The Spirit of Tyranny is a seductive bastard. I acknowledge that because, if I were to suddenly (and as inexplicably as Dubya) find myself in the position of (de facto) dictator-in-chief, I would be sorely tempted to decree (secretly, of course) that the ones most worthy of the label 'enemy combatants' are those in the White House and Congress who have been systematically dismantling the US Constitution; and, therefore, they should all be the first to enjoy a lifetime of incarceration, sans habeus corpus, in their own torture-ridden detainment camps. Which is precisely why we (rightly) revere America's Founding Fathers for endeavoring to devise a system of government which would prevent such abuses of power. And for the most part, their efforts succeeded - until today. As of now, as Dubya presciently opined last year, the US Constitution finally is 'just a God damn piece of paper'. That sadly being the case, and with only a stacked Supreme Court left to defend it, there's not much we can do now except hope that, having wiped their collective butt with it, each and every one of the treasonous SOBs will develop a righteous case of hemorrhoids.
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Issue 6:
- Robert Bauval
- Collecting Crowley
- Secrets of Fatima
- Manly P. Hall
Tyranny
Michael Moore couldn't have regurgitated that tripe with such an economy of words. Kudos!
Tyranny
Well said Kat. My heart is heavy today. In just a few short years GW and his minions have managed to take a nation founded on principles that had been admired all over the world and made the US the scourge of the world. Our elections are for the most part a joke. Controlled by big business and the power brokers. We have ceased being a republic, Democracy? Perhaps we should see about making it work right here before we try to force it on others. But it seems to me that democracy cannot be forced on a people, it must come from within. It takes a burning desire for freedom, caring for fellow citizens and people to grow a democracy. It takes nuturing, but not at he end of a M16 barrel.
I fear that the U.S. is staring into the abyss. This once great country could well be on the long slide down. Our politicians no longer inspire us with great ideas and hope. The instead use fear and behind the scene manipulation as well as retributions to keep the people in line.
Makes you wonder. This country is less then 250 years old. How did the ancient egyptians keep a their culture flourishing for thousands of years? It is really chilling to contrast the two cultures. We will not make 300 years, maybe not even 250 at the rate we are going.
Sad day... :-(
Sad Day
Get a grip. Politics are cyclical, just like global weather conditions, the economy and end-of-the-world fear mongers. Liberals will eventually be back in power and the fate of America and the world will turn around overnight as we all know that as long as liberals have power things are a-ok. I'm sure the New York Times will have a front page headline informing us all of the great news.
I recentley picked up a CD,
I recentley picked up a CD, the symphony session of Dennis Deyoung. This music often referred to the Vietnam War, yet it sounded alot like now. We are in the age of universal decline. Our consumer existant is draining the earth of it's power. I heard a quote a while back...."When a tree loses sight of it's roots, it will collapse." Let's hope these times are a phase, or blip in time. We should be more optomistic, skeptical yet optomistic.
cycles of time
Yes I have no doubt that it is part of a cycle. Still does not change the feeling that this is a dark day. I just hope the cycle is a short one. I am sure GW expects to be remembered in history as a great leader. IMHO he will be. But perhaps not like he imagines. More like Nero... "Here is you fiddle Mr. President"
Legacy
We heard the same sky is falling, world is ending, dastardly evil doers are afoot nonsense when Reagan was President. History has vindicated him despite the same types of efforts we see now is terms of trying to charaterize the curretn President. Objective history, the benefit hind sight and the delayed fruits of political policies have a way of negating media bias and political spin.
The economy is steaming right along, we haven't had a major terrorist attack against us in over 5 years (something Clinton could never claim) and liberals are at 50 year low point in politcal power across all levels of government. Things are pretty darn good, depsite a war that costs less than governmenn "entitlement" programs and has cost fewer lives than one month's worth of traffic accidents. So you can stay boarded up in the basement of depression if you like, but I'll stay outside and enjoy the sunshine!
Economy?
