ask the black man, & the navajo before him about liberation & torture

[mopaul]

this shit ain't nothin' new to history, and we often refer to the nazis as the lowest point on the history of man's inhumanity to man. it goes all the way back. and it wasn't just white folks either, all nations, and all societies have witnessed their version of the nazis.

'nazi' a national socialist. nationalism, a dangerous virus. unconditional, obsessive love of one's nation, right or wrong.

all through history, men have behaved worse than animals. animals don't torture for fun. even a damn house cat is practicing his hunting skills, not torturing. only man tortures, not for information, but for a perverse thrill, partly sexual, partly a need to be in control of a person, utterly. sort of like dr. mengele.

i just can't believe that WE HAVE BECOME what we so hated during world war two. it's messing with my head, real bad. we need to not only become a kinder and gentler nation, to quote daddybush, we've got to become a kinder and gentler creature, from the inside out.

i'm a cranky atheist, but i truly wish that millions of americans could get a big ol dose of the real jesus. not the george bush jesus, but the real one. do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. oh, and one of those dusty old commandments would be good too. the one about killing.

[tkulesa]

1. I agree

not about the real jesus part because I don't think there is any proof the man ever really existed.

but I agree with all the other stuff you said.

[yella_dawg]

4. It doesn't matter what you believe...

It matters that those who claim to believe don't follow their own rules. That is what is most disturbing about the self-proclaimed Christians. (The bush-style Christians)

[tkulesa]

6. It doesn't matter what I believe?

That's a bit harsh. It certainly matters to me.

[r_u_stuck2]

2. Let's face it

All these reasons for conquering other people are just for show.

Nobody cared about "liberating iraq", they cared about the oil.

Nobody cared about the Indians, they wanted the land, nobody cared about the black man, they wanted the labor.

But it goes back way farther than that, all through history, the strongest has made the weaker the slave, Romans, etc, etc, etc,.

That was what was so powerful about our constitution and our form of government. We had protection for the minority. I fear that the worship of the Dollar has thrown all that to the wind.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

3. The psychology of America's Fascism: Mindset, Not Rhetoric

Like the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) warning Dubya of Al Queda's ominous threats, the topic of Fascism is more than just 'historical.'

Many people are dismissive of the F-word as mere rhetoric since they haven't really looked into it beyond reruns of old WWII footage on the History Channel, sometimes mockingly called 'the Hitler channel.' Unfortunately, today the pictures are in shockingly realistic color.

Ignore it at your peril. It is not ignoring you. It can find you, eventually, and no remote will switch it off. My governor is a former Austrian body-builder and Hitler admirer turned movie action-figure who was elected (?) to run the world's fifth largest economy. While I'd prefer that this was just a sci-fi tale written by Kurt Vonnegut, I've learned to expect unexpected and undesired outcomes. I no longer assume that progressive justice or humane values inevitably bloom out of talk of freedom wrapped in red-white-and-blue bunting.

So I've put together some links to examine this destructive social phenomenon that I can't resist sharing with anyone who will listen since I judge it to be a rising tide that many won't notice until they are choking on it and wondering where the liberty they used to breathe went and what is that awful smell?

A famous British psychologist did an analysis of Bush*'s family history and personality. Little Georgie was abused, belittled, and overshadowed by his parents so he became an alcoholic, self-destructive, anti-intellectual, and cruel 'authoritarian personality.' His rebellion against his parents is killing many innocents.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1033904,00.html
(So George, How Do You Feel About Your Mom and Dad?

This 'authoritarian' personality is the precursor to Fascism Receptivity as defined by researchers in 1950 who tried to understand how large populations could embrace dictators like Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler. Many Americans match the profile, especially religious fundamentalists. Surprised? I didn't think so. But no comparisons with Hitler, OK? 'Chosen Few' doesn't mean 'Master Race'...does it?
http://www.anesi.com/fscale.htm
(The F Scale Questionnaire to Determine Fascist Receptivity)

Another indictment of cruelty comes from this study on the components of conservatism studied in an academic model. It confirms differences we have noticed as liberals: fear of change, acceptance of inequality, black and white thinking, targeting of 'others.'
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml
(What Makes a Political Conservative)

Now, the 14 scary symptoms of Fascism as a social phenomenon to tie it all together even...worse.
http://empirewatch.org/pages/_archives/fascism/pages/14_symptoms.html
(The Fourteen Symptoms of Fascism)

And now, an analysis of a Bush* State of the Union speech that illustrates the linguistic science of abusive speech used to psychologically manipulate and deceive the listener, something White House speech writers have mastered to diminish the power of the listener. Yes, the counterrevolution has been televised.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/130534_focusecond13.html
(The Power of the Presidency Resides in Language as Well as Law)

This article explains the power of repetition as mind programming and the tactics of disinformation and segregation of 'conspiracy' ideas to hide knowledge of government manipulation through the use of television and other ubiquitous media. The 1938 radio broadcast of 'The War of the Worlds' confirmed the power of mass deception that has been exploited for decades.
New! Improved! Coming to a theater near you!
http://www.mackwhite.com/tv.html
(The TV Hive Mind)

Here is an article that explores the marketing power of fear used by Detroit to sell Americans SUVs, along with help from Arnold Schwarzenegger and the first Bush Gulf war. The same methods were used to link these previous sales to the gutting of the Bill of Rights and an unjustified pre-emptive war all at the same time. What a campaign!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,995252,00.html
Trading On Fear

[Political_Junkie]

8. Thanks for these...

powerful stuff!

[9215]

5. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"

That just keeps wringing in my head these days and it applies on so many levels: Governments > organizations>individuals.

[xchrom]

7. kick

[keithyboy]

9. Please don't be so insightful. It doesn't faze us.

Nice try!

[caffefwee]

10. bump

:kick: