Gore Vidal: ‘We’ll Have a Dictatorship Soon in the US’

Will the U.S. end up in dictatorship? Peacenik thinks the Bush era was already a dictatorship. Crime thoughout the government and none of it prosecuted. But a dictator without the trappings of a democracy? Newsmax featured an article calling for a military coup against Obama. A congressman called Obama an enemy of humanity. The rightwing in the U.S. is arming itself and re-arming itself. Factories cannot keep up with ammunition orders. (The only growth industry left in the U.S.) Gore Vidal thinks there will be a dictatorship. Peacenik will watch Seven Days in May tonight. Peacenik thinks it could happen.

The grand old man of letters Gore Vidal claims America is ‘rotting away’ — and don’t expect Barack Obama to save it

by Tim Teeman

(The Times/UK)

A conversation with Gore Vidal unfolds at his pace. He answers questions imperiously, occasionally playfully, with a piercing, lethal dryness. He is 83 and in a wheelchair (a result of hypothermia suffered in the war, his left knee is made of titanium). But he can walk ("Of course I can") and after a recent performance of Mother Courage at London's National Theatre he stood to deliver an anti-war speech to the audience.

How was his friend Fiona Shaw in the title role? "Very good." Where did they meet? Silence. The US? "Well, it wasn't Russia." What's he writing at the moment? "It's a little boring to talk about. Most writers seem to do little else but talk about themselves and their work, in majestic terms." He means self-glorifying? "You've stumbled on the phrase," he says, regally enough. "Continue to use it."

Read on...

The Politics of Faux Outrage

by Steven D

Wed Apr 15th, 2009 at 10:08:52 AM EST

Governor Perry of Texas grandstands for the media by asserting "states rights" in his call for an end to the oppression of the Federal Government. Glenn Beck calls for secession and/or revolution (depending on the day, or even the time of day). Thousands of dimmer bulbs on the internet grid of conservative crazy town call for a violent rejection of the very government which they so assiduously defended when Republicans held the reins of power. It seems that these people would prefer to see our economy collapse and mass chaos in the streets rather than watch our democratically elected officials in power, elected by a clear majority of Americans last Fall, implement the very policies they promised to implement in the campaigns they ran to win those elections.

Did the Democrats in Congress and President Obama win an overwhelming electoral victory last November by cheating? Through "voter fraud?" There is no evidence of it. Did they act other than as they said they would if elected? Yes, but only in the sense that they have been more cautious and conservative than their campaign promises led us to believe they would be. Have they done anything to "oppress" (as that term is commonly employed) the vast majority of Americans other than call for limits on the pay of those individuals in the financial industry whose actions drove our economy off a cliff over the last two years? Yet, suddenly, our government, now that it is controlled by a different party, a party legitimately elected under the Constitution, is the cause of all our troubles?

Read on...


This article is quite the laundry list of Republican malfeasance. Peacenik remembers well that there wasn't a lot of protest in the last 8 years. Peacenik remembers that the Democratic party was actively supporting much of this agenda. Peacenik remembers when everyone said, "Just wait till the Democrats have the power of subpeona." Peacenik remembers how the Democrats didn't even, and still don't, have the committment to enforce those subpeonas.

Yes, the Democrats rolled over while in opposition. The Republicans not so much. This article is a little too dismissive about the future of the Republican Party. In the midst of financial and societal collapse, Peacenik is concerned about a fascist populist getting elected. The Democratic Party needs to stop laughing at the Republicans, and it needs to start acting on a progressive agenda. It needs to start enforcing the rule of law. It needs to prosecute the war criminals. Instead, it continues to pander to the wingnuts and cower to the mainstream media. It won't turn out well.

Tale Of Two Hitlers

by digby

Robert Parry observes an important Beltway phenomenon:

Watching Glenn Beck of Fox News rant about “progressive fascism” – and muse about armed insurrection – or listening to mainstream pundits prattle on about Barack Obama as the “most polarizing President ever,” it is hard to escape the conclusion that today’s U.S. news media represents a danger to the Republic.

By and large, the Washington press corps continues to function within a paradigm set in the 1980s, mostly bending to the American Right, especially to its perceived power to destroy mainstream journalistic careers and to grease the way toward lucrative jobs for those who play ball.

Read on...

The mainstream media (MSM) really is dangerous. This example from Digby is just one of many. The MSM protected Bush. The MSM protected the financial industry. The MSM cheered for war and continues to. Peacenik really wonders, if, in the present media environment, there are any chances of progressive outcomes. Peacenik could document many media outrages, but Peacenik is too busy making Peacenik's pool picks for the NHL playoffs. Peacenik is loading up on Habs. Peacenik senses a big upset.

