3 posts tagged “dubya”

On the British Music News website NME, Beth Ditto of THE GOSSIP, is quoted as saying "George Bush is absolutely a fascist piece of shit!"

I already liked her... but now I like her MORE!

The quote is from an upcoming interview in the Advocate.

Is she correct?

The dictionary defines a Fascist as "a person who believes in or sympathizes with fascism." 

Fascism is defined by the following 14 characteristics:

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. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

 

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to 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 and letters is openly attacked.

 

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.

Source: http://www.libertyforum.org

So, does Dubya's administration meet the standard?  Read more here !

For a Media Tidbit,  I award Ms. Ditto with the "Champion Stater of the Obvious" award.

Did I mention I love her music?  Here's a booty remix of her most recognized song, Standing in the Way of Control:

I just finished reading a great "Where are they Now" piece about the Architects of the Iraq Quagmire on Think Progress.  Read it here.  The conflicts of interest and just plain idiocy of it all is still shocking!

The article really got me thinking:  Why hasn't this president been impeached?  If you think they should be impeached, check out the the Impeach Bush page that is organized by Ramsey Clark.  Wikipedia has great article on the whole impeachment movement... here.

But back to the "Where are they Now article... Other than the fact they are just plain incompetent ideologues, one additional fact stood out:

Except for Colin Powell and Condi Rice, they are all white men of the wealthy aristocracy.  Their involvement may come down to Colin having been duped and Condi can't see past her past as an Oil Company executive (Chevron so valued her work, they named a tanker after her)

Media Tidbit
As you may recall, I'm a big fan of mash-ups.  Today's media tidbit is by A+D and it is a perfect mash-up... two familiar songs, mashed together with a common (or opposing) idiom.  In this case, Madonna's Hung Up vs Blondie's Call Me... 2 telephone metaphors that work together!  This mash was featured this week on my favorite mash-up blog Ramdom Thoughts... it can be downloaded here or listen to it as stream by clicking below:

OK, that title is a joke!  Relax all you xenophobes!

I'm an American, and Love my country (even while I hate our current government!)

Anywho... back to the topic of MUSIC
Periodically, I review the Charts on either Billboard or one of the popular download sites, such as MP3 Sparks.

I tend to like the UK charts over the US charts because they are little more adventurous.  The US charts have come to be dominated by two factors, Corporate Packaging of Artists and the Dominance of Rap/Hip-Hop.  I actually like lots of the Rap/Hip-Hop but only the fun stuff.  The serious Gangsta stuff leaves me cold.  And some of the truly misogynistic stuff offends me!  No too surprising for a white, middle class guy in his mid-forties, I suppose.

The UK Charts often contain some great surprises... or stuff that's going to show up on the US charts in a couple of months.  That's how I discovered Amy Winehouse... and some stuff that charts in the UK, never makes it to the US (I'm thinking about Jamelia, particularly... she's the UK equivalent of Mary J Blige mixed with some Keyshia Cole.  She ROCKS!).  Sometimes the the UK pop chart will have a classical cut or opera or something in a language other than English... MUCH, much more adventurous than the US charts!

Anyways, I compiled a play list for y'all.  If you have pando (FREE and very simple to use!), you can download my latest compilation that was based on the UK Pop Singles Chart of MP3 Sparks as of 07/01/07 (Current Chart here)

Enjoy this MEDIA MEGABITE!