DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT? "from late 2001-January 19, 2009, this country was a dictatorship"

[originalpckelly]

Keith Olbermann just said Rove and Meirs have made deal to testify, and that someone analyst said the US may have been a dictatorship from 2001-2009. HOLY SHIT!

UPDATE: It was Scott Horton.

Here's the article Keith's quoting:
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/03/hbc-90004488

Here's the quote:
"We may not have realized it at the time, but in the period from late 2001-January 19, 2009, this country was a dictatorship. The constitutional rights we learned about in high school civics were suspended. That was thanks to secret memos crafted deep inside the Justice Department that effectively trashed the Constitution. What we know now is likely the least of it."

[originalpckelly]

1. Sheldon Whitehouse to be on next.

Talking about the dictatorship thing and Rover's testimony.

[midnight]

21. Smart man. Do you have a link?

[malaise]

27. On now n/t

[Hissyspit]

2. Scott Horton wrote about law professors who looked at Yoo memos and others.

And told us what we already knew.

I'm sure Turley will have interesting stuff to say about it.

[midnight]

23. Last November during election night, I was speaking with

a man who worked as an attorney for a city. He was discussing running for a position as a judge. After a while I flat out asked him. Where have all the attorney's been in this country, and why in the hell are we allowing our private data to be mined by our govt.? I scared him.

[malaise]

3. We were not crazy

We knew. The underground was vigilant. I'm so proud of every suspicious DUer who posted everything they knew. :fistbump:

[elleng]

7. No, we were not crazy;

in fact it was apparent to anyone who chose to pay attention.

Wanna bet they get NOTHING useful from those 2?

[AlCzervik]

28. I regret i cannot answer that question on the advice from my attorney.

[bdamomma]

37. alot of " I do not recalls"

[SemperEadem]

94. "I do not recall" = "I'm obstructing justice"

and when they answer with "I do not recall", they need to be asked "are you obstructing justice?"

[live love laugh]

80. There was a coup and yes, a dictatorship, We knew that. nt

[The Hope Mobile]

82. Yes we did.

[defendandprotect]

111. Right . . . and we're still using the computers -- and the Supremes are still in play --- !!!

[glinda]

115. Yes. the fear and energy level was really high during the elections. We knew.

[terisan]

4. and if so the Democratic Party had years to fight it, but did not. nt

[leftstreet]

6. Complicit n/t

[polichick]

14. Yes, that's a problem.

[originalpckelly]

33. The big burning question: If this was a dictatorship...

why did they let Obama win?

That scares the shit out of me.

[TBF]

48. No kidding, eh. n/t

[polichick]

69. They didn't let him - the numbers were too large to pull off another steal.

[wroberts189]

84. I will endorse this theory imho nt

[readmoreoften]

101. What would they be afraid of? People in the streets rioting?

Numbers are never too large for a dictatorship to steal, especially when they own the spin machine.

[polichick]

104. U.S. voting is handled by the states - not enough corrupt officials and too many...

...Obama voters and poll watchers to steal it a third time.

[Enthusiast]

127. I believe you are right. nt

[sallyseven]

90. The knew it and want Obama to take the rap.

Two years from now they will say the dems caused the recession and made it worse with healthcare, bank bailouts and the automotive bailouts. They did nothing wrong and they left a solid economy. There are idiots out there that will believe them. Count on it. Rush the lush will tell them so.

[defendandprotect]

112. I guess we're going to find out why . . . !!!

[napoleon_in_rags]

122. You got to hold down the three Ms for any dictatorship

Money, Media, Military. They lost the Money with the market collapse.

[Demeter]

134. They lost the Military, too.

By destroying it, and disillusioning those who survived.

[Enthusiast]

126. I think the players had

milked the country and received huge monetary rewards. They don't have to control the country, they have what they set out to steal.

[Demeter]

133. They Had a Busted Flush at the BFEE

and Obama had some extraordinary luck generated for him by the Progressive/Liberal branch of the Democratic Party, the branch he's given the back of his hand to, led by Howard Dean, the Good Doctor who wasn't good enough for foul-mouthed Rahm Emanuel. And then there was the complete collapse of the world economy, and the stubborn refusal of the Iraqis to lie down and die...oh, and the destruction of the US Armed forces...and the Internet, our deus ex machina!

