassed too, so that I'm not such an inconvenience to your grand intellect. Oh hang on, that's what fascists do!

Abendbrot, now you are bringing nothing to the discussion either and are pesky.

You see, Glasnost and others like him cannot debate their opinions based on facts because well they simply don't exist. So instead they hurl insults at you in the attempt to make you feel stupid so that they may appear more intelligent.

Unfortunately it often just makes them look like idiots.

Is America becoming fascist?

I await notsoniceguy's considered analysis and adenbrot's objective thoughts on the subject. But irksome posters like you two don't even bother reading links etc. Your worldview's already been formed by years of propaganda and bad faith and the rot's set.

That that article was written just a few weeks after we invaded Iraq, and, being some 8 years old, was more of an attack on the Bush administration than anything else imo.

I think that Bush's actions did provoke fury amongst some, and 'fascist' was the worst insult they could come up with.

You are right to be vigilant against fascism glasnost but seeing it where it does not exist means that people will be less likely to listen when it does surface.

I posted it precisely because it was written in 2003. Obama has continued and in some cases made more stringent the repressive policies ushered in by war criminal Buch and his cronies. If the article used "becoming" as its tense I feel now it would be more appropriate to ask has America BECOME fascist. I sincerely hope you read all the article and didn't just restrict yourself to the date and the fact Bush was in the illustration. It's very important to read any links properly.

Another informative link that the blinkered won't read is this re. the National Defense Authorisation Act 2012 which - essentially -sanctions permanent war and gives the President powers that only a despot could hope for. Now, considering the main tenet of my argument is that the American gov is controlled by corporations this should make any of you out there with any iota of humanity left literally SHAKE.

www.thetotalcollapse.com/the-united-states-congress-is-set-to-vote-on-legislation-that-authorizes-the-official-start-of-world-war-3/

If you're not able or willing to read this through please desist from posting silly bilge as it reflects badly on you. If, in the other hand, you have valid points to make refuting my worries fell free.

Given our Prime Minister(s) already have such powers which the US are considering granting, do you then consider that the UK therefore must also be a fascist state?

I mean Mr Cameron can already declare war on any country he likes without recourse to Parliament. And that essentially is the gist of the proposed US change in law isn't it? Before Obama needed to go to congress to get their approval. After he won't.

The logic (rightly or wrongly) is that the PM in the time of extreme crisis should be able to respond straight away without the delay of going to Parliament. Seems to make sense to me.

Let's say hypothetically country x invades the Gibraltar/Isle of Wight/wherever. Do we:

a) Send troops straight away to defend our territory?
b) Organise a vote on the matter which will take several days at the end of which your enemy is severely dug in, fortified their positions and now will cost you a lot more troops?

With the Libya you will note MP's did not have a vote until the event. At which point it becomes very difficult to vote against without seemingly being unpatriotic and not giving the troops already committed the support they need.

I don't think the power itself is a bad thing. But it does give potential for abuse I grant you that. But as they say, with great power comes great responsibility.

The most worrying aspect of the National Defense Authorisation Act 2012 imo is the codifying of indefinite detention. You can be held, without trial, forever. As some of the Gitmo prisoners will be. The US already assassinates its own citizens without any evidence or trial as to their guilt. (Check out the case of Awlaki here)

The fact the UK bypasses democracy on a regular basis to take part in dodgy wars is appalling too and there are equally strong arguments that the UK is an authoritarian state and will become increasingly more so in the War on Poverty. (Oops, sorry, I meant the War on Terror).

War on the Poor, even.