Steaming right along? Where are you man? Borneo and your currency is fish? Here in the U.S.A., we have an economy increasingly being propped up by the massive and non-stop creation of credit and currency. The government takes up an ever greater portion of GDP and prints the money to do so. Of course there will be growth with a wide open monetary spigot like that . . . but at what price? High prices is the price. Inflation is the thing that is steaming right along, and the government habitually changes the way they figure inflation, taking out little things like FUEL . . . MEDICINE . . . . FOOD . . .HOUSING. . that's right, the things you need every day, that you have watched increase by double digit percentage points year after year are not even figured into the governments version of inflation. If you worked your whole life, paying into the system and now recieve Social Security, your increases are tied to this government lie, and not to the reality you face on the street. You can buy less and less and less. But the fat cats make more and more and more.
You must be either A: Living in a Cave and consider a can of soup pretty fat living.
Or B: Rich, and above suffering the constant grinding ravage of inflation,
Or Finally C: A Republican NeoCon dupe sent here to make waves.
Never in all of the history of our country have so few benefitted at the expense of so many. You mention history looking back on Reagan. You think GW is 1/2 the man Reagan was??? And Reagan was a MOVIE ACTOR!!!
The only sunshine I see is shining out of your behind.
AncientSkyman
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
George Bernard Shaw
Politics are cyclical
And the Berlin wall was permanent.
Also, the world does not revolve around Liberals VS Conservative personal interpretations.
All Empires had an end and this civilization is no exception for a simple reason: it is only accessory it is in no way fundamental.
Berlin Wall Permanent for a Whole Generation . . .
. . . and thousands upon thousands trapped behind it died without ever tasting freedom again.
Think about what you're saying and how it impacts the man on the street.
Peace,
AncientSkyman
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
George Bernard Shaw
Shaw
George Bernard Shaw admired both Stalin and Hitler. In my opinion, that makes Shaw a very stupid man.
Show me your sources for that . . .
. . .and I'll consider revising my tag line . . . and not until.
Peace,
ASM
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
George Bernard Shaw
common ?
If I google things like "Shaw Stalin", I get interesting results within 10 seconds.
Shaw was one of many socialists in his day who admired Stalin, even though Stalin killed millions of people.
But that is quite consistent with your quote - Stalin made progress, and he was an unreasonable man. The trouble is that both the progress and the unreasonableness were quite negative.
Be that as it may, Stalin and also Hitler are still heroes for some people. I disagree with those people, even if they are gifted poets. That is my opinion, gifted people can be stupid. That's all.
Misguided Shaw
You're right, gifted poets can be stupid. But it detracts not one whit from their giftness. It was time for a new tag line anyway. . .
ASM
. . . still looking . . .
also
Sure, gifted people can attach themselves to romantic notions, sometimes in spite of evidence that these notions are illusions.
Also some evil people can be intelligent, and say quotable things. Stalin said something like "quantity has a quality all it's own". And many other intelligent things.
Perhaps he was not first to say that, and I bet he did not say it in english, so my quote is inaccurate. But he was correct.
And I don't think that Shaw was evil. Just somewhat mistguided like many people in that period. Lots of that going around then. And now.
Berlin wall
My comment had to do with the fact that even though people had come to believe that the Eastern Block was a permanent feature of geopolitics, it still disappeared brutally.
Now, people like to believe that the current world landscape is a permanent feature and I answer to that that it will too disappear.
How this impacts the man on the street has more to do with that man's propension to look the other way, not with me saying anything.
Btw, I was not making the apology of Stalinian Communism but pointing out and example of cyclical world events that do not result in a 'cyclical status quo'.
Again, the world does not revolve around Liberals VS Conservatives and those trapped into either of those have a very difficult time seeing further than the limit of those ideologies.
Your sense of outrage
I know I said I do not come to TDG for politics, but I have to agree with your comments. I worry about what is going on in America - and I live the other side of the Atlantic!