Reality--It's what for dinner!

[iamthebandfanman]

103. they played politics

while our country was being destroyed.



theres no excuse either.

[Jeep789]

5. US may have been in a dictatorship?

Looks like some of "us" were too stupid to even know it.

[spanone]

20. 'we' knew

[conscious evolution]

66. Damn straight

[kestrel91316]

36. Those of us who weren't watching American Idol or listening 24/7 to

RW hate radio certainly knew it.

[TBF]

53. Some of us watched American Idol and still knew...

hey, I like Bo Bice :)

[Moonwalk]

89. Personally, I never thought of us as a dictatorship. I thought we were a Kleptocracy.

Of course, those are often run by dictators, aren't they?

[BuyingThyme]

8. What's the analyst part?

[originalpckelly]

9. ?

Turn on KO. Sheldon Whitehouse to be on soon, Keith to talk more about it.

[BuyingThyme]

11. I'm MSNBC challenged.

[originalpckelly]

13. Well, they'll post it on the webs.

:P

[JimboDem]

62. try this

http://www.tvpc.com/Channel.php?ChannelID=1685

[originalpckelly]

30. I updated the original post with the quote from Scott Horton.

Scary shit people, and it makes you wonder something:
If this was a dictatorship, why Obama? How did he win? Did they let him, and why would they?

[BuyingThyme]

34. Thank you very much.

And yes, we have so many questions which have to be asked an answered.

[dgibby]

64. Why?

My theory is that in order to obtain a permanent Republican majority, it would be necessary to throw the election in order to let the Dems get blamed for the looming Greatest Depression, thereby ensuring a Republican victory in the next election and for many eons to come.

That's assuming that they LET Obama win, and I'm not saying they did, but IF they did, then that would be my theory.

Of course, the dictatorship couldn't be pulled off without declaring martial law, and that would require the cooperation of the entire US Military, something I suspect they did not have, ergo, no coup.

[earth mom]

74. Those are questions I've been asking for over a year now. Ever since they kicked Edwards to the curb

when he came in 2nd place in Iowa.

[muntrv]

10. But it won't be public. I believe it'll be behind closed doors.

[originalpckelly]

15. Yep, no cameras allowed, per last few moment on KO...

it definitely sounds like a sham hearing just to shut us little uppity democrats up.

[TBF]

54. I'm sick of "behind closed doors". Open the doors! n/t

[wroberts189]

85. ..and let the sunshine in ..no reason for closed doors except lawbreaking. nt

[defendandprotect]

114. We have to demand open hearings on this --- !!!

Too much stuff is being moved behind closed doors -- !!!

F-it . . . Obama is making "deals" with Bush people on evidence/memos???

[Buzz Clik]

12. Dictatorship? How did that election thingy fit in...

:shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. The same way the PAN got it in Mexico

This is the nature of DICTABLANDA

[TBF]

51. Dictablanda? ok, here is wiki for everyone else who has to look

that up like me :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictablanda

[hfojvt]

76. sounds like a combination of Mike Ditka and George Blanda

Where Mike Ditka finds a way to win the Superbowl even though Da Bears have already been eliminated from the playoffs. Watch Ditka.

[originalpckelly]

22. In the original Roman context, it most certainly was a dictatorship.

In the name of an emergency, the constitution was put on hold. Just like Germany. Just like any other formerly representative government that turns into a dictatorship.

Only this was all done in secret. No one knew that Bush could do anything he wanted.

It was a hidden dictatorship.

By the way, dictator in the Roman Republic was an elected office.

[malaise]

38. I still worry about the emergency

I've been tormenting hubby since these memos were released. That emergency was way too convenient given the previous plans.

[truth2power]

100. Flase flag operation. I quit visiting the 9/11 forum a long time ago...

No real discussion going on there, and a lot of obstruction IMO.

People are convicted every day on one-tenth the evidence there was on 9/11. Circumstantial, yes. But absent an eyewitness or a confession that's all you have in any case.

In a just world Bush and Cheney would have been tried, convicted of treason and suffered the punishment appropriate to that crime long ago.

