Will Bush Cancel The 2008 Election?
It is time to think about the “unthinkable.”
The Bush Administration has both the inclination and the power to cancel the 2008 election.
The GOP strategy for another electoral theft in 2008 has taken clear shape, though we must assume there is much more we don’t know.
But we must also assume that if it appears to Team Bush/Cheney/Rove that the GOP will lose the 2008 election anyway (as it lost in Ohio 2006) we cannot ignore the possibility that they would simply cancel the election. Those who think this crew will quietly walk away from power are simply not paying attention.
The real question is not how or when they might do it. It’s how, realistically, we can stop them.
In Florida 2000, Team Bush had a game plan involving a handful of tactics. With Jeb Bush in the governor’s mansion, the GOP used a combination of disenfranchisement, intimidation, faulty ballots, electronic voting fraud, a rigged vote count and an aborted recount, courtesy of the US Supreme Court.
A compliant Democrat (Al Gore) allowed the coup to be completed.
In Ohio 2004, the arsenal of dirty tricks exploded. Based in Columbus, we have documented more than a hundred different tactics used to steal the 20 electoral votes that gave Bush a second term. More are still surfacing. As a result of the King-Lincoln-Bronzeville federal lawsuit (in which we are plaintiff and attorney) we have now been informed that 56 of the 88 counties in Ohio violated federal law by destroying election records, thus preventing a definitive historical recount.
As in 2000, a compliant Democrat (John Kerry) allowed the coup to proceed.
For 2008 we expect the list of vote theft maneuvers to escalate yet again. We are already witnessing a coordinated nationwide drive to destroy voter registration organizations and to disenfranchise millions of minority, poor and young voters.
This carefully choreographed campaign is complemented by the widespread use of electronic voting machines. As reported by the Government Accountability Office, Princeton University, the Brennan Center, the Carter-Baker Commission, US Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and others, these machines can be easily used to flip an election. They were integral to stealing both the 2000 and 2004 elections. Efforts to make their source codes transparent, or to require a usable paper trail on a federal level, have thus far failed. A discriminatory Voter ID requirement may also serve as the gateway to a national identification card.
Overall, the GOP will have at its command even more weapons of election theft in 2008 than it did in Ohio 2004, which jumped exponentially from Florida 2000. The Rovian GOP is nothing if not tightly organized to do this with ruthless efficiency. Expect everything that was used these past two presidential elections to surface again in 2008 in far more states, with far more efficiency, and many new dirty tricks added in.
But in Ohio 2006, the GOP learned a hard lesson. Its candidate for governor was J. Kenneth Blackwell. The Secretary of State was the essential on-the-ground operative in the theft of Ohio 2004.
When he announced for governor, many Ohioans joked that “Ken Blackwell will never lose an election where he counts the votes.”
But lose he did….along with the GOP candidates for Secretary of State, Attorney-General and US Senate.
By our calculations, despite massive grassroots scrutiny, the Republicans stole in excess of 6% of the Ohio vote in 2006. But they still lost.
Why? Because they were so massively unpopular that even a 6% bump couldn’t save them. Outgoing Governor Bob Taft, who pled guilty to four misdemeanors while in office, left town with a 7% approval rating (that’s not a typo). Blackwell entered the last week of the campaign down 30% in some polls.
So while the GOP still had control of the electoral machinery here in 2006, the public tide against them was simply too great to hold back, even through the advanced art and science of modern Rovian election theft.
In traditional electoral terms, that may also be the case in 2008. Should things proceed as they are now, it’s hard to imagine any Republican candidate going into the election within striking distance. The potential variations are many, but the graffiti on the wall is clear.
What’s also clear is that this administration has a deep, profound and uncompromised contempt for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the US Constitution. When George W. Bush went on the record (twice) as saying he has nothing against dictatorship, as long as he can be dictator, it was a clear and present policy statement.
Who really believes this crew will walk quietly away from power? They have the motivation, the money and the method for doing away with the electoral process altogether. So why wouldn’t they?
The groundwork for dismissal of both the legislative and judicial branch has been carefully laid. The litany is well-known, but worth a very partial listing:
The continuation of the drug war, and the Patriot Act, Homeland Security Act and other dictatorial laws prompted by the 9/11/2001 terror attacks, have decimated the Bill of Rights, and shredded the traditional American right to due process of law, freedom from official surveillance, arbitrary violence, and far more.
The current Attorney-General, Alberto Gonzales, has not backed away from his announcement to Congress that the Constitution does not guarantee habeas corpus. The administration continues to act on the assumption that it can arrest anyone at any time and hold them without notification or trial for as long as it wants.
The establishment of the Homeland Security Agency has given it additional hardware to decimate the basic human rights of our citizenry. Under the guise of dealing with the “immigration problem,” large concentration camps are under construction around the US.
The administration has endorsed and is exercising its “right” to employ torture, contrary to the Eighth Amendment and to a wide range of international treaties, which Gonzales has labeled “quaint.”
With more than 200 “signing statements” the administration acts on its belief that the “unitary executive” trumps the power of the legislative branch in any instance it chooses. This belief has been further enforced with the administration’s use of a wide range of precedent-setting arguments to keep its functionaries from testifying before Congress.
