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Originally Posted by dpatt
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Originally Posted by One
My definition of terrorism is a strategy of filling a population with fear.
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And the intent of your original post is....what? |
I believe the intent was to point out that, by capitalizing on and instilling fear in the American citizen (i.e. a form of terrorism,) Bush has managed to undermine if not completely tromp on the Constitution of the United States. And by doing so, he has consolidated nearly absolute power in the Executive Branch of our government.
This is exactly how despots have come to power in other countries like Russia and Germany. NOT by armed coup, but by manipulating the electorate.
By feigning religious conviction, he mobilized the Christian Right. By giving tax breaks to the richest 2% of the country, he solidified HIS base and seduced the Conservative middle. By demonizing the Liberals, he galvanized the prejudiced White majority, and by putting our soldiers in an ill-advised, poorly conceived WAR, he played on the sympathies of the Patriot. I gotta hand it to him.... he played y'all like a fiddle!
Having coerced the voter into electing a Republican Congress, he has bought himself a 'rubber stamp' for anything he chooses to do, and ensured himself a conservative Supreme Court, to avoid being stopped by legal decision.
In his own words, HE now decides who gets the protection of Constitutional rights, and whether he is smart enough to have done this for a reason, or whether he is a puppet of a greater force bent on World domination, the fact is... we have sat by and let it happen.
We can no longer count on a reasonable expectation that a National election, whether for Congress OR the presidency, will SPEAK for the will of the people. And we no longer seem to have the courage of our convictions to vote on the principles of this country anyway. We have been seduced by pork, and terrorized by innuendo. We'll get the government that we now deserve.
If we get to keep an extra $500 a year of our taxes, we'll turn a blind eye to the record deficit and the fact that CHINA is now our primary note holder, and we'll send our emmisary to them to beg for their help in dealing with North Korea. If we get to keep our job making bullets, we won't mind that they are only replaced when they are SPENT in a war in which our own sons and daughters must die. And as long as we can keep those gays from getting married, we won't miss our OWN rights to privacy.
We have wandered into the barn without our boots on, with a clothespin on our nose, wearing party politic blinders, and our fingers in our ears. Just give us a bottle of wine, a guitar and a tax break, and we'll let OUR World go to Hell!
Hobo
