Is America trending towards Fascism?

[Kar3n]

sounds like corruption to me:

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-troop-numbers-2017-3

To maintain the integrity of an operation equates corruption? Sounds pretty logical to me.

 

“In order to maintain tactical surprise, ensure operational security and force protection, the coalition will not routinely announce or confirm information about the capabilities, force numbers, locations, or movement of forces in or out of Iraq and Syria,” Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Times.

[MooNiNite]

To maintain the integrity of an operation equates corruption? Sounds pretty logical to me.

 

“In order to maintain tactical surprise, ensure operational security and force protection, the coalition will not routinely announce or confirm information about the capabilities, force numbers, locations, or movement of forces in or out of Iraq and Syria,” Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Times.

 

That's how it starts.

 

Soon you have corporations working with governments purely to spend the people's money and the people have no idea how much they are getting for their money. 

 

I'm afraid you haven't been paying attention.

 

 

[windwalker]

Edited

Edited April 2, 2017 by windwalker

[Trunk]

 

 

[Brian]

DID THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S ABUSE OF FOREIGN-INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION START BEFORE TRUMP?

 

<Mr_Rogers>

Can you say "Police-State Tactics"?

Sure. I knew you could.

</Mr_Rogers>

[Trunk]

Arresting a Reporter for Asking Questions Is an Unacceptable Assault on the First Amendment

 

these go together

 

Activist Faces Jail Time for Laughing During Sessions Hearing

Edited May 11, 2017 by Trunk

[Trunk]

I've been watching some youtube videos of Tim Snyder, well educated, well spoken and decided to order his book On Tyranny.  Might as well get some education from this mess. 

 

from his wikipedia page

Timothy David Snyder (born August 18, 1969)[2] is a U.S. author, historian and academic specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, and the Holocaust. He is a professor at Yale University and is affiliated with the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna[3] and the College of Europe in Natolin, Warsaw, Poland. Snyder is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Trunk

[wilfred]

Lengthy but Peterson makes a compelling, academically grounded argument for why some form of fascism is more likely to arise from the left of the political spectrum. Namely, the overwhelming aversion associated with 'hate speech' and use of authoritarian tactics to shut down both people/ideas by the the politically correct crowd.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by wilfred

[Trunk]

this shouldn't be a surprise ... (yet should still be disturbing)

Trump Administration Lifts Limits On Military Hardware For Police

Quote

 

The Trump administration is lifting limits on the transfer of some surplus military hardware, including grenade launchers, bayonets and large-caliber weapons, to police departments.

 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the announcement in a speech on Monday to the Fraternal Order of Police conference in Nashville, Tenn. He said President Trump will issue an executive order that would restore in full a program that provides the military gear to local law enforcement.

 

 

Edited August 29, 2017 by Trunk

[26sol]

time and time again,when I watch an american show and a soldier appears,the words 'thank you for your service'are almost standard.My question is this.Is this just the way mainstream media and the art industry want to portrait the military or is this a widely accepted view for the military?   

also does the majority of the american people agree with the wars? 

[silent thunder]

war is failure.

 

[ralis]

Again I suggest reading Hannah Arendt's excellent work on totalitarianism in which she discusses the banalizing of evil. By many, Trump's behavior is deemed normal. History is replete with such examples. 

[Marblehead]

4 hours ago, 26sol said:

time and time again,when I watch an american show and a soldier appears,the words 'thank you for your service'are almost standard.My question is this.Is this just the way mainstream media and the art industry want to portrait the military or is this a widely accepted view for the military?   

also does the majority of the american people agree with the wars? 

Actually, I think the "Thank You"s are sincere.  Where I live is a significant military population, both active and retired.  Many establishments give us a ten percent discount on our purchases.  If the "Thank You"s weren't sincere there would be no discounts.

 

[Apech]

I don't think the US is falling into fascism - but I do think the American system of democracy is a kind of temporary controlled fascism in the form of the President - who can use executive orders and appoint his own family into senior office and is so rulership by clique and therefore fascist.  Even tho I do see that there are a lot of checks and balances - congress the supreme court and so on.

 

But the key issue is I think not the growth of fascism or the growth of the far left - but the collapse and weakness of the centre.  That's the problem - the lack of effective strong centrist voice.

[Miffymog]

 

On 18/05/2017 at 10:31 PM, wilfred said:

Lengthy but Peterson makes a compelling, academically grounded argument for why some form of fascism is more likely to arise from the left of the political spectrum. Namely, the overwhelming aversion associated with 'hate speech' and use of authoritarian tactics to shut down both people/ideas by the the politically correct crowd.

 

 

 

This was certainly true of Nazi Germany, but the conditions which helped Hitler rise to power were the reparations imposed upon Germany by the Allies.

 

Mildly off topic ...

 

The opposite of left wing politics, as in right wing politics, can simply be described as low, or very low taxation. The example of this in the UK was Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s and her Conservative policies.

 

She destroyed the power of the labour Unions, organisations that still have massive influence in France, although this is in part due to the legacy of the French revolution.

 

Her low tax policy helped create the business centre which is the city of London. Corrupt and cocaine fuelled. But the tax that is generated by this one square mile is a significant proportion of the total income of the government.

 

Curiously enough, a zero tax approach is actually quite anarchistic. You need something, such as health care, you go out and earn the money to pay for it - each to their own.

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Miffymog

[ralis]

Fascism is historically defined as the collusion of right wing government and corporate power. That is what is occurring in the right wing, authoritarian, Trump administration.

 

 

[Marblehead]

1 hour ago, ralis said:

Fascism is historically defined as the collusion of right wing government and corporate power. That is what is occurring in the right wing, authoritarian, Trump administration.

 

 

And you would rather have a total socialistic nation where nobody had to work but were given everything they wanted by the government.

 

The Obama administration was very authoritarian.  Can you remember back that far?

 

[windwalker]

 

"Fascism is historically defined as the collusion of right wing government and corporate power. That is what is occurring in the right wing, authoritarian, Trump administration."

 

maybey not, maybe there is hope.

Edited September 16, 2017 by windwalker

[windwalker]

 

 

[Marblehead]

Well, I give Ben credit for having the balls to stand up and speak out against the fascists.  Yeah, the left wing fascists who tried to silence him.

 

[Adia]

As an America I would like to respond to this topic. All people here are individuals. Some have various ideas of how to run this country. Some sit and vote or choose not to vote as a form of expression on how the country is to be run or an expression of some sort of speech. Those elected are no more than public servants with ideas on how to run this country. They are not necessarily the brightest nor the dimmest bunch of people. Those in the executive branch of government, now, are mostly business people, I would say. People are not perfect, in society. I would say people in general are as perfect as the universe. Society changes people. The idea of facism brings about the idea of ignorance created by social philosophy founded in Europe and spread (some what) to china and Southeast Asia in a changed form. This is not really found in America, it is not American. People who espouse facism or socialism of some sort are being misled by some facist or socialist. They are told ideas like it is Christian to be socialist because they love everybody and then go on about hatred of facist people. I can not really distinguish a facist from a socialist except one (facist) has power and the other does not. It is by definition impossible for us to have a facist government in the 🇺🇸. It would mean a complete revolution and would not make it very far because facist are few in number and the rest are many. There is no such thing as facist America. There are facist people, but that is not "we the people". That is we the few. Have a nice day.

[Adia]

Facism requires a degradation of a monarchy in to chaos. A lack of trust in democracy with formal royals wanting more than they can normally require and a trust in a dictator to fullfill their desire. A Great Depression, if you will, that we are not in. There were many things that lead to facism around the world. None of these are now present in the world or America. We (the world) are not in a facist situation.