Rob

I believe that you are giving those who authored the principles (or lack thereof) of your list far too much credit as broad based outcome strategist's.

The culprit in each case is unbridled human nature. Power and greed sum it up nicely. The eventual outcome of each of your numbered points is simply the end result of practicing unchecked human nature; far more so than a well thought sinister plan.

Sit on the board of a large company or the town council of Anywhere U.S.A. or for that matter, the ladies sewing club and you will see the same strategies at work. Perhaps not to the degree of harm that you espoused; but at play none the less.

by Mike Folkerth (105 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 507 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 8:41:11 AM
 

The danger of weakened check and balance

Using 'unbridled human nature' to explain unbridled destruction illustrates yet two more human characters that have long helped in mass destruction - the abilty to rationalize anything, and the unlimited ability to create and worship gods. Mixing and maxing out the lust for power, greed, rationalization, and irrationalization form the basis of much of the sordid chapters of human history.

If man should learn anything from history, it is that human unbridled tendencies, while cannot be eliminated, must be checked and balanced in order to have a civil society. The US Consitution is the first piece of national doctrine that installs such check and balance based on carefully considered sense. The founding fathers have seen the centuries of horror in Europe due to unchecked and unbridled power and determined not the repeat it.

The deliberate subversion of the Constitution domestically, and the disregard of the values it represent in the conduct of foreign and military polices by the Bush administration have resulted in the US being identified as a greater threat to world peace by much of the world. That this can happen in the US is yet another demonstration of how a national leader of mediocre intellect but with unbridled worship of god can combine to do so much damage. The Constitution indeed is fragile unless the people have the strength to use it. Democracy only means majority rules. The Consitution is NOT a democracy - it requires absolute compliance. But who enforces that compliance? The people, 100% of them.

by TomK (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 202 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 1:24:35 PM
 

The World according to an American

Tom, nice try.

But you really should view the world/ human nature is a larger perspective than that of America and its myopic interests if you did you might see that there is at least one other factor at play that of Context.

Many cynical individuals have stated that “history is written by the victors” but this statement misses the reality and should be qualified with the word “official” because real history is written by context. For example Things were simpler and more relaxed in the 50’s but there was lynching the FBI was a personal army for Hoover, racism was rife, family violence was swept under the carpet the list of horrors goes on. History is a ‘job lot” not a supermarket from which we can pick and choose. 

Part of the reasons America suffers today is Because of the Constitution and its systems because both were designed for a 200 year old context that no longer exists. The US constitution was an admirable document in its day but was influenced by philosophies that have been largely circumvented and frankly it belongs in a museum. 

 It has allowed Corporate Capitalism to take over, corporate militarism to rise, Gordon Gecko’s cry to have a ring of truth and the country to become selfish. And a foreign policy driven by profit rather than common sense, that is the Context today. It is unbridled human nature that created the context and Both are immutable.

“your IM mission, should you choose to accept it is to mitigate it’s effects. As usual if you or any of your IM force are caught the Secretary will deny any knowledge of you or your actions…Good luck Tom” this message will…………. 

by Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 4:23:23 PM
 

Which is more disturbing

Rob's accurate primer , or rather accurate observation of the way democracy is subverted, or Mike Folkerth's ready acceptance of such as simply "human nature"?

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 10:06:52 AM
 

P.S.

I know that Mr. Folkerth is not giving in to the forces of evil, nor is his stance as simplistic as I have made it out to be....

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 10:08:16 AM
 

Destroying democracy

by Kent Welton (49 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 37 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 12:58:13 PM
 

"The Prince"

The article nicely sums up the strategies described in Machiavelli's "The Prince", updated for modern times.

Thanks, Rob.

by John Danforth (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 88 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 1:39:58 PM
 

Well done, Rob!

This only thing to be added to this commentary is the fact that this has gone on by design since 1600. (Yes, I know people have always done these things on an individual level, but I'm talking empire-building here.)  The public's natural self-defense of their mind, body and soul have been enroded to nothing over a large time-frame.  We have been lied to (by omission) via religion, education and government.  When people have no response to being slapped around, mentally, spiritually or physically, they have become complete slaves, who "love" their slavery.  Yes, I'm preaching to the choir, because those intelligent enough to read this and OpEdNews, are NOT those I'm talking about.  I'm just hoping that readers do lead-by-their-actions on a daily basis.

by Edward Ulysses Cate (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 214 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 1:45:52 PM
 

How to Erode and Destroy Democracy

1- Kill the strongest opposition candidate. you dont have to, Hitler didnt kill anyone.

