"Unless enough Americans can overcome their brainwashed state and the rigged Diebold voting machines, turn out the imbecilic Republicans and hold the neoconservatives accountable for their crimes against humanity, a crazed neocon US government will provoke nuclear war with Russia.

"The neoconservatives represent the greatest danger ever faced by the United States and the world. Humanity has no greater enemy."

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 4:07:11 AM

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passage again: "Unless enough Americans can overcome their brainwashed state and the rigged Diebold voting machines, turn out the imbecilic Republicans and hold the neoconservatives accountable for their crimes against humanity..."

- The problem here is that the Democrats are no better than, for example, the US media - which PCR so accurately describes earlier in the article. So turning out the imbecilic Republicans will do very little good. And there is certainly no chance that the Democrats will hold the neocons accountable for their crimes, since the D's won't even acknowledge that any crimes have been committed. The D's will simply say, "Let's move on" and shy away in fear from any action that could be construed as "divisive" or "partisan." In effect, they will continue to protect the neocons, just as they have for the last 7 years.

In other words, things have been fixed so that turning the Republicans out -- well-deserved though that may be -- won't address the basic malady. The change that's needed must go considerably further than that. If we restrict ourselves to operating within the framework of the two corrupt parties, there is no solution. A Dem victory will continue the underlying trends of militarism, the "War on Terror" farce, the notions of American exceptionalism, the policies of plutocracy, and there will be no recognition of any US crimes whatsoever.

Then, after the short "vacation" of Dem Party rule, the neocons will have regrouped, & will start attacking the D's in the time-honored way -- and in a few years, we'll be facing yet another election featuring Jeb Bush or someone just like him, against a Democrat who will be slightly less hardline. He will accuse the Dem of the usual sins, regardless of whether they're true or not, & the refusal of the Dems to have held the R's accountable for any crimes will come back to haunt them. And the never-ending spiral down & to the right will continue.

by Richard Mynick (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1552 comments [255 recommended, 5 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 10:56:36 AM

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Mynick might well be correct.  But that is no reason not to do what we can to hold the Republicans accountable by voting them out.  Imagine how much worse it will be it the neocons are again vindicated with another Republican presidential victory.

 McGinn is certainly correct about the corruption of language and soul. It makes for a dim outlook. 

by paul roberts (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 60 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 11:10:06 AM

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"Mynick might well be correct.  But that is no reason not to do what we can to hold the Republicans accountable by voting them out.  Imagine how much worse it will be it the neocons are again vindicated with another Republican presidential victory."

Exactly!!   Too many people have given up,  somewhere over the last few years, and that is one part of the reason why this has all happened.  There are those who support or condone the perps,  but there are masses who have never even tried to stop them!   .. Who have seen what is happening yet have rarely even spoken out.    It is as if humanity's conscience has begun to atrophy - or did that happen long ago? 

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 11:37:24 AM

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by complaining amongst ourselves. But we are preaching to the choir. Instead we must take more effective measures. The system is set up to work for us, the People, but we are running out of time. High crimes have been committed, admitted to, yet no action is being taken because our representatives are complicit and refuse to. They must be held accountable. Call your representative and stay in his/her face on this most important of issues. For every comment to us who read opednews, make three to your rep. They must take action or be held accountable.

by Nick van Nes (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 596 comments [150 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 1:53:26 PM

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This demonstrates the corruption of language inherent in the neocon agenda, similar to "we don't torture." What the neocons do is re-define the terms to mean exactly the opposite of what ordinary users of the language mean. Thus "we don't torture" in neocon vocabulary means "water boarding is not torture" and it can be expanded to mean "whatever we do, it is not torture". Our own attorney general himself, Michael B. Mukasey, has infamously declared these very interpretations as his "principles" with respect to torture. It is exactly the same when Bush says "Nations don't invade other nations". In neocon-speak this means that the U.S. can only attack "terrorists" such as al Qaeda. When we bomb Iran it will be parroted in the media as "merely" an attack on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The destruction of cities and killing of countless civilians will be "incidental" and possibly even "unfortunate but necessary" collateral damage.

Even so does the corruption of language reflect the corruption of the soul.

by Richard McGinn (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 78 comments) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 11:05:29 AM

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"Even so does the corruption of language reflect the corruption of the soul."

And, isn't this an ongoing process rather than a static state?  Every time words are twisted to represent something other than their original  meaning,  and every time a gross lie is presented as truth - especially in the wider media, and every time we recognize this and are unable to correct that lie or distortion,  the process continues.  

The Ministry of Propaganda is all-pervasive.  There is a new generation of children out here now who's only memories are of post 9/11.  How to  convey to them, the way things were before?  

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 12:26:15 PM

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I used to live in Indonesia under Suharto, a true modern despot, who was fully supported by the USA from 1966 to 1997. The Indonesian government banned certain authors, such as Pramoedya Ananta Toer, and threatened to jail anyone caught reading them. But they allowed one single copy of one book by that banned author to be listed in the library of the largest university in the country.

On the basis of that deception, when challenged, they said: "We don't have censorship in Indonesia."

