Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, 'regretted,' that unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these 'little measures'. . . must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. . . . Each act. . . is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.
Milton Mayer They Thought They Were Free. The Germans: 1938-1945.
Ordinary citizens see only the surface of the political landscape – if that. Those who are astute enough to distrust the mainstream media (MSM) and seek out news from foreign and "off-beat" sources have a better view of that surface than those who get their "news" from the MSM. Worst of all, many "news consumers" only get a view of fantasyland. For example, researchers at the University of Maryland have discovered that the more one watches FOX news, the less informed one is.
But even the most circumspect and persistent citizen sees first the puppets on the stage, and only with a good memory and keen critical skills can one begin to suspect who is pulling the strings and arranging the sets on-stage.
Under such conditions, imagination runs freely and conspiracy theories abound. While one should be skeptical of conspiracy theories, one should never forget that conspiracies play an important part in human history. The American Revolution was conceived in conspiracies, and Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln, and countless leaders in between, were all done in by conspiracies.
Is our republic succumbing to a grand conspiracy at the highest levels of government? Rather than address that question directly at the outset, I will set down immediately below, a few simple and undisputed facts. Note the sequence and proximity of the dates. Then ask yourself if you see a pattern here.
And so, as the Bard enjoins, "on your imaginary forces, work!"
First some hard facts:
May 24, 2001: Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont, announces that he is leaving the Republican Party. The Democrats take control of the Senate.
September 11, 2001: We all know what happened then.
September 18, 2001: "The Anthrax attack" claims its first victims.
October 8, 2001: Anthrax contaminated letters arrive at the offices of Democratic Senators Daschle (the majority leader) and Leahy (Chair of the Judiciary Committee). The Senate Office buildings are closed for several weeks, with the files of all Senators open and unguarded. Soon after the letters are received by the Senators, more letters arrive at the offices of the major television networks: ABC, CBS and NBC. (No one has been arrested to date for the crime).
October 26, 2001: The USA PATRIOT Act is signed by George Bush. This massive legislation was rushed through Congress with little debate and before any members had an opportunity to read it. One Democratic Senator, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, opposed.
October 11, 2002: The Senate approves the Iraq War Resolution. 21 Democrats oppose, but not Senator Daschle.
October 25, 2002: Senator Paul Wellstone (Democrat, Minnesota), is killed in a small plane crash, eleven days before his expected re-election to the Senate. The winner of that election is Republican Norm Coleman.
November 4, 2002: Republican Saxby Chamblis defeats Democrat Max Cleland in the Georgia Senatorial race, overcoming a two to five point lead by Cleland and posting a final seven point lead. The probability of a nine to twelve point polling error is less than 2%. Due to the use of Diebold paperless electronic voting machines, Chamblis' victory can not be validated. (Two former Diebold technicians have recently revealed that top Diebold officials ordered the installation of unauthorized secret files into the voting machines shortly before the election).
Dr. Ernest Partridge is a consultant, writer and lecturer in the field of Environmental Ethics and Public Policy. Partridge has taught philosophy at the University of California, and in Utah, Colorado and Wisconsin. He publishes the website, "The Online Gadfly" (www.igc.org/gadfly) and co-edits the progressive website, "The Crisis Papers" (www.crisispapers.org). His book in progress, "Conscience of a Progressive," can be seen at www.igc.org/gadfly/progressive/^toc.htm .
However I do not have a lot of faith in the notion that, should the SC invalidate the MCA, it will end the torture or restore habeus Corpus.
If I am not mistaken FDR continued his wiretapping in the run up to WW2 even after the SC ruled it unconstitutional....if Franklin could George could too.....
Kick the can be damned, standing up and filibustering something that most Americans understand to be a vast overreach of power is an obvious tactic. Submission or complicity is not a voting strong point.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments)
on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 5:46:27 PM
I had the pleasure of seeing Noam Chomsky deliver a lecture once. I think it was his standard lecture on the manufacture of consent and all that. He began with a warning not to trust him, for he was effectively an agent acting in the interests of the shamelessly exploitative elite who will shy away from nothing on ethical grounds to appease their will to dominate. (You know Chomsky. He's hard not to believe when he gets going.)
Anyway, I think the article by Partridge alludes to this same catch-22. By resisting the system in ineffectual ways, we perhaps strengthen its hold over us.
Why does nobody ever talk about general strikes anymore? People act like media coverage is success itself. Did Seattle really make a big difference? I think it did, but it was only an early stage of what needs to happen. The stage we are in right now is odd. Suddenly certain members of the elite are appearing to be making a bigger difference than the will of the people. I'm speaking of Al Gore, William Buffett, Goerge Soros, Ted Turner, okay, Bono too.
Are people really too comfortable or what? I admire what Cindy Sheehan did, but I was disappointed the country couldn't muster more people equally committed. She gave up her whole life and moved into GWB's driveway. That's a lot more than signing some Internet petitions, leaving some comments on blogs and going to the odd protest or two.
It's a depressing truth, but it's gonna take a whole lot more than the good sense of a silent majority to redirect civilization onto a sustainable path. Certainly, the current administration is going in nearly the opposite direction. How they can hold power so easily should be cause for alarm. Who cares when it fits the definition of fascism? We don't have all the time in the world.
by
Peter Dearman (9 articles, 19 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 124 comments)
on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 11:13:01 AM
2 comments
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