Nostra
The Constitution is Dead
On September 29th Habeus Corpus died in the US. We have turned an importent corner. The people of the US do not on the whole support this administration, or congress. As of 2 years ago, more people had protested the war in Iraq then had protested during the whole Vietnam war. But our media is controlled by the Fascist dictatiorship. You don't see the protest, you don't see the crowds on TV as you did during Vietnam. October 5th is a national strike day, a day to take to the streets. I hope it gets mean and bloody. We need blood to move against these evil bastards that have hyjacked our country and crashed it into those twin towers 5 years ago. For to long we have been polite and stayed within our "free speech zones". Hemorroids, hell waterboard them, slap them up against a wall, and screw the blindfold.
peace
Bloodthirsty pacifists, let's hear it for peace.
Yes indeed.
Violence Plays Into The Hands Of The Evil Bastards!
bladerunner
If you get violent, you give the Evil Bastards an excuse to take away even more civil rights. Furthermore, your violence will be crushed by the Evil Bastards. They understand violence and can deal with it. Don't play their game! In this case, passive resistance and non-compliance to their demands works much better. The Evil Bastards don't know how to deal with passive resistance and non-compliance. They only know how to give orders which must be followed for them to survive. Non-compliance with those orders and passive resistance to their demands will shatter their Sadistic Empire! If you make them play your game, They Lose!
By the way, don't you think that the term "Evil Bastards" is much too polite? On the other hand, accurate terminology would be too offensive,wouldn't it?
What do you think?
cnnek
{You Can Teach People How To Think Or What To Think; But, You Can't Do Both! It Is Better To Teach People How To Think!!!}
yes indeed
I am with you on this one, Kennc. In the societies that bladerunner is addressing, peaceful and passive resistance does work. It has worked in the past, and it will work in the future.
So there is no reason to break things or kill people there. Just speaking your mind, long enough and with enough insistence, will work.
There have been societies where this what not the case. But in today's western cultures (including Japan I think) dialog actually does work.
In Japan...
earthling
Any methods other than dialogue and other peaceful methods that are legal to solve problems are considered to be totally unacceptable! You can argue; but, you can't resort to violence or other illegal means to solve problems.
What do you think?
cnnek
{You Can Teach People How To Think Or What To Think; But, You Can't Do Both! It Is Better To Teach People How To Think!!!}
I agree
The same is true in most of western Europe. Of course that is the public version. Even in the USA and in Canada it works. When people argue long and hard, things change.
A good example is the environmental policies. Some of that started in Europe, or so they think. Most of it started on the west coast of North America. California had the first anti-smog regulations for cars, and they still have the strictest. Greenpeace originated in British Columbia (which is in Canada, for those less informed).
There are more examples of how dialog actually can work, if you can get all sides to talk eventually.
Unfortunately, there are some people who won't listen. And I don't know what to do about those.
An interesting part here is that the most "pacifist" countries now are the big losers of the last big war. Germany and Japan, and some of their neighbors.
For the last 40 years the middle class and poor has
slowly, peacefully and passively given in to the goverments requests. And where has that gotten US? And where to begin with the list of things gone wrong? Done in a peaceful and nonviolent manner! Just like boiling a frog.
Evil Bastards
Its my favorite way to invoke their names. If I ever meet the Prez or any of the rest of the inner circle. I probably will say " Hello you Evil Bastard." Well anyway, marched today in Portland Oregon. Only the Anarchist were arrested. They really had to work hard at it too. Alot of women in their 50's and 60's, that was interesting. And at the end of our downtown protest we marched to the local newpaper The Oregonian and protested their coverage of this Administrations lies, and criminal activity. All went well. Believe me with todays protests around the country, and the Foley Republican Sex Scandal the Republicans are in deep $hit. Hurrah!!!
The Conservative Fundamentalist Right Wing...
bladerunner
Of the Republican Party is in deep $hit!
Bansai! Bansai!! Bansai!!!
Only a very fine Lady would use such polite terminology as "Evil Bastards"!
What do you think?
cnnek
{You Can Teach People How To Think Or What To Think; But, You Can't Do Both! It Is Better To Teach People How To Think!!!}