I'm done talking! I want trials!

[hfojvt]

77. Bush could do anything he wanted

Only nobody knew it because he never did anything that actually impacted ordinary people's lives directly. Wow, imagine the power. It's like aliens broke into my apartment, stole everything and replaced it with exact duplicates. In the same way, Bush stole all our Constitutional rights and replaced them with exact duplicates.

[Pacifist Patriot]

98. Dictatorial governments can be voted in.

Granted, rarely are such elections truly legitimate reflections of the people's will, but...oh wait...maybe we're on to something. ;)

[peacetalksforall]

16. Is Olberman and Maddow streamed live or only videos? anyone know how to connect?

[Berry Cool]

41. MSNBC doesn't stream live, only posts videos after the fact and offers a downloadable podcast.

Sometimes MSNBC is on BlinkoTV, but not consistently.

[JimboDem]

61. MSNBC Stream

at http://www.tvpc.com/Channel.php?ChannelID=1685

[chollybocker]

17. You said it!

Yoo said it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. US a dictatorship? NAH, that tinfoil has gone back to the US national supply

new fashion, or old, depends on your point of view... Tricorner hat


:toast:

To all of you WERE PAYING ATTENTION

Hope you enjoy your new tricorner hat

[originalpckelly]

24. In the classical Roman sense of dictator, even overtly...

Bush was a dictator, it's on KO now.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. I know, I want TRIALS

for ahem TREASON

SIC SEMPTER TYRANNIS

[originalpckelly]

26. It's beyond that now. Obama quotes Lincoln's house divided speech.

Well, Bush cracked the foundation of this house. A house without a foundation cannot long stand. The house should be condemned and demolished.

It's a TOP SECRET EMPIRE!

Instead of governor-generals like the British had, we manipulate foreign governments/overthrow them until we get leaders willing to fall in line with us and send us their country's natural resources, like an old empire. But all of it happens in secret.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Well we crossed the Rubicon in 2003 or so

damn you RUPERT!

And I hope we find our way back, or the republic is dead

[originalpckelly]

31. Read Roman history, the republic died long ago...

for more than 100 years, we've been an imperial power, but from 1947 on it was almost all done in secret.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Yes, but just like Roman History

the moment Rome crossed the rubicon was way after the fall of the Republic

That is when they crossed the Rubicon, aka when it is not reversible at all

[originalpckelly]

42. And Bush crossed the Rubicon.

:-(

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. According to Rupert in 2003

I hold a modicum of hope that we may be able to reverse it

Hope is all we have, that or sic semper tyrannis and all that this means

[TBF]

55. I've been listening to my mom talk about it since the early 70's -

so it goes back that far at least. I think people got particularly suspicious after Kennedy's assassination.

[tom_paine]

70. Been wearing my tricorner hat since I got to DU in late March 2001

Thanks for the toast, and one back at you, you crazy conspiracy theorist!

:toast:

You know what, though? Paying attention in a nation of mostly somnolent ADD sheep and Bushie Stormtroopers is a fucking curse.

Nothing gets through the zombification. NOTHING.

Even NOW, people are in DEEP denial. Even now, with this evidence, people are pooh-poohing.

We may be wearing the tricorn hat, but are there enough of us to counter the fact that most of the American Subject Populace are TV-drugged slaves waiting for their chains?

Maybe I am underestimating the American People. But Great Depressions mean Nazis-Bushies return to power, from where I am sitting.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, the American Subject Populace is FAR more mentally similar to 1933 Germans than 1933 Americans, IMHO.

That is something I don't see changing a whole lot, Obama's election notwithstanding And Obama'a election has propelled the RW to true Nazi-like hysteria and virulence.

Obama's election gives me hope, but from one Cassandra to another, this thing is far from over. Nazis and Bushies don't mind losing elections. They re playing on a wholly different field, one that Liberals have time and time again proven ill-equipped to understand throughout history, when dealing with tyrants.

Politically, what the Bushies are doing seems insane and guaranteed to further marginalize them.

But maybe they are about something other than "politics"...

Let's hope that we Cassandras are wrong about this.

[Fumesucker]

88. Truer words were never written..

""Paying attention in a nation of mostly somnolent ADD sheep and Bushie Stormtroopers is a fucking curse.""

