There is a checkpoint list of 14 points used to determine if something is fascist. You may think I'm a crazy-conspiracy theory-subscribing-liberal, Or you may think, "Duh, I've known this for years!". I don't really care what you think, I just think you need to read this.

Also, here's a link that shows a hell of a lot more evidence from current affairs than I feel like putting on here right now. read it! (even if you think its bs, just do it. i dare you.)
http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm


The 14 points of Fascism

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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Rampant Sexism

The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

6. Controlled Mass Media

Sometimes the 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.

7. Obsession with National Security

Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. 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.

9. 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 is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

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.

Something besides the ACLU, or the NDLC, or any other liberal think tank.

Evidence I can give you plenty of. However, what exactly would you consider to be unbiased?

quote:

This isn't talking about taking away all laws. It's talking law anforcement grossly abusing their powers and people being stripped of rights that they would otherwise be provided with by law.

quote:

I'm not talking about reporting what strategies the military is using and where or that sort of censorship. I'm talking about the censorship here at home, about the writings of journalists not being allowed in the country, about publishing companies not printing books out of fear or governmental backlash.

give us these strange concepts called "evidence" and "non-biased sources"

I see how it is.

Well rather than take the risk of posting under the influance, i'll wait till tommorow afternoon to deal with this.

quote:

The military takes a large amount of money to do a large amount of things but the DoD budget is a small slice of the goverment pie in the end.

statistics?

quote:

All nations, even ones like france do this to an extent

yeah, to an extent. there's a difference between being showing pride in your country by wearing a flag -shirt and the sort of rabid, blind nationalism that brainwashed people participate in. Remember all of those German citizens shouting in praise before hitler and his army of swastika-clad young men?

quote:

Maybe the media wouldn't be the assholes they are if the govt controlled them, and censorship in the case of the war is for this little thing called "operational security" that preserves the lives of our troops when it's maintained and endangers them all the more when it's broken by those morons at CNN and MSNB

I'm not talking about reporting what strategies the military is using and where or that sort of censorship. I'm talking about the censorship here at home, about the writings ofjournalists not being allowed in the country, about publishing companies not printing books out of fear or governmental backlash.

quote:

We call this justice and it's essential to maintaining a functioning society. With out laws people will just do what ever the hell they want to and they'll continue to do that even with laws unless you have some form of punishment for breaking said laws. and if the FBI is all powerful how come they still have to wait for up to a week to get a search warrant to raid a drug dealer's hideout?

This isn't talking about taking away all laws. It's talking law anforcement grossly abusing their powers and people being stripped of rights that they would otherwise be provided with by law.

quote:

our poor,

need to get f***ing jobs instead of living off the taxpayer's dime (my dime now that I pay taxes)

quote:

making million dollar bombs that kill other people's children?

I don't think any of the bombs we use cost a million bucks (Hyd's the expert) and none of our ordinance is targeted for children

quote:

How about people being detained for years in prisons outside of the reach of our civil protections, without ever being charged? How about the government saying they have a right to do that simply because of the prisoner's name?

Evidence please

quote:

our natural resources

Huh? explaination

quote:

our children's educations

school isn't any shittier than usual and the teachers haven't gotten a paycut recently

quote:

What about religious fundamentalists savagely pushing their ways into our laws, completey disregarding the perviously sacred separation of church and state?

Don't they deserve a word in our law making just like the atheists and what not in this nation?

quote:

I bet that if John Kerry was president and the country was just the way it is now, you would not have posted this, simply because your a cry baby, plain and simple.

Oh please. I am not (and never would be) so blindly loyal to any party that I would ignore things that go against my morals. If John Kerry had become president, I highly doubt that our country would be in anywhere near the same place, but if he had and things were the way they were now, I would obviously not support him.

quote:

Originally posted by Hydrok:
Umm I did it and still think it's BS, it takes a lot of supposition and imagination to apply this to the United States

That's bs, I can cite specific examples of things going on in this country for just about every one of those points! How about masses of people willing to forgoe their own personal freedom, their privacy, simply because their government tells them to? How about hoards of people buying up duct tape and barricading their houses because their government told them it would make them safer? How about money being taken away from our sick, our poor, our veterans, our children's educations, our natural resources, and going instead to companies that overcharge us for under-serving our soldiers and making million dollar bombs that kill other people's children? How about people being detained for years in prisons outside of the reach of our civil protections, without ever being charged? How about the government saying they have a right to do that simply because of the prisoner's name? What about religious fundamentalists savagely pushing their ways into our laws, completey disregarding the perviously sacred separation of church and state?

But for all I know, you might think that all of these things are completely justified. Whatever. Just because it's our country that's doing it, doesn't mean it's not fascism.

I'll just smash a few of these out of sheer boredom

quote:

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.

All nations, even ones like france do this to an extent

quote:

4. 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.

The military takes a large amount of money to do a large amount of things but the DoD budget is a small slice of the goverment pie in the end.

quote:

6. Controlled Mass Media

Sometimes the 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.

Maybe the media wouldn't be the assholes they are if the govt controlled them, and censorship in the case of the war is for this little thing called "operational security" that preserves the lives of our troops when it's maintained and endangers them all the more when it's broken by those morons at CNN and MSNBC

quote:

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.

We call this justice and it's essential to maintaining a functioning society. With out laws people will just do what ever the hell they want to and they'll continue to do that even with laws unless you have some form of punishment for breaking said laws. and if the FBI is all powerful how come they still have to wait for up to a week to get a search warrant to raid a drug dealer's hideout?

edit: *rereads* wow that's alot of sarcasm

To be fair, I think a number of the things on the checklists could be attributed to politicians in general. Others do definitely seem like hallmarks of the Bush Administration.

The link is pretty interesting and raises some great points. A few of them annoy me -- e.g., Islamofascism is a serious issue, even if you put the word in quotation marks, and the History Channel shows military history because it's interesting, not to rally the masses behind war -- but most just scare the shit out of me.

Of course, I don't have time to read each of the links in the link, and I'm sure some stand up better than others.

Umm I did it and still think it's BS, it takes a lot of supposition and imagination to apply this to the United States, not only that but a lot of these things are so general and watered down you could apply it to any government. I bet that if John Kerry was president and the country was just the way it is now, you would not have posted this, simply because your a cry baby, plain and simple.

Let me know if I really have to break all of these things down point by point. If that is the case I honestly won't mind, but I really dont think it's worth my time or yours seeing how simply by posting this you've demonstrated you only think one way, and would in no way be open to any other suggestions or opinions based on fact.