Resist or Become Serfs

by Chris Hedges

America is devolving into a third-world nation. And if we do not immediately halt our elite's rapacious looting of the public treasury we will be left with trillions in debts, which can never be repaid, and widespread human misery which we will be helpless to ameliorate. Our anemic democracy will be replaced with a robust national police state. The elite will withdraw into heavily guarded gated communities where they will have access to security, goods and services that cannot be afforded by the rest of us. Tens of millions of people, brutally controlled, will live in perpetual poverty. This is the inevitable result of unchecked corporate capitalism. The stimulus and bailout plans are not about saving us. They are about saving them. We can resist, which means street protests, disruptions of the system and demonstrations, or become serfs.

We have been in a steady economic decline for decades. The Canadian political philosopher John Ralston Saul detailed this decline in his 1992 book "Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West." David Cay Johnston exposed the mirage and rot of American capitalism in "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill)," and David C. Korten, in "When Corporations Rule the World" and "Agenda for a New Economy," laid out corporate malfeasance and abuse. But our universities and mass media, entranced by power and naively believing that global capitalism was an unstoppable force of nature, rarely asked the right questions or gave a prominent voice to those who did. Our elites hid their incompetence and loss of control behind an arrogant facade of specialized jargon and obscure economic theories.

The lies employed to camouflage the economic decline are legion. President Ronald Reagan included 1.5 million U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine service personnel with the civilian work force to magically reduce the nation's unemployment rate by 2 percent. President Bill Clinton decided that those who had given up looking for work, or those who wanted full-time jobs but could only find part-time employment, were no longer to be counted as unemployed. This trick disappeared some 5 million unemployed from the official unemployment rolls. If you work more than 21 hours a week-most low-wage workers at places like Wal-Mart average 28 hours a week-you are counted as employed, although your real wages put you below the poverty line. Our actual unemployment rate, when you include those who have stopped looking for work and those who can only find part-time jobs, is not 8.5 percent but 15 percent. A sixth of the country is now effectively unemployed. And we are shedding jobs at a faster rate than in the months after the 1929 crash.

Keep Reading...

punditman says...The article posits that if the Obama administration doesn't change course--and fast--America is headed towards becoming Weimar Germany. And we all know what followed. So will we see skyrocketing inflation followed by some sort of crypto fascism? Things are not getting better, and that is why Peacenik is practicing his survival skills for two weekends in a row. And that is why Punditman is worried. Is this what America's near future will look like? Scary stuff--and not just for America.

Does America Face the Risk of a Fascist Backlash?

By Robert Freeman, AlterNet

The Right's ability to capitalize on people's sense of grievance must not be underestimated.

In early 1919, Germany put in place a new government to begin rebuilding the country after its crushing defeat in World War I. But the right-wing forces that had led the country into the War and lost the War conspired even before it was over to destroy the new government, the "Weimar Republic." They succeeded.

The U.S. faces a similar "Weimar Moment." The devastating collapse of the economy after eight years of Republican rule has left the leadership, policies, and ideology of the right utterly discredited. But, as was the case with Germany in 1919, Republicans do not intend to allow the new government to succeed. They will do everything they can to undermine it. If they are successful, the U.S. may yet go the way of Weimar Germany.

Keep Reading...

punditman says...The link above is a long read for you, dear readers. But hey, it's the weekend and what better way to spend time than contemplating the consequences of a Republican/fascist resurgence?

Federal Government Involved In Raids On Protesters

by Glenn Greenwald

As the police attacks on protesters in Minnesota continue -- see this video of the police swarming a bus transporting members of Earth Justice, seizing the bus and leaving the group members stranded on the side of the highway -- it appears increasingly clear that it is the Federal Government that is directing this intimidation campaign. Minnesota Public Radio reported yesterday that "the searches were led by the Ramsey County Sheriff's office. Deputies coordinated searches with the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Today's Star Tribune added that the raids were specifically "aided by informants planted in protest groups." Back in May, Marcy Wheeler presciently noted that the Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force -- an inter-agency group of federal, state and local law enforcement led by the FBI -- was actively recruiting Minneapolis residents to serve as plants, to infiltrate "vegan groups" and other left-wing activist groups and report back to the Task Force about what they were doing. There seems to be little doubt that it was this domestic spying by the Federal Government that led to the excessive and truly despicable home assaults by the police yesterday.