There is much more. In all instances, the 109th Congress—and the public—have rolled over without significant resistance.
Most crucial now are Presidential Directive #51, Executive Orders #13303, #13315, #13350, #13364, #13422, #13438, and more, by which Bush has granted himself an immense arsenal of powers for which the term “dictatorial” is a modest understatement.
The Founders established our government with checks and balances. But executive orders have accumulated important precedent. The Emancipation Proclamation by which Lincoln declared an end to slavery in the South, was issued under the “military necessity” of adding blacks to the Union Army, a step without which the North might not have won the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order #8802 established the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Harry Truman’s Executive Order #9981 desegregated the military.
Most to the point, FDR’s Executive Order #9066 ordered the forcible internment of 100,000 people of Japanese descent into the now infamous concentration camps of World War II.
There is also precedent for a president overriding the Supreme Court. In the 1830s Chief Justice John Marshall enshrined the right of the Cherokee Nation to sovereignty over its ancestral land in the Appalachian Mountains. But President Andrew Jackson scorned the decision. Some 14,000 native Americans were moved at gunpoint to Oklahoma. More than 3,000 died along the way.
All this will be relevant should Team Bush envision a defeat in the 2008 election and decide to call it off. It’s well established that Richard Nixon—mentor to Karl Rove and Dick Cheney—commissioned the Huston Plan, which detailed how to cancel the 1972 election.
Today we must ask: who would stop this administration from taking dictatorial power in the instance of a “national emergency” such as a terror attack at a nuclear power plant or something similar?
Nothing in the behavior of this Congress indicates that it is capable of significant resistance. Impeachment seems beyond it. Nor does it seem Congress would actually remove Bush if it did put him on trial.
Short of that, Bush clearly does not view anything Congress might do as a meaningful impediment. After all, how many divisions does the Congress command?
The Supreme Court, as currently constituted, would almost certainly rubber stamp a Bush coup. If not, like Jackson, he could ignore it as easily as he would ignore Congress.
What does that leave? There is much idle speculation now about what the armed forces would do. We also hear loose talk about “90 million gun owners.”
From the public side, the only conceivable counter-force might be a national strike or an effective long-term campaign of general non-cooperation.
But we can certainly assume the mainstream media will give lock-step support to whatever the regime says and does. It’s also a given that those likely to lead the resistance will immediately land in those new prisons being built by Halliburton et. al.
So how do we cope with the harsh realities of such a Bush/Cheney/Rove dictatorial coup?
We may have about a year to prepare. Every possible scenario needs to be discussed in excruciating detail.
For only one thing is certain: denial will do nothing.
HARVEY WASSERMAN’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES is at www.solartopia.org, along with SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH, A.D. 2030. The FITRAKIS FILES are at www.freepress.org (where this article was originally published), along with HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA’S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008, which Bob and Harvey co-wrote.
Why are “ninety million gun owners” dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
It has been noted that Bush jr is overly optimistic, even under consistent failures around him. What is giving this misplaced confidence? Is it because he knows something is going to happen next year, just prior to elections, that will allow him to suspend elections and allow him longer stay in power? Even Cheney is not worried about all the pessimism around him. I would pay close attention to everything that is happening now and those that are about to happen. It is going to be a very interesting election year.
Here’s what I wrote about another article on this site (http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/27/2813/), but it seems an equally appropriate comment on this article.
And don’t forget all of the Dear Leader’s executive orders, such as the one he wrote a few months ago that gives him control over the entire U.S. government, state governments, and even industry in the event of virtually any kind of disruption, natural or man-made. Or the one he wrote a few days ago that permits him to seize the assets of virtually anyone by simply declaring that they are destabilizing Iraq, even if very indirectly.
The real question is whether the Dear Leader – or rather his boss, Darth Vader – intends to leave office in 2009. If not, then it’s clear what to expect: a “terrorist” attack that will be blamed on Iran, followed by martial law, an attack on Iran, and indefinite “postponement” of the 2008 election until voting can be made “secure.” All it would take is, say, a few grisly attacks on political offices throughout the country, accompanied by a government assertion, sans evidence, that terrorists have a plan to attack voting places throughout the country on election day. Given this scenario, who would demand that the election proceeds?
There is little doubt that Darth Vader was behind 9/11. Oh sure, they got a couple of fools willing to blow themselves up to participate, but the operation was supervised from start to finish by Darth himself, in order to make sure it was a smashing success. So if they were willing to do 9/11, then why not another phony “terrorist” attack. followed by martial law?
I’m not too sure that the military will come to our defense. After all, look at the barbarity of their actions in Iraq. You can’t create killing machines and then simply switch them off. Moreover, if the Dear Leader commandeers the National Guard for the purpose of imposing martial law, he’s not going to send the units back to their home states to maintain order, precisely because they would be sympathetic to their neighbors. No, he’d send the guard units to states to which they have no sympathy, and maybe even antipathy. In addition, the precedent has been well established now for the use of mercenaries. These people are cold blooded killers from all over the world who would enjoy killing a few uppity Americans who dared to protest against martial law. Martial law would probably need to be accompanied by conscription as well, and these inductees would be carefully trained to view Americans who protest and resist martial law as subhuman enemies of the country.