2- Steal elections using e-voting with non-public software code. e -voting should have never been allowed

3-Erode constitutional rights. We have not only been betrayed by one branch of the goverment but by all of them, maybe its time to acknowledge that checks and balances just don't work.

4-Gradually destroy the economy. don't delude yourself Rob, capitalism and private property rights is what makes the US great, the actions of friedman in south america, or the actions of shell in africa ( though they are despicable) they in know why prove that capitalism is wrong. for me capitalsim is profit, save and invest. so please before you go waving the "shock doctrine" rememebr that the actions of Stalin and Mao and other commie cold blooded murders would never convince a socialist of the folly of communism, why should the acts of pinochete and other sadist shit heads be used against capitalism.

5- Corporatize the nation. Corporations should be held liable for the mess they make, taxes should be lowered so not to move them out of the country lord knows the US is losing shit load of jobs.

6- Deregulate the media so a handful of corporate owners control most of the message. the mere fact that you have to pay a shitload of money to get a station approved is the best way to keep the small guy out, i think the best solution is not to charge any fees or put any obstacles for strating a radio or tv station and make sure that one entity or corporation cannot own more than one tv, radio, or newspaper at the same time. Oh by the way, MSM is already centralised and they are all big goverment lovers.

7-Infiltrate alternative media. Hijack comments!! you have to be a lame fascist in order to hijak comments and pave the road for totalarianism, they have the MSM they dont need any freakin comments.


8-widen class differences. class difference is prob. used by all fascists to drum up support, whether its the bloddy bolsheviks and their proletariats or the bloody nazis and the so called control of the jews.

9- Take advantage of natural disasters to weaken democratic factors. Im assuming here you refer to katrina, i doubt new orleans has any true effect on elections, this disastor was ignored for financial reasons not political ones, go check whos benefitting financially from this distruction.

10- Pretend that everything you do is the patriotic support of Democracy, even if it is directly opposed to democracy. patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, also keep in mind that this is a constitutional republic not democracy, washington said it best: democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for dinner.

11- Allow candidates to run repeatedly, without term limits. this is not necassirly a bad thing, i think the problem here in the US is laws that make it hard for third parties to get on the ballot. everyone should get on the ballot and there should be a law forcing all candidates - state and federal level- to debate each other at least 100 hrs in 6 month period before any election.

12- Build fear into the culture. the goverment invokes terrorism whenever it wants the right to rally behind it blindly, and it invokes global warming to rally when it wants the left to rally blindly behind it, goverments don't want debate they want obedience.

by .Dughman (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 31 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 2:55:06 PM
 

A more careful review

Dughman writes:1- Kill the strongest opposition candidate. you dont have to, Hitler didnt kill anyone.

Are you kidding?

2- Steal elections using e-voting with non-public software code. e -voting should have never been allowed

As to elections, it’s long past time the “independent management model” is implemented, since government-run elections clearly seek to obfuscate, complicate, disenfranchise and otherwise subvert the will of the people in as many ways as they have the audacity to pull. 

Capitalism and private property rights, dear deluded writer, are destroying America, creating an income gap disparity the world has never before seen.  Ownership is a myth enforced thru violence.

Read The Shock Doctrine.  Or read Gangs of America, or Confessions of an Economic Hitman (although Klein’s Shock Doctrine takes those two books to the next level).

Authoritarian communism, as well as neoliberal capitalism (e.g. allow capital to flow freely across borders, but not labor) are two different evils of the same coin: elites amass wealth at the expense of the vast majority.

Instead, democratic socialism offers a better solution, not more capitalism – the very nature of which requires bottom-line policy to supercede all other considerations. 

9- Take advantage of natural disasters to weaken democratic factors. Im assuming here you refer to katrina, i doubt new orleans has any true effect on elections, this disastor was ignored for financial reasons not political ones, go check whos benefitting financially from this distruction.

Again, Dughman, you miss the obvious. The financial benefits were politically decided (and violently enforced) by usurping the homes of the poor.  Political will of elites reigns, once again, at the expense of the people.  You cannot segregate the political from the financial.