Read on...

Peacenik wonders why there is such a concerted effort to disrupt legitimate protest. It seems like it is a warm up for the near future. What Peacenik doesn't understand is why the police, who are by and large made up of underpaid everyday regular people, so enthused to participate in this kind of stuff. Its their neighbours, its their kids, and its their friends who they are cracking down on.

House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation (6/20/2008)

Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

Washingon DC – Following a vote in the House of Representatives sanctioning warrantless wiretapping and handing immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at representatives who voted for the unconstitutional legislation. The bill, H.R. 6304, or The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed the chamber by a vote of 293 (yes) -129 (no), and is expected to be voted on in the Senate next week.

Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office said: "It’s Christmas morning at the White House thanks to this vote. The House just wrapped up some expensive gifts for the administration and their buddies at the phone companies.

Watching the House fall to scare tactics and political maneuvering is especially infuriating given the way it stood up to pressure from the president on this same issue just months ago. In March we thought the House leadership had finally grown a backbone by rejecting the Senate’s FISA bill. Now we know they will not stand up for the Constitution.

"No matter how often the opposition calls this bill a ‘compromise,’ it is not a meaningful compromise, except of our constitutional rights. The bill allows for mass, untargeted and unwarranted surveillance of all communications coming in to and out of the United States.

The courts’ role is superficial at best, as the government can continue spying on our communications even after the FISA court has objected. Democratic leaders turned what should have been an easy FISA fix into the wholesale giveaway of our Fourth Amendment rights.

"More than two years after the president’s domestic spying was revealed in the pages of the New York Times, Congress’ fury and shock has dissipated to an obedient whimper. After scrambling for years to cover their tracks, the phone companies and the administration are almost there. This immunity provision will effectively destroy Americans’ chance to have their deserved day in court and will kill any possibility of learning the extent of the administration’s lawless actions.

The House should be ashamed of itself. The fate of the Fourth Amendment is now in the Senate’s hands. We can only hope senators will show more courage than their colleagues in the House."

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/35740prs20080620.html

Punditman in Pain

Punditman has some cracked or badly bruised ribs from a hockey injury. He has decided to take a few days off from monitoring the international insanity and will post again when he feels up to it.

UPDATE: 4/20 (Ouch! That's Hitler's Birthday. So reflect for a moment on the massive evil. Now read on...)

Below is an explanation of the "event" of my injury for the curious, the hockey-minded and for those who may one day suffer a similar fate.

(Note: In these days of creeping fascism and prevalent social and economic decay, the mind quickly conjures numerous scenarios that may result in a cracked rib or two: truncheon blows, jackboot kicks, rubber bullets, jumping out your window after the bank forecloses, tripping over your stockpile of lima beans, leaping from a helicopter into some landing zone in the middle of some oil-rich nation; Feel free to create your own list).

So, consider this a public service announcement or perhaps a harbinger of your imminent future.

After decades of playing hockey, including some high-calibre, full-contact-minor hockey and lots of non-contact old timers' and recreational pick-up, pond and shinny hockey--I've never had this kind of injury; never can I recall hitting the boards with such force. How did this happen? And what can be done, in case you, dear reader, are maimed in a comparable manner?

I am glad you asked...

As I recall, the puck was in their zone and we had just lost control after "cycling it down low." My source of harm and ruin (who is 284 pounds) then did the unexpected: instead of high-tailing it up ice as he gained control of the puck, he peeled back within his own zone--into Yours Truly--as similarly, I tried to regain possession. I am told we were both moving at a decent pace and he must have caught me off balance. (The problem with non-contact hockey is that you can be lulled into the bad habit of not expecting to be hit and, even if this happens for a millisecond, it can have dire consequences). Kids, always expect to be plowed into the boards! Anyway, his shoulder hit mine--which would have been fine in and of itself--had it not catapulted me into the boards.

This injury is often caused as one braces one's self for sudden impact, which is what I did when I hit the boards. My left elbow went into my side as my left shoulder hit the boards. The doc said probable crack, maybe more than one rib, or they are very badly bruised.

They are reticent to do x-rays. I didn't ask, but I suspect it is not so much because of superfluous radiation, and despite lots of evidence that x-rays increase cancer rates, I would not be surprised if many MDs think that only flaky-new-age-earth-muffin-hippie-Luddites believe that each x-ray or CT scan you receive may significantly increase your cancer risk. The reason for no x-ray, I was told, was because what they do for cracked ribs is Nothing. So as long as you can gasp a few breaths, don't expect your cracked costa to ever be seen by a radiologist--that is, if the hospital happens to have a radiologist on duty. Rural folk take note.