Dave
citizen,
I oppose violence. Besides, when in the pub, a Scots soldier calls out “F*** the Queen!” the British soldier replies: “YOU can’t even APPROACH her!”
The problem is, only a small minority of the American people realize what is happening to them, because the media is owned and operated by guilty corporations that are part of the problem and don’t dare reveal the truth. Lou Dobbs does well, but the absolute enormity of our American dilemma is so terrifyingly dangerous, it’s no wonder so many are in denial.
“A compliant Democrat (Al Gore) allowed the coup to be completed.”
“As in 2000, a compliant Democrat (John Kerry) allowed the coup to proceed.”
What is not only scarier but just downright discraceful is the fact that we not only have a Republican administration that has no problem running the country into the ground but that we have an “opposition” party that fails to act.
Pardon me while I correct the author on an item. Lincolns soldiers were not fighting to end slavery, but to turn back the secession. When Lincoln gave his emancipation speech, there were 200,000 desertions.
The american system of government is interesting, and Bush doesn’t appear to be doing this for himself and his administration. He’s doing it for future republican presidents. Republicans are after all, monarchists, and I’ve been thinking recently they way they’ve been acting, their line of thought revolves around this. “If we can’t have limited government, we won’t have any government at all.” We’ll see.
citizen a July 31st, 2007 1:00 pm
There’s always assass@#$#$%%^….
Mentioning or indirectly suggesting this activity is a felony under current federal statutes…
It never ceases to amaze me that as the curtain is drawn back to reveal the agenda that began in 2000 and runs rampant today, no one publicly acknowledges that same agenda included September 11, 2001 as an essential plan in their pre-planned strategy.
For weeks following 9/11, the Bobblehead was making speeches that held veiled assaults on the Democrat’s. Don’t you remember the line “The terrorist’s figured we’d just file a lawsuit against them after September 11th.”
A clear talking point at the ready to label everyone but themselves as weak on defense.
With nation at a fever pitch for anything spewing from Bobbleheads mouth, he got instant and complete coverage for every speech and they all contained that line ad nauseum.
The coup is well under way and canceling the ‘08 election is their next chapter in the fall of democracy in America.
Curtsie!
Ditto KEM PATRICK. Besides, it’s the system that is the problem, and that will change when we all get off our fat asses. Americans don’t know how powerful they are!
Also, anyone who thinks that a million .457 Magnum pistols is any match for the military is delusional! Look at Iraq and you will see what kind of home you will have left to enjoy after such a conflict.
The article states “[u]nder the guise of dealing with the “immigration problem,” large concentration camps are under construction around the US.”
Who is building these camps, and where? What is their projected capacity? Who is paying for them? Why didn’t the article mention this information?
Plus, corporate America (who really calls the shots) doesn’t have to cancel the election in order keep its surrogates in power. Wall Street has a pair of front-runner, business -friendly candidates: Clinton and Obama. They are, in my opinion, DINOs (Democrat In Name Only) without Bush’s Christian dogma, both of them relying on Robert Rubin for guidance on economic policy.
The ruling cabal has more sophistication than to cancel elections. They are better at stealing them; not that there isn’t anything they will not do to hold onto power either up front or behind the scenes, but they require a venner of plausible legality to justify their rule in a way that can be passed off as Democracy.
Harvey Wasserman’s one of those “clean money” public financing people. Harvey, using campaign spending limits to get America better politicians is the only way to solve America’s problems enough. If you think “clean money” public financing of our campaigns will bring us enough campaign finance reform, you’re sadly mistaken.
Republicans- limited government? It seems to me that everytime a Republican is in the White House government gets bigger and more expensive. Who ever believes this crap still believes that the media is liberal. And, duh, who promotes these beliefs- the repubs do and America buys it lock, stock, and barrel so to speak.
Fact is that Bush - Cheney group are not going to allow an election- there will be a catastrophe and they will declare martial law, start another war and all the stupid bible reading christians will see dissaster in the middle east fulfilled and think nothing of it. America is too Chriatian-blind to think for itself.
Congress would most definitely order impeachment proceedings and the Senate would convict. I do not think that the military would stand for such an act, they are patriots that respect the Constitution and would not stand for a dictator.
Srelf,___ you are right on.
You did have a little typo there it’s a a 357 Magnum. Many don’t know this, but a thirty-thiry has twice the power of a 357 magnum and is normally far more accurate over fifty yards. Got off of the subect, sorry.
Meanwhile,___ Congressman Conyers IS violating the supreme law of the land by refusing to act on the HR-333 bill__ and NO ONE challenges him in court for that serious crime.
Cindy Sheehan went to his office with the petitions, because Conyers is the ONLY one now, who is preventing the impeachment process from proceding. Conyers is breaking constitutional law, Cindy is arrested and no one does anything about Conyers crime.
Jaded Prole,
The difference today is we are dealing with a madman who thinks Armageddon is a positive solution to the World’s problems, because in that delusion, only his devout Christian religionists would be left to rule the World.
So, what is Cheney’s delusion?