10- Pretend that everything you do is the patriotic support of Democracy, even if it is directly opposed to democracy. patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, also keep in mind that this is a constitutional republic not democracy, washington said it best: democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for dinner.

The US form of government is called a republican democracy.

by Rady Ananda (80 articles, 219 quicklinks, 17 diaries, 576 comments) on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 5:38:34 PM
 

He Lives, He Lives.......Chicken Little that is.

Rob,

A wise man once said evil like beauty is in the eye of the beholder......and both are fleeting. You show me a time when most of these things weren't in play.

You like a lot of authors on this site tend to talk in absolutes plastering labels on everything. It seems that by labeling something the belief is that it is now understood and thereby control it.

The problem is one form of control is as obscene as the next the intolerant left are as bad as the rabid right. Life isn't a series of right or wrongs it/we are a continuum from one extreme to the other. 

 Apart from distracting and or sensationalizing the situation dissertation like this are as productive as laying poisonous eggs like the cane toad. [all that does is breed more poisonous creatures] .  I would like for all this brain power turned to working out ways to live/prosper/overcome toxic human nature and its lead creation Context

by Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 4:51:41 PM
 

you're confused

The constitution is not the reason we find ourselves caving in to tyranny. Subversion of the constitution is what brings us to where we are today. The constitution is a document which very CLEARLY protects INDIVIDUAL liberty. Not corporate liberty, not the liberty of religious icons... etc.

It is our own inability as constituents to make our legislators legislate under the constitution and our own unwillingness to stop corporate corruption of our system, a failure to understand that when there are 190 countries in this world and we have permanent bases and troops in 130 of them we are definitely acting beyond our constitutional scope and have been for decades, combined with 50 years of public education teaching us that the government is "good" while wiping out the true and diverse accounts of history so that it can be cleaned with a nicer kinder version. This is far more devious than simple human nature. None of this would be in good keeping with the constitution and it's principles of INDIVIDUAL libery.

That is why we find ourselves wondering if we should make a left or right at tyranny lane.

Ron Paul 2008

Curtis for congress 

by tiffane (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 17 comments) on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 11:52:24 AM
 

Informative Article - But One Matter Supercedes all others

Very few that are informed and knowledgeable disagree that the United States is now a fascist nation. Sugarcoat it, play is backwards or forward, and the result is the same - corporations and not the people control our society.

None of this would be possible without the complicity of the Mainstream News Media. If the truth were to be told, millions of Americans would be on the streets demanding change and accountability - but a population that is kept in ignorance has no reason to rebel or even demand that they receive "real news" rather than spin and propaganda if they aren't aware of the core issues that are destroying our economy, reducing our constitutional rights, and allowing criminals to guide our foreign policy and other issues too numerous to mention.

We all spend a lot of time working to inform the public of the real news, but in the final analysis, when we're pointing our fingers at Bush, Cheney, and the cabal of thieves that are stealing the American dream - the MSM stands guilty of the betrayal of America, and as a New Year's Resolution, we all need to concentrate more on those that have aided and abetted those who are criminally culpable in the destruction of our country. The "truth will set you free" is an age old adage that is still true - but our MSM is hell-bent on keeping the truth from the general public, and to succeed in reclaiming our democracy - an all-out campaign to effectively combat the MSM is necessary and vital to further the cause of democracy.

If a jury never hears all of the evidence, a conviction is impossible. As long as the bulk of our population is kept in the dark, fascism and Bush's criminal enterprise will flourish and expand - and those that have been lying to America must eventually face the music as well; To look the other way or support criminal behavior should be a crime, and when we look at S 1959, if it was a real Bill that actually was designed to prevent the "Violent Radicalization of Americans", the arrests and destruction of fascist America's MSM would top the list of those who are guilty of attempting to destroy our country.

William Cormier

by William Cormier (112 articles, 5 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 280 comments) on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 8:24:23 PM
 

ROB

As in this article, I notice in most OpEd articles the failure to make any distinction between democracy and the actual American form of government--a constitutional Republic.  This blurring of the line between two distinctly different forms of government is, quite simply, one of the most powerful tactics that our corporate rulers use to subdue us.  Democracy is oftentimes the opposite of freedom, and the more that democracy is expanded, the more individual rights are restricted.  In fact, as democracy expands, political, cultural and economic standards tend to decline.  This result follows from the obvious effect that expanded democracy increases the numbers of voters with less knowledge of politics, culture, and economics. 