Nope, you only get an x-ray if they detect a lung puncture, (I passed the lung test), if it is work-related and you want to file a claim for workers' compensation or if you are thinking of suing someone. Or, I might add, you are a professional athlete and your franchise wants to know when your multi-millionaire butt will be back in the lineup. Did I mention that I don't play in the NHL?

So, no x-ray, no matter. The doc said it takes six weeks for any bone to heal 80%. The worst part is clearing my throat, coughing, deep breaths, sneezing (allergy season arrived in perfect synchronicity with Friday's fateful puck pursuit) -- and laughing!

The drugs are doing sweet ~@*$-all!

Just past the hooch, I guess. I think I will watch Mad Max.

LOL...Ouch!

American Liberty Teetering on Edge of Abyss

by Paul Craig Roberts

"Your papers please" has long been a phrase associated with Hitler's Gestapo. People without the Third Reich's stamp of approval were hauled off to Nazi Germany's version of Halliburton detention centers. Today Americans are on the verge of being asked for their papers, although probably without the "please." Thanks to a government that has turned its back on the U.S. Constitution, Americans now have an unaccountable Department of Homeland Security that is already asserting tyrannical powers over U.S. citizens and state governments. Headed by the neocon fanatic Michael Chertoff, the Orwellian-sounding Department of Homeland Security has mandated a national identity card for Americans, without which Americans may not enter airports or courthouses. There is no more need for this card than there is for a Department of Homeland Security. Neither are compatible with a free society. However, Bush, the neocons, Republicans, and Democrats do not want America to any longer be a free society, and they are taking freedom away from us just as they took away the independence of the media. Free and informed people get in the way of power-mad zealots with agendas. It is the agendas that are supreme, not the American people, who have less and less say about less and less. Read Full Article... punditman says: Read the columns of Paul Craig Roberts. They are good for the mind and for the body politic. Step Two: do something!

Interview with Naomi Wolf: The End of America

punditman says:

The evidence of the drift towards a distinct and dangerous form of 21st authoritarianism is everywhere folks, and--not for a millisecond to let Bush and company off the hook--its' tentacles are global in scope.

I keep harping on this drift towards fascism and nobody even bats an eyelash--much less drops by with a comment. Is this the state of fear (or indifference) in which we are now ensnared? Or, is this blog just a load of paranoid and derivative parrot droppings?

Now, listen to Naomi. She speaketh the truth (I recommend taking the time to listen to this interview. You may want to nurse it along with your bevy of choice).

The True North, Strong and Free?

punditman says:
How macho are we Canadians?!...















Well OK, we can be pretty damn macho (the above image shows that we have inventive ways of periodically blowing off steam, and this form of truculence was about the extent of our collective blood lust for approximately 50 years). But having elected one government that quietly acquiesed to much of Washington's agenda and yet another that openly kowtows to all of Uncle Sam's imperial designs, we have become much meaner folk lately.

Hey people, here in Canada the fascist disease emanating from the Empire to the South is spreading faster than you can say "Eh?" Increasingly, our border guards are denying entry to Americans who dissent against their own government. No longer is it JUST brown people with funny names and weird religions who are being harassed, denied the basic freedom of movement, or even worse. I guess that's our way of getting back at Americans who deny entry to Canadians on the same grounds. Call it misplaced machismo. Two examples of border BS, one involving author Mike Palecek and one from folk singer David Rovics, indicate a frightening trend:

Canada: You Can Come Any Time You Want

Singer David Rovics Banned from Canada for One Year

But do take heart, gentle citizens of the land of the free, and of the true north, strong and free: You may travel back and forth to your shopping heart's desire. Just keep your mouth shut, never go to a protest, never write a "controversial" article, song, blog or book. Oh, and never sign a petition either (an old friend was turned back several years ago because he signed an anti-nuke petition back in his misspent youth). Such careless acts means you may be, or you may sympathize with...no, I won't type the word (hint: it starts with a "t"). Basically, as long as you are good little docile robots, our governments will wave you on through. Happy shopping, and enjoy the game!

Blueprint for Dictatorship

punditman says:
More on the drift towards a uniquely post-modern brand of fascism. With the stroke of a pen, recent legislation in the US could signal democracy's death knell:
Blueprint for Dictatorship