It may be that Hillary’s running is the theatrical equivalent, long and drawn out surrogate if you will, of a cancelled election. If they cancelled the elections outright, they’d plunge the US into Civil War, and D.C. might find itself in the thick of it.
So they’d far, far, rather cancel the power of elections, without cancelling the positive spin they put on things. It’s a baby/bathwater thing. So they’ll put up someone who’s highly divisive, disliked by several sectors, give them lots of money and air-time to create a paper tiger — maybe even artificially boost the polls (Hillary). Then it’ll come down to another 49%/49% orchestrated “dead-heat” on election night to increase TV ratings with some hanky-panky business in a Shrub-controlled state, and a Democrat who drops out before the last vote is counted.
It’ll read like a formula, as it has for the past few elections.
sjc- dream on if you think this congress will do anything- they will buy into it because most of America still buys it. Not only that, they are part of the problem in that they are only interested in themselves and their careers.
As for the military- one benefit of lowering standards is that you get a military not used to thinking before acting. Besides- who runs the military but the commander and chief.
The world is out of control and unless impeachment happens now, it won’t happen at all- try to impeach and you will be jailed- congressman or not. That is what is meant by a dictator and President with UNLIMITED War powers- which he viturally has not with no real war.
Everyone talks about the Iraq war when it is not a war- it was an invasion that removed Saddam and now has transformed into a nightmare with everyone fighting with and against each other.
Since Bush recinded Habeus Corpus, anyone in the USA can be picked up and placed under indefinate detention.
You can’t vote while you are under detention.
Expect a mass detention of Democrats prior to the election.
THAT’s what the new camps are for.
Looks like it’s far too late for campaign finance reform.
I think the non-patrticipation or public strike is a good idea in theory. There will be many who suffer but we will have to deal with losses and inconvenience no matter what we decide to do, a strike would likely make it a short term issue, I hope.
I was just discussing the topic of the article with a university alum last evening.
It appears that as Desert Storm was a live action marketing tool for the military AND medical industrial complexes, this war is also a sales pitch. Look who’s going to buy a bunch of upgraded weaponry… Saudi Arabia and China. China owns the US monetarily so we have to keep them happy.
But what is truly alarming is that the drugs the soldiers are “pumped up” with are similar to crystal meth, only pharmaceutical grade, and they will do what they are told to do if they are “jonesing” for more on a regular basis. I’m willing to wager that the meds are provided by Donald Rummsfeld’s big pharma comapny.
And then there are the “more mercenaries than regular troops” in Iraq. We are in trouble indeed.
I’m storing food and supplies now, I don’t expect that shopping for food etc. will be an option soon.
Logical thnking SJC. Hope you are correct, but don’t bet on it. If Bush declares martial law, anthing may happen and most of the anythings would not be good.
> Under the guise of dealing with the “immigration problem,”
> large concentration camps are under construction around the US.
> It’s also a given that those likely to lead the resistance will
> immediately land in those new prisons being built by Halliburton et. al.
You know, this is being bruited about quite a bit, but there are never any specifics. How many of these places are there? Where are they? If the camps are really so ‘large’, somebody must know details.
Nah. Pappy and Bill are best buds…and it’s a twofer again in the Bush-Clinton dynasty. Shoot, she just claims she can do it all better–not that there is anything wrong with any of it.
Everything is right on que.
in V for Vendetta the despots used a biological weapon on their own people killing 80,000 and blamed it on terrorists. and then produced the cure making themselves appear as a godsend to the people. not to mention they owned the pharmaceutical company making each one of their gang very wealthy.
in GWB for WMD, the despots flew planes into two very large buildings in NYC and then blamed it on the terrorists. Oh by the way they sold alot of stock options the day prior and made themselves a nice piece of change. not to mention starting a war and contracting it out to, wait for it, themselves. and we can go on for about a year mentioning every broken law by the Bush crime family.
So where is our gun powder treason? Where is our revolutionary “V”. I see 2 solutions. I advocate a peaceful non cooperation with the government like Ghandi did. Since money is their motive, boycotts, and strikes would bring them to their knees overnight. But I don’t see any Ghandi type leaders taking the reigns on any of this. could it be we’re just destined for doom, is this the end of the American Empire, has it been sold to China? Should I learn Cantonese?
Does anyone else remember that after the 2006 election President Bush publicly stated in a news conference that the American people should be pleased that we continue to hold elections even in a time of war? A chilling statement I thought. And how did such an idea even occur to him?
And to those who advocate violence of any kind: That is exactly what authoritarian regimes want and need in order to justify their powers. The only realistic means of resistance is peaceful resistance. There is no other way. Violence only creates more violence.
Two factors I didn’t see mentioned above:
BLACKWATER–the private military force run by Eric Prince, rightwing Christian fanatic….currently active in Iraq; they also had a “practice run” in the US as a “security” force in New Orleans…how hard is it to imagine these thugs kicking in our doors and hauling us off to those afore-mentioned detention centers???