I've paid a very high price indeed for being aware of what's been going on.

[Enthusiast]

129. Heavy duty thinkin' there, Tom.

Zombification! Now that is an accurate description.

"Nothing gets through the zombification. NOTHING." Perfectly said. The 'true believers' would never entertain the possibility that their perception might be at odds with reality.

[NOW tense]

32. Whaaaaaaat? n/t

[originalpckelly]

35. Yeeees, dictatorship.

The whole thing.

[NOW tense]

39. Bush should be put in house arrest this second. n/t

[TBF]

57. Yes. n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

95. Should be but won't be. I wonder why not?

:shrug: Perhaps TPTB?

[leftstreet]

44. So, technically, what stopped it from being a 'dictatorship' 1/19/09?

Aside from the obvious inference re: Obama's election.

Was there some sort of exec order, or legislative thingy?

:shrug:

[originalpckelly]

46. And how did Obama get to power without being corrupted?

Did he make a deal behind the scenes?

I think we're only beginning to find out what the fuck is going on here.

We know that Obama will not end the CIA, and we know the CIA is still going around the world overthrowing foreign governments/interfering in their affairs.

[TBF]

50. We know from Obama's book (the 2nd one) that he did some meeting

with Warren Buffet. You've got to follow the money - always - to get the answers.

[readmoreoften]

102. My guess is that there are entities more powerful than the pitiful Republican party

and its silly neoconservatives.

[hugo_from_TN]

128. Perhaps we just switched dictators.

[Sebastian Doyle]

45. Late 2001?

No, more like late 2000. December 12, to be exact. That's when the shredding of the Constitution began, when 5 Bush Crime Family so-called "Justices" overturned a presidential election and installed that Chimp piece of shit in the White House.

[originalpckelly]

47. And what about the CIA? It's not like this shit just started yesterday...

that whole Iran-Contra sounds like it's tied to this.

[Sebastian Doyle]

49. The CIA has always been an extension of the Bush Crime Family

And Poppy's been in the loop for the worst of their crimes.

[TBF]

56. There's alot about the CIA that has leaked out over the years.

For instance, bin Laden on their payroll.

[dysfunctional press]

52. no- it was a dick-tatorship. as in cheney.

nt

[Cerridwen]

58. Which begs the question, especially given the 2006 election results...

what did the Democrats know and when did they know it?

Which begs a few more questions which I won't post here.

[TBF]

60. Yeah, a few more subpoenas would be helpful. n/t

[Cerridwen]

67. Quite a "few." n/t

[Adsos Letter]

68. Well...I'll take a venture at a couple more questions...

And WHICH Democrats knew it, and to what degree were they willingly complicit? And is that agenda continuing as we speak?

[Cerridwen]

116. Uh, huh. Those would be a couple of the others I was thinking of.

The stench is coming from both sides of the aisle. Holding our noses and pretending it's not will not do us any good.

:(

[GeorgeGist]

59. Actually the deal was between Conyers and Obama.

The White House was under a deadline to justify their unwillingness to pursue Bush crimes regarding the USA firings. To avoid that, Obama's lawyers offered Conyer's a compromise. There will be private testimony, not under oath, with retention of Rove and Miers right to claim executive privelege. Obama's pledge of transparency in government, like his pledge about lobbyists, wasn't carved in granite. There must be exceptions to his own rules, if he is to rule.

[originalpckelly]

63. That and taking money from PACs,,,

he didn't take money from PACs, he took money from the people who usually donate to PACs (see high level executives, big wig investors) including Allen Stanford. Stanford also donated to McCain, who was the campaign finance crusader. One has to wonder what Stanford was doing with that money.

It's like both sides are on the take.

[baldguy]

65. A dictatorship usually follows a coup d'etat.

That's what happened Dec 13, 2000.

[scubadude]

75. You have the date wrong, it occured earlier.

Yes, you have the date it was substantiated, but I believe the illegal actions were solidified on the day of the Brooks Brothers Riot. That illegal action is what began the Dictatorship. Mob action used to end the legal process.

Remember the people banging on the doors and windows, demanding the stop of the recount, while Bush was still ahead?