I never thought I would see the same thing happening in America, but now I see signs of it every day.

by Richard McGinn (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 78 comments) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 1:50:21 PM

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Censorship in the US today is often in what is not said, and not covered - in the questions that are never asked in corp media.

There has been censorship of that form surrounding the security preparations for the DNC, in Denver from the 25th.   Now we learn that the $50 million were spent on metal cages in small, fenced off areas, in what appears to be a detention center.  As well, there will be a military presence.

At the same time, we learn that Hillary is back, in the Nomination.   (Why does she have the look of a cat that just ate the cream?)

We also learn that there are renewed death threats being made against Obama  (following on the assassination of a Dem Rep a few days ago).

Something is not right here.  Something is not adding up..
I feel serious concern for those who go to Denver to protest.  I strongly suspect they are walking into some kind of trap - that they, or some of them, are being set up to take the fall when some untoward "event" is staged.    I hope very much that I'm wrong about this. 

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 6:23:57 PM

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I wrote:  "I feel serious concern for those who go to Denver to protest.  I strongly suspect they are walking into some kind of trap"

Here's a link to one of the OEN articles on this - There's another around, - just look up "Gitmo on the Platte'.
http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/link.php?id=66448 

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 9:54:38 PM

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by Mr M (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 66 diaries, 2845 comments [654 recommended, 27 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 5:40:08 PM

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Because while their consultants were busy hair-splitting to not offend those precious little demographics or their corporate/Wall Street benefactors they failed to impeach and remove from office one Richard B. Cheney whose COG coup d'etat allowed for the most extremist elements (and insane) to seize control over American foreign policy.

If WWIII ends up breaking out let's just hope that there is some eternal afterlife scorecard where Pelosi, Reid, Hoyer, Clinton, Obama and their ilk will burn in Hell alongside their more fascist counterparts in the Bushreich.

We are screwed!

EE

by Ed Encho (12 articles, 20 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 438 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 6:32:55 PM

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Sad to say I agree with your assessment of the U.S. public's grasp of events, except I have little hope the Democrats would provide much respite from the current policies of the American Corporate Empire. However, I know, and I suspect we all know, many of our fellow citizens who are not brainwashed and detest what is happening. Its just we have no power to act on those insights, except to complain on the internet.

Until corporate control of our governance, meaning every element of what might constitute of functioning democratic society, is ended, there is no hope for significant change in U.S. policies. Our elections and civil discourse are a vacuous mimicry of a free society.

Barring a nuclear war, I think an end to corporate tyranny will come only after major economic collapse, to be replaced by who knows what. But I would be happy to consider a workable plan for taking back our country or even just reducing the control of our corporate masters. Any ideas?   

by William White (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 78 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 7:01:52 PM

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Ron Paul has had remarkable insight for decades about the Foolery.

You do not have to attempt to make him President; But to undermine him is to add to Deterioration.

The Economic Catastrophe He Has Warned About Is Upon Us.  What Else Of His Predictions May Come True As Well?

He Is The Easiest, High Profile, Man Of Honor Available. 

by Brad Evans (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 221 comments [11 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Sunday, Aug 17, 2008 at 8:05:09 PM

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Have done nothing either. Please, Obama is making empty promises of "change" and the anti-republicans are eating it up. They are all part of the One Party "Money" platform. The corporate and elite agenda that sucks money from the people and concentrates it in the hands of the ownership class. Wake up America, we have the best Democracy Money can buy and Obama and the Democrats have a whole lot of it. Get the money out of the system... (never gonna happen).

by August Adams (11 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 585 comments [11 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Aug 15, 2008 at 7:12:30 PM

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Yes PCR states the case starkly and fully. The Neocons/theocons....Dominionists/fascists are large and in charge and are ready to make their next move against us. There just may be one or two nukes going off in cities they can do without. It would be a perfect pretext to go to full on dictatorship with promises of it being 'temporary' and to be eased some time in the future. Maybe when the GWOT is over. They planned this and are carrying it out. It is getting harder to overthrow them the longer they are in power. Remember from power all other blessings (for them) flow.

by nightgaunt (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 448 comments [27 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Aug 16, 2008 at 2:45:58 PM

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In the past week--maybe it is because Congress is leaving town and the candidates are busy finding running mates--I've thought less about party politics than I usually do. This perturbed me, a partisan to the core, because I'm always ready to change, to fixit, and to stand up for my talking points.

Then I enjoyed an inkling. Who is alive in this world today who does not want to have a place to stay, something to eat, and time to spend with people they love? They are not Republicans or Democrats or any of the new startups. They are Americans just about to see the end of hours of media coverage of contenders, treated more like gladiators facing lions than potential viable candidates.

One has to use caution. This is not a love fest to distract from testy issues. But neither should it be a worry of somebody's armageddon. Mushroom clouds, ballooning deficits, and disastrous bankruptcies should be treated as detractors from serious issues in front of us.

As children we learned it was wrong to lie, cheat or steal--and hurting others was definitely forbidden. Is it not best to choose our leaders based on our basic values?

by Margaret Bassett (45 articles, 2909 quicklinks, 42 diaries, 1850 comments [99 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Aug 16, 2008 at 4:39:04 PM

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