AND
The BBC just did a story on Prescott Bush (dubya’s granddaddy) and the failed 1933 coup to bring down the administration of FDR and install a Mussolini (eg, fascist) form of government–oh yeah! The whistleblower was Smedley Butler (of “War is a Racket” fame) who this gang had tried to convince to lead the military against the government…If you have any doubt as to the truth of this story or what these folks are up to, see for yourself:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
(if the link doesn’t work, just google: bbc, prescott, coup )
You will not believe what you are reading–unfortunately, it’s all true…and it goes way beyond any so-called tinfoil-hat type conspiracy theory…
So–WHAT are we gonna do about it???
What are Presidential Directive #51 and Executive Orders #13303, #13315, #13350, #13364, #13422, #13438?
Rudy was in on 9-11, they likely used his disaster headquarters in WTC7 that morning- and then of course demolished it. I believe the plan is in place to cancel elections/ martial law, only if they can’t steal the election for Rudy and just keep this creeping fascism rolling steaily without any “real” opposition.
QUOTE:
sjc_1 July 31st, 2007 1:53 pm
Congress would most definitely order impeachment proceedings and the Senate would convict. I do not think that the military would stand for such an act, they are patriots that respect the Constitution and would not stand for a dictator.
END QUOTE
Your post implies to me that you think the Senate is not part of the Congress when it is.
Congress is comprised of two bodies:
The House
The Senate
The House ain’t about to order impeachment proceedings and the Senate is not about to convict, no matter what happens. To me that’s wishful-thinking because the Congress (House and Senate) have HELPED to CREATE the Bush dictatorship. And of course the military would go along with all this because they will be brainwashed with the “terra” threat (which could be cooked up to be Iran) and that “terrorists” are coming. Play that “terra” card and make people afraid of their own shadow.
I’m glad to see this article because I’ve been talking about this subject only to be ignored by most so-called “progressives” because they don’t want to think about or “go there.” Most prefer to pretend it can’t happen or won’t happen. Denial is a very comfortable place for most people.
I said after the 2000 “election,” if they will do this (steal the 2000 “election), they will do literally anything. These people are not going anywhere in 2009. They didn’t steal 2 presidential elections just so they could be in power for a mere 8 years.
There is no “opposition” party. The Dems are useless as far as working for “We, the People” and most Dems have gone along with all of this to begin with.
Newageartist wrote QUOTE:
What is not only scarier but just downright discraceful is the fact that we not only have a Republican administration that has no problem running the country into the ground but that we have an “opposition” party that fails to act.
END QUOTE
Well, really, we have a Repug regime that has no problem running the country into the ground and a supposed “opposition” party who has HELPED them run the country into the ground.
One needs to give up the illusion that the Dems are a so-called “opposition” party. They are not and haven’t been since 2000. They have been a Bush-Enabling party with their “YES” votes for Bush, their complicity and their silence.
dwatkins9 July 31st, 2007 1:11 pm
Why are “ninety million gun owners” dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
Because the ninety million gun owners mainly consist of Bush supporters. They would invite the boot boys in for apple pie and lemonade.
You guys sure like the Apocalyptic archetypal stories huh?
Bush and Cheney do not have brass balls big enough to call off elections in 2008.
The American people would be calling for their heads if they dared take such an action.
No amount of “terror alerts”, actual terror attacks, a war with Iran (doubtful they can even achieve this), or other excuses could possibly convince the American public or the media.
How much praise did Bush heap on the Iraqi people for ‘defying the terrorist threats of violence’ and going to the polls to vote for their new government many months ago.
For him to now say that we Americans don’t have the fortitude to carry out elections and safety is more important than voting would make an implication about American will compared to Iraqis that no American would let pass.
Calling off elections doesn’t have a chance in hell of happening but in the highly improbably event that I am wrong I will be the first outside the gates to the White House with a torch and pitchfork.
QUOTE:
dwatkins9 July 31st, 2007 1:11 pm
Why are “ninety million gun owners” dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
END QUOTE
I suspect that the “ninety million gun owners” don’t have a clue what’s going on, like most people in this nation. That crowd would be watching Faux News or CNN.
“Who’s Libby? Who’s Cindy Sheehan? What’s the USAPATRIOT ACT? Oh Bush didn’t steal any elections…where do you get this stuff from? “We” don’t torture anybody and even if “we” do it’s justified. Big Brother Surveillance? Sure. I have nothing to hide. Bush wants to stay longer than 2 terms, fine by me…what’s the Constitution? I have my US flag that’s what I go by. The flag is the law of the land.
Y’all worry too much. There will be no armed uprising because middle class jerks with high-speed internet don’t start insurections. People who make $50,000 per year are happy with themselves and the status quo. It is only the working class schmos who scare the elites. Keep the working class relatively small, no uprising. It’s simple math. Now, when the depression comes along, and we’re all out of work, the elites and upper class will come correct, the companies who’ve been advertising on the corrupt media will go out of business and we can all get back to normal; The way it was in the 1800’s.
QUOTE:
rfrancis@godisdead.com July 31st, 2007 3:47 pm
You guys sure like the Apocalypse archetypal stories huh?
Bush and Cheney do not have brass balls big enough to call off elections in 2008.
The American people would be calling for their heads if they dared take such an action.
END QUOTE
The “American people” don’t have a clue what’s going on to begin with. They’re too busy with what job they do have, too busy watching mindless television shows, could care less about serious news, too busy going to the mall to buy crap to end up in the landfill, too busy with their status-SUV, too busy with their lattes and this gadget and that gadget and I could go on and on.