Do you remember that many of the goons there were flown in on corporate jets and that many were republican staff? Do you remember that many were awarded with government jobs afterwords?

In my mind I knew the Dictatorship had begun.

Below are a few links to substantiate my comment. The last is especially telling.


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E3DD103AF937A15752C1A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/080502a.html

http://www.someofnothing.com/2008/01/we-will-never-forget-brooks-brothers.html

scuba

[baldguy]

79. The USSC decree made it "legal".

At that time the branch of the US federal govt charged with upholding the law decided to break it instead & back the coup.

[Enthusiast]

131. I remember it well, Scuba.

I knew then and there that the entire thing was planned for in advance. What the future will bring is frightening to ponder.

[Initech]

71. Bush's (p)residency had all the makings of a dictatorship, absolutely.

Coup dé tât? Check.

Oppressing your own citizens? Check.

Starting a war just because you can? Checkity check check.

[Enthusiast]

132. Yup. +1 Intech. nt

[WhiteTara]

72. are you surprised

that they said it or that what they said was true?

[earth mom]

73. No shit Sherlock. Most of us here on DU knew it was a dictatorship with a complicit Congress.

And now that * & Co is gone everyone thinks everything is hunky dory and it's not.

Because far too many in Congress were complicit & have blood on their hands.

How desperately do you think some of them are working now to hide that fact, hmm?

Let's not be in denial about this, people.

This country is not out of the woods yet.

Not by a long shot.

[Turborama]

78. Just posted this in the Political Videos forum for those who may have missed it.

Thanks for posting the Harpers link, should make for a very interesting read...


:kick: & R

[dmr]

81. Why is Yoo still teaching? I wouldn't want him teaching my son. n/t

[Orsino]

83. Not quite the same things as a dictatorship.

The tattered remnants of democracy still deterred the Bush Administration from seizing absolute power. Bush himself quietly accepted his lame-duck status, contenting himself with mere obstructionism. Our rights, meanwhile, weren't quite suspended--it's just chilling to have that plan revealed.

We did come close.

[RJ Connors]

86. Yeah, like, you didn't know that? n/t

[Piewhacket]

87. Duh... been shouting "Fire!" for some time....

This should be a "duh" matter for DUers.
Or perhaps rather "holy s*!!!" We knew this.
The last two years made it clear that BUSH might not
step down from office!!!!! (based on a pretextual 'war' powers).

Its been scary f* sh*t going on, with threatened abrogation
of posse comitatus and use of the military ... and the obvious
hundred other things...

If it were not for the economic meltdown.... god help us.

The Bush Administration (criminal enterprise) conspired to overthrow the US government
by force and other illegal means. They failed, but are nonetheless
and nothing less than traitors. They should be tried and hung.

But we didn't need the memos to know this.
we knew them by their works.

[jimshoes]

124. I'd like to know what exactly made them

give up their plans for a complete takeover. Was it the financial meltdown or was that just a part of it? I'm convinced this whole thing did not end the way they were hoping. And that whole oath of office chimpy took about defend and protect the Constitution of the United States was so much hot air as far as he was concerned. He never meant to live by that oath, he meant to break it from the second he said it. And yes, they should be tried and hung.

[bertman]

138. Why have a "formal" public coup when you can accomplish your goals without one?

Emergency "bailout" in October begins the process of our government turning over TRILLIONS of dollars to the financial elites aka Republican base. New Democratic President agrees to install "centrist" cabinet and work with the opposition party to ensure charade of "we the people" running the country. Compliant Congress jumps to the tune of their pipers on Wall Street and in the Financial Industry and donates another TRILLION to the financial elites. Democratic President agrees to continue U.S. wars of imperialism but on a somewhat reduced timetable and subject to "events on the ground"--as defined by our MIC leaders, of course.

Meanwhile, the onrushing Depression puts millions of Americans in dire financial straits and in a constant state of fear and apprehension. Civil unrest grows and our local, state and national authorities are forced to enlist more Americans into the ranks of the Oppressors of the people. Civil rights are suspended due to unrest and government uses its already Congressionally-approved powers of surveillance over the populace to ensure that "agitators and organizers" are arrested and detained.