Might I suggest an excellent and very readable, short book by Fareed Zakaria, entitled, "The Future of Freedom, Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad," published by W.W. Norton & Co., 2007, 2003.  We need to change the semantics of our arguments from preserving and expanding democracy to preserving and expanding liberty.  This is an idea that Americans understand.  Then, within the context of preserving and expanding liberty, we must envision ways of curtailing the freedom of non-persons like corporations. 

by W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 259 comments) on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 7:01:29 AM
 

AMEN

I've been seeing the words democracy and republic thrown around by left and right, used as a devisive aid.

I love the article but instead of democracy (we have no more of a democracy than we do a true republic any more), I think we should be trying to save liberty. Individual liberty as prescribed in the constitution. No where in the constitution is the word corporation mentioned.

Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch.

LIBERTY IS A WELL ARMED LAMB CONTESTING THE VOTE.

 Our representatives are chosen in such a way that our choices are gone long before any so called "election" takes place. We don't end up with these people by accident. Yes, when we end up with a real candidate (not too often), Clint Curtis, Bob Bowman, Kevin Zeese, Barry Kissin, Ron Paul and a handful of others, the corporately owned (fcc deregulated) mainstream media never lets them see the light of day unless they are being attacked by that media. 

It's time to know your candidate and ditch your party folks! I am a former democrat who switched to vote Ron Paul. No other candidate deserves my vote. Period. And no other will get it.

This partisan thing is getting really old really fast and is neglecting the country which is being flushed down the toilet.  Both demopublcans and republicrats have completely betrayed the will of the American people (which has been manipulated by fear mongering). They have only given way to more fear mongering and a bigger war state with no end in sight.

We have gon from a rubber stamp congress to a rubber spine congress.

There are 190 countries in this world and we occupy 130 (we have for decades). ARE WE ANY SAFER FOR IT??? 

Let's stop this party loyalty before our children wake up with nothing. LET'S VOTE FOR OUR KIDS. LET'S VOTE FOR AMERICA.

Clint Curtis is the only candidate trying to expose election fraud (yep they're rigged. As a whistleblower he has inside information). Marginalized by his own party and ignored by MSM.

Ron Paul is the only candidate trying to expose and stop The North American Union, Fed (owned by the international bankers who control our $ system), IRS, FBI, CIA. NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, ICC, WTO, Real ID, Police state/war state, etc. Marginalized by his own party and attacked by MSM

Cint Curtis For Congress

Ron Paul For President

That's how this lambs voting

by tiffane (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 17 comments) on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 2:10:19 PM
 

Right On

Rob gets it very right. Bhutto assassination has all the trademarks of a CIA whack. Do I have evidence to support this? No. Just past performance. Shot groupings in Pat Tillman's head indicate he was executed by a sniper, not killed in a 'friendly fire' accident. he was taken out. Even after the truth came out, this was covered up by the MSM. Should have been banner headlines -- Tillman Murdered. But the MSM gets its marching orders from the NeoCons.

And it's only getting worse. The latest FCC rules changes could eventually doom all alternative media and leave Murdoch and gannett in control of the message. And the America people pretty much have no clue even still.

 I had an e-mail correspondence with Helen Thomas wherein she indicated she knew the truth about 9-11 and was prevented from doing anything about it. 

The mention of the Clint Curtis campaign is an interesting one, because he likely did win in 2006 down in Florida.  Curtis went door to door after the election collecting signed affadavits from voters showing how they really voted. needless to say, the results were way off from the official totals. And the Democratic-led congressional panel refused to even consider his election challenge. The Dems themselves are actively working to keep everything status quo. Perhaps they still just don't get just how bad the NeoCons are.

I worry for John Edwards. If they don't  rig the primaries and he actually wins,  he will surely be assassinated by 'al Qaeda' just before the election, giving Bush reason to enact martial law and suspend the elections and keep this fake 'war on terror' going indefinitely. The mainstream media will parrot the official line and no one will ever dare raise the thought that the most likely suspects are at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Alan Colmes the other night was talking about not believing the government story on Bhutto's death. Yet he lacks the same inquisitiveness about the NeoCons and 9-11. 

I hope Kucinich is eliminated from the race quickly, because that way he'll get the 9-11 hearings he promised back on track. He obviously pulled them due to not wanting to rock the boat for his campaign.  

by Neoconvict (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 2:43:54 PM