Did you see how upset the “American people” got over the 2000 stolen “election” followed by the 2004 stolen “election?”
What happened to show that the “American people” were upset?
NOTHING HAPPENED.
They didn’t show any sign of being upset. Instead, people like me were told to “get over it” when I was out protesting with A FEW HUNDRED people.
Clearly, after all this time, you still don’t have any clue as to who and what Cheney and Rove really are and the plans of the PNAC document (their blueprint). Dunce Bush is just their puppet.
When and if this happens, the “American people” will yawn and say “Oh that’s happened? …whatever.”
You have got to be kidding me. So now we’ve turned this site into the home of conspiracy theories? Unbe-freakin-lievable!!!
I cannot believe that I just read a contributor to this site and 30 something members of this site warning that Bush might not leave office at the end of his term.
Are you kidding me? Really? Is this a joke? I thought you people were smarter and more logical than this.
bidelo-
It is quite obvious that you are not listening to the voices of many of the 90 million armed citzens. Take some time to listen to what used to be called ‘Patriot Radio’, and you will here as much critcism of the Bush bunch as you do here on CD. Freedom loving folks of all types despise this administration. Difference is, those on the ‘Right’ believe in preparing for catastrophy instead of just complaining about it on their favorite web sites…
I keep hearing about these concentration camps being built (by Haliburton), but does anyone know WHERE they are being built? If so, please post it. thanks.
It was not so long ago that records were opened that revealed that Western European governments, certainly with US aid and complicity, had staged a number of black ops in Europe during the 70s and 80s in which terrorist acts were committed by the governments and then blamed on communist or other leftist groups. I do not know whether 9/11 fits in that category, but certainly such an operation would not be unlikely in the US.
Maybe a black op or false flag operation of some sort would fail in removing resistance to assertion of dictatorial powers. But that does not mean the Bush-Cheney criminal gang will not try it. There were many who claimed the Iraq invasion would only lead to disaster. Did that dissuade them? They are as bold and reckless as they are power-hungry and stupid.
David B - Google for ‘em - they’re all there.
OSUgradstudent July 31st, 2007 3:59 pm,
Clearly you haven’t been paying close attention either since 2000 and you’re living under the illusion that we are pre-2000 of “politics as usual.”
What signs or indications have you seen that Bush/Cheney have ANY intention of leaving in 2009?
Please name them and please be specific.
(Don’t just say “according to the US Constitution” because that isn’t an answer because the illegitimate Bush regime has already shredded the US Constitution, in part, with the USAPATRIOT ACT and injustice Alito whom the Dems voted “YES” for believes in the concept of the “unitary executive” (meaning above the law) and Bush “The Decider” has referred to the US government as “MY government” in his recent speeches.)
Think that a coup is the stuff of conspiracy theorists? Then go ahead and check out the historical FACT that granddaddy Prescott Bush ALREADY TRIED THIS in 1933!!! NOT a conspiracy THEORY–a REAL CONSPIRACY…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
If you still think I’m a nutjob, conspiracy theorist after looking at this recent BBC documentary, then so be it…
I think that the truth of what’s going on is really so terrifying that most of us can’t even wrap our brains around it….
Just remember: it HAS happened before and it CAN happen again. In fact, it IS happening again….
I gather then that the Bush administration wants another Clinton in office as much as we all do???
perhaps I speak for myself.
Erma,
With all due respect suspending an election and vote rigging are magnitudes different.
I too read about the removal of 50,000 people from the voter rolls in Florida in Greg Palast’s book and news articles.
This story got pretty much no air time in the U.S., one had to search out the news of the day in order to find it.
The American people would not have to search around to find info about a suspended election, even the mainstream media would be covering this event. It would be on all the news stations, no Americans could avoid the story.
It would not take long at all for anger to reach critical mass and the Keith Olbermann’s of the media world would be calling for all Americans to march on the White House with torches and pitchforks.
I would not spend your time worrying about such an event.
the only possible scenario in which our elections will be canceled is a false-flag terrorist operation, and even that’s problematic. the ruling elite in this country are very divided about this administration; many, many people in bizness, gov’t, military, etc., loathe the cheney admin. elections at this point are a procedural formality with no substantive relationship to democracy. why rock the boat when george bush lite (hilary/obama) is waiting in the wings and the bizness of generating more wealth for the fabulously wealthy is running along quite smoothly?
but, having said that, who can deny how deeply irrational dumbya is? or how the american public will react if war is escalated in the middle east (iran or pakistan)?
there are a lot of ifs involved, and canceling elections is a very risky thing to do.
WUOTE:
rfrancis@godisdead.com July 31st, 2007 4:16 pm
Erma,
With all due respect suspending an election and vote rigging are magnitudes different.
END QUOTE
That’s a given. But you completely missed my point and the point that I and others have made.
Bottom line: The rigging of elections was a way to grab hold of power in the first place with no intention of giving up power in the end. How does one refuse to give up power in the end? By cancelling an election in the name of another cooked up 9-11 type inside job (the first one has served as an excuse for most of what they have accomplished to date). Following that, they could declare martial law and end of nation.
