corporate power" -- Benito Mussolini
"The liberty of a democracy is not safe if people tolerate the growth of private power to a
point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in it's essence, is
Fascism -- ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any controlling private
power." -- President Franklin Roosevelt.
"Today, as we face financial and political crises, it's useful to remember that the ravages of
the Great Depression hit Germany and the United States alike. Through the 1930s, however,
Hitler and Roosevelt chose very different courses to bring their nations back to power and
prosperity.
Germany's response was to use government to empower corporations and reward the
society's richest individuals, privatize much of the commons, stifle dissent, strip people of
constitutional rights, and create an illusion of prosperity through continual and
ever-expanding war. America passed minimum wage laws to raise the middle class, enforced
anti-trust laws to diminish the power of corporations, increased taxes on corporations and
the wealthiest individuals, created Social Security, and became the employer of last resort
through programs to build national infrastructure, promote the arts, and replant forests.
To the extent that our Constitution is still intact, the choice is again ours." -- Thom Hartmann
The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of
strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of
today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually
everything we do online.
Wal-Mart, the Alpha Dog of discount stores, has also become the Alpha Hog at the
public trough.
The last 30 years has seen a reversal of the Welfare State from the neediest
people in society to the wealthiest corporations... from people welfare to corporate
welfare. Learn more about it here.
"[R]egardless of their cause, rapidly growing inequalities are a powerful force for
instability everywhere, from wealthy America to rapidly growing China to reform-
challenged Europe. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” conservatives like to say. Fine, but
what happens to people, like the poor of hurricane-struck New Orleans, who don’t
own boats? "
WESTMINSTER - Michael Melio was furious. Wal-Mart wanted to build a third
200,000-square-foot Supercenter in his hometown and the Westminster City
Council had welcomed the retail giant with open arms.
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini
(Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes.
Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each.
That Jack Abramoff exclusively gave his money to conservative Republicans
shouldn't surprise us. While the RNC will try to spin this as "politics" and not as a
Republican scandal, much as Bush called his old friend and business associate Ken
Lay an "equal opportunity corruptor," the reality is that it's not a corruption that
has infected both parties, nor could it be.
To understand why, we have to understand the core conservative governing
principle - aristocracy.