The Treasury has been emptied. The MIC has been preserved. The Police State has been implemented. The will of the people has been broken.

What else could they hope for, jimshoes?

[Piewhacket]

140. It could have been worse???

Nice comment bertman.

Our democratic institutions have again been tested and have survived. Barely.
But as pointed out, the wounds are grave and still bleeding.

I am of the view there was a deadly serious plan to destabilize and overthrow
the US but in the last few days my breath has gone out of me as I realize
its scope, and how close a thing it really was. The New World Order.
It is beyond me to know what actually caused it to collapse... incompetence?

But if you want to understand what COULD HAVE happened next, within a few (5 years)
consider Hitler Germany and Stalinist USSR, or perhaps merely Franco Spain.
The stars were all lined up. So right/left seems not a productive way to
think about these anti-democratic forces. Think of it more as organized crime
on a massive scale, you know, just business. Or the game of world domination.

I've long seen evidence of a plan (early 1990s), not the whack-wings stuff.. they are just tools..
but a serious organized/cooperative strategy far beyond that of a single brilliant mind.
A deep think tank. But I figured just your ordinary brilliant well-funded whackouts.
But never before , until the last few days, did I appreciate these deep think tanks
might be my own country's CIA or equivalent. They are supposed to destabilize OTHER
governments, NOT US!! But I guess they are supposed to know how to do it, eh?

So now the tinfoil hat has come on and I begin to wonder if CIA theories/methods/data
were subverted and directed (fed) to private purpose think tanks to aid plans for
a political (non-democratic) takeover of the US.
Would that have been Treason? OF COURSE!

[bertman]

142. Piewhacket, my opinion is that our democratic institutions have been tested and MAY NOT

have survived. I'm thinking that we won't know the answer for at least three or four years. According to all of the big-name economists, and even Buffett and Soros, this recession won't even bottom out for another year. That is another year just to HIT BOTTOM. If we're lucky. Then, after that we begin the long climb out. IF We're Lucky.

In the meantime, desperation will have set in among millions of unemployed and homeless Americans who feel like they have been stomped on by the wealthy--and, of course, they are right. How the desperate react to this situation is going to be the deciding factor IMHO. When I say desperate I refer to many, many hardcore, anti-government right wingers AS WELL AS the other millions who are politically DISconnected and the millions of progressives who will expect their government to aid them in their time of need. Having all of those types in an uproar, along with the braying of the Limbaughs and the Hannity's, could lead to some very ugly confrontations that will call down martial law upon ALL of US.

Like you, I think there is a method to this madness, but I don't know who is behind it. What I do know is that these folks have been studying what has happened in other situations like this and they have certainly used what they learned in implementing this situation.

And while we don't know who is planning it, we do know who is implementing it--the U.S. Treasury Department under advisement of the same bunch of characters who managed to get the regulations gutted, then feasted on earnings from private financial entities, and who now are feeding their former employers so they can feast on taxpayer largesse.

[Piewhacket]

143. Now is chaos, the future and what will emerge from this is unclear...

But let us count some blessings, at least...

We have the fact that Bush stepped down. That is at least a sign that our
democracy survived, at least for the moment. I was seriously concerned he/they
might attempt a coup. No joke. If you ever studied about the Stalinist purges,
you will have some appreciation of how serious that could have been. Violent
protests and some civil unrest are utterly insignificant in comparison. Yet I do
not believe for one second we are completely out of dangerous woods, much damage has
been done, and it is not clear how or if it will be repaired. So if you would keep
your liberty, be always vigilant.

We have a brilliant new president Obama. We are unbelievably lucky to get someone
of his ability. He ain't anywhere near as progressive as me, or even of most
of the DU. And some things are even troubling. Still, we can at least breath again.
So that is welcome.

The economy is a serious concern, but nothing compared to a world police state.
My parents and grandparents lived through the great depression, and all my life
told me stories. We were poor, clergy and teachers. Things will be hard, dramatic
adjustments in lifestyle, some grave hardships, some violence, but for most, survivable.
Thoreau said "simplify". That is a key. Help each other. That is a key.
Necessity is a great teacher. Let us become students of necessity.

As for the future, it is the undiscovered country. We leap into that darkness always in hope.
But all is not lost, for we now have at least a chance. Our children have a chance.
To make what we can of it.