As for congress, Rove/Cheney/Bush have already unofficially dissolved congress by ignoring them without suffering any consequences other than occasional posturing and theatre from some members of congress. Even Barbara Boxer about a week ago spoke of how close we are to a full-blown dictatorship. (Yet I don’t see her trying to do anything about it and her “YES” vote for the USAPATRIOT ACT helped, in part, to create the dictatorship).
But if you don’t want to spend much time worrying about such an event, then don’t. I never said that I spend my time worrying about this because I really don’t. But if it were to happen, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised where as others on here would be…for some reason. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised because I put **NOTHING** past these people based on what I’ve seen them do to date. Others think it can’t possibly happen. Why? Denial. Because they don’t want to think or believe that it could really happen.
A MACHIAVELLEIAN ANALYIS AND DEFENCE AGAINST IT
We should attempt to do a deeper and a more sustained Machiavellian analysis of the “unthinkable” so that progressives are not vulnerable and paralyzed by the shock and awe of the event or events that may likely occur. Of course, one should use Occam’s razor in the science of inanimate things, but in human affairs, especially against evil, it should be “Game Theory” (i.e. Machiavelli dressed up in fancy math.)
Nevertheless, all should take courage from the fact that these are NOT supermen and women. They are just humans with overblown egos who have proved their ineptness so far. As the Buddha said:
ALL BEINGS TREMBLE BEFORE DEATH
That includes tyrants too. Old Harry Truman rendered the same wisdom in a folksier American idiom:
EVERYBODY GETS INTO THEIR PANTS ONE LEG AT A TIME.
That being said, here is my 2 cents.
1. The American military was not and has never been entirely crazy. Many people from privates to generals and admirals have been people of principle, highly educated, well read, and after retirement have voiced concerns similar to progressives. At the crucial time when the Martial Law is declared, these people will not be reliable for Herr Fuhrer. For example General Peter Pace, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has issued an order to all military personnel reminding their of their duty to the Constitution to not obey any order that commands use of WMD.
2. An unreliable military because of the sanity of many of its key people is possibly a major reason that the land military (army, marines and National Guard) has been sent as fodder to the killing fields of Iraq, and possibly Iran soon, to be “otherwise” occupied and “broken” so that they do not offer resistance to the Martial Law.
3. The pseudo-”military” that will actually put the ML in place is the mercenary, Judeo-Christian fundamentalist, psychopaths of Blackwater, and some of the top brass in the standard military who have remained behind and are deemed “reliable macho totalitarians”.
4. To control 300 million people in a vast country is impossible. But progressives should not use that number to find solace. That number is NOT correct. The true progressive segment of the white population is SMALLER - - probably about 50 - 70 million strong. The rest of the progressives come from the traditional sources - - largely, African American, Hispanic and other visible minorities. That leaves about 150 million whites ( with token visible) who believe in the “manifest” destiny of the white peoples to civilize or annihilate non whites in the world, whose education and knowledge about the other cultures and peoples of the world in Asia, Africa and Latin America is pitiful or non-existent. These are the “let kick ass” yahoos of the Limbaugh-Hagee done species
5. The ML’s enforcement on 300 million people will depend on these 150 million reptilian humanoids that have not an ounce of compassion or soul in them. They are pitiless, and that is a most important requirement for an SS foot soldier - - TRUE BELIEF and NO CONSCIENCE. They will be frenzied into a gun totting mob by the use of media and mind control techniques invented by Goebbels in the Third Reich, and refined ever since by all totalitarians. Here are the brown shirts of the regime, the Christian and Judeo Zionist zombies in their millions. Their mission would be to “Protect Jerusalem from the Anti-Christ Muslim hordes who are brown and black and hence untermenschen not worth the Rapture of the blonde white Christ.” They will be let loose among the 70 million or so progressive or poor whites and about 60 million or so progressive or poor blacks and browns and other visibles with a conscience and humanism.
6. Coordinating these mobs will be the mafia-like kapi from Blackwater, the KKK, the Aryan Army and so forth as well as the loyal military and intelligence services. They will be the Black shirts or the SS Praetorian guard of the new Fuhrer. The goose-stepping generals will come from their ranks and not the standard military.
7. Since the control of the media is already theirs, the new Goebbels will have more mind control power than his 1940’s counterpart.
8. Of course, every legitimate progressive, Jeffersonian democratic, American institution - - especially Universities and the academia - - will be closed down, silenced and many intellectuals disappeared to deprive progressives of a source of leadership to lead organised resistance.
9. Brave war vets who have become progressive and some retired military officers may (and most likely will) lead progressive resistance with their military skill and knowledge, but it will be a long haul.
This analysis will be shocking to many, but it is already happening now in full view. Observe that the white racists have been seething at the possibility of “President Obama” of the USA. The guy does not even have a Christian name such as “Jefferson” or “Washington”. Thus the financiers of the permanent “War on Terror” have approached Hilary Clinton and Edwards to form the winning white ticket. Obama is now the “bête noir”, despite being coffee and suited to the nines, with superb diction to be a great token in normal times. These times are far from being normal. Therefore he is being unceremoniously given the heave-ho. Hilary’s recent attack on him as a foreign policy light weight(read not having the balls to order nuclear war or continue war against “Islamofascists” - - the new manifest destiny of the Judeo-Christian neo-cons)is a case in point.