Thanks for the excellent comments.

[Javaman]

91. May? nt

[infidel dog]

92. Dubya, dubya, uber alles...

[SemperEadem]

93. yeah... and Bush even joked about how much easier it would be if it were a dictatorship, too

I'm not surprised that they've finally gotten to this conclusion. This has been a dictatorship for the past 8 years. That's what our side has been saying for 8 years.

[Lyric]

96. And exactly what rights have been "restored" as of now?

This is what I want to know. We KNOW Bush was an authoritarian fascist nightmare. What we want to know NOW is, what is the government doing to restore Constitutional rule of law?

They could start by repealing the fucking Patriot Act.

[windbreeze]

97. are we surprised really?? it was obvious * was doing whateverthehell he wanted..

and no one could do a thing to stop him....wb

[guitar man]

99. It still is

and it will continue to be until the guilty parties are arrested, tried, sentenced and the rule of law is fully restored. In addition, it needs to be permanently etched into history with an admonishment to never do it again. If we don't root out this poision and cast it out, it WILL happen again. And the next bunch of thugs just might make the bush cabal looks like boy scouts in comparison. :(

[RoccoR5955]

105. Didn't smeghead Bush say that he wanted a dictatorship?

Especially with him as the dictator?

[sarcasmo]

106. I was called a tinfoil hatter many times during those eight years and I want an apology.

[MadrasT]

107. SQUEAK!!!!

OMG!!! ME TOO!!!!

How MANY OF US screamed it from the ROOFTOPS and nobody would freaking LISTEN?????????

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Vilis Veritas]

108. Bullshit. It WAS/IS/HAS BEEN a Corporate Oligarchy.

This is obfuscation by the complicit media meant to distract attention from the reality of Corporate Crimes and Thefts on a massive scale.

[Xenotime]

109. PROCECUTE!!

[defendandprotect]

110. Rove and Meirs under oath? "A deal . . . ??

More, more, more . . . !!!!

[Fountain79]

113. If it had been a dictatorship...

How could there have been a transition of power? If it had been a dictatorship how could the Democratic Party gain control of Congress in 2006? Statements such as that do a disservice to the Democratic Party.

[Towlie]

117. What would you call it then?

[BuyingThyme]

135. Happens all the time.

I think it just happened in Pakistan.

[dkofos]

118. You had to be told that??

[Kurovski]

119. Yep.

It looked like it, and felt like it. The "leaders" spoke like those in a dictatorship. there was fear from the so-called "opposition" party, and George thought it was all perfectly swell for him, and said so. Now we hear it was all on the books, so to speak.

I remember distinctly the night I was talking with a friend on the phone in Washington state when we were discussing politics and I finally said, and fully realized that we were--for all practical purposes--living in a dictatorship. he saw it too. The bottom dropped out for a time. It was a quietly disturbing era. Few people seemed to actually be paying attention.

We were not without some fear in those days, but it never got anywhere as bad as it certainly could have. There was a great deal of intimidation that few in the press stood up to.

It was the source of a fair amount of gallows humor here at DU.

I have to admit that I'm not fully over it, or over the lack of concern I saw in too many people. Of course, when people can't afford to buy things in this country, that's how you get them to pay attention. And here we are.

Will they be pulling this crap again? Probably. And that's why I think we should not let-up on trying and convicting the past administration on every crime and offense.

[2 Much Tribulation]

120. They ACTED AS DICTATORSHIP, but a memo doesn't suspend the Constitution!!!! nt

[Initech]

139. No, the Patriot Act took care of that.

[RedCloud]

121. I got some hanging trees in my back yard...

Could use them as scare crows after justice is served.

[JohnWxy]

123. of course, it all started with an illigitimate aborted election. Thank Tony "the reign-maker" Skalia

[Christa]

125. K & R nt

[Generic Other]

130. what do they mean we didn't realize it?

[harmonicon]

136. you don't say?

[santamargarita]

137. Yes I did know that! One third of this country are fascists!

And fascists steal elections until they do away with them completely!

[Kip Humphrey]

141. old news... Heard it on DU in 2001 after 9/11 and every month since.