Of course, there will be no election; but the charade of the primaries and debates will be kept up. At the time that Martial Law is actually declared, a “National Unity” government will be formed with the Clintons, Edwards and the DLC co-opted to be at the Emperor’s side. This will further confuse the ignorant public and make them believe that everything that is happening is legit. and “good for the Republic.”
OK so far, the neo-Nazis are winning in this Machiavellian analysis.
What could go wrong in this grand plan to give progressives hope?
Several things. I leave it to you to figure it out whether internal economic and natural events (extreme weather, earthquakes, disease) and external events will play along for the plan to go smoothly? This is where Chaos theory beats Game Theory (as anyone who is familiar with game theory knows). Progressives should take heart that Nature is with them on this one, and Nature has always made evil Machiavelli mush. But the Progressives will have to know Nature well (this I hope the Greens do) to use it to advantage in a vast country with a friendly northern neighbour in Canada
Also, if you think about it, how many major nations and groups in the world, including the European Union, will want this Fourth Reich to succeed and come into possession of the vast military arsenal of America? So what do you think they will do?
On this positive note, I will end. There may be tough, death and destructive times ahead, especially for millions of Muslims worldwide. But eventually the tyranny will run out of steam as a result of the confluence of the events internal and external I listed above.
But be prepared for some years of rough riding.
Peace
Aymon
I think this article’s a little off. Nothing so far in the Bush presidency has been unthinkable. The Democrats always allow themselves to be bullied. Al Gore and John Kerry did as expected. And, of course, we gave the Bush Administration absolute power, knowing full well what that does to ordinary (the more so the more ordinary they are) human beings. Bush won’t cancel the election because he won’t have to.
hi all - guess what happened his morning? Inslee just put his bill to impeach Gonzales on the table. Here’s more about what it says -
………….
House Democrats calling for Gonzales impeachment inquiry
Brett Murphy at 10:27 AM ET
[JURIST] A group of US House Democrats said Monday that they plan to pursue a resolution instructing the House Judiciary Committee [official website] to launch an investigation into whether to impeach Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile; JURIST news archive]. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) [official website], sponsor of the resolution, and six co-sponsors plan to introduce the measure to investigate whether Gonzales has been truthful about the Bush administration’s expanding domestic surveillance program [JURIST report]. The White House has said that this is just another “partisan attack,” but Inslee defended the move, saying that “it’s indefensible to treat the truth with such cavalier disregard when talking to the American people and Congress.”
And they’ve actually done it. There’s a press conference about it on c-span, audio and video -
What happened to this person:
OSUgradstudent July 31st, 2007 3:59 pm
He/She never did answer my question:
What signs or indications have you seen that Bush/Cheney have ANY intention of leaving in 2009?
Please name them and please be specific.
“This carefully choreographed campaign is complemented by the widespread use of electronic voting machines. As reported by the Government Accountability Office, Princeton University, the Brennan Center, the Carter-Baker Commission, US Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and others, these machines can be easily used to flip an election. They were integral to stealing both the 2000 and 2004 elections. Efforts to make their source codes transparent, or to require a usable paper trail on a federal level, have thus far failed.”
How is it that the hackers who tested the Californian voting machines were able to have the souce code but an investigation in FL’s 13 congressional district sour election can’t?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
Folks–here it is…the first attempt by the Bush family and friends to take over the US government…
Yep, Prescott Bush, the Du Ponts et al. were such big admirers of Mussolini that they wanted a similar set up at home in the US….
You have got to be kidding me. So now we’ve turned this site into the home of conspiracy theories? Unbe-freakin-lievable!!!
I cannot believe that I just read a contributor to this site and 30 something members of this site warning that Bush might not leave office at the end of his term.
Are you kidding me? Really? Is this a joke? I thought you people were smarter and more logical than this.
OSU gradstudent END QUOTE
This is the problem. And we need more people like Erma.
even the informed people, like Randi Rhodes keep swinging for the fences that the democratic process will prevail and our field of candidates (dems) are something we should all be proud of and that congress has made such wonderful progress with all of the subpoenas …yadda yadda yadda
I prefer to listen to Thom Hartman and Greg Palast. at least they call a spade a spade they understand the reality behind the threat of martial law and suspended elections and that Brown Kellog and Root have built detention centers in this country. YOU DONT NEED CONSPIRACY THEORIES WITH THE BUSH CRIME FAMILY. THEY ARE SO ARROGANT THEY HAVE BROKEN OVER 750 CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS (article in Boston Globe) AND LAUGH OUT LOUD ABOUT IT.
To be certain about one thing though, with the way the entire Democratic party has been bought out, you really don’t need to suspend elections, Hillary is going to be the next President with Obama at her side and absolutely nothing will change. But the illusion will be in place as the first woman and black man will be in the white house, so when we continue with our little conspiracy theories in 2009 about how the elections were fraudulent again and we are at war with Iran and the economy still sucks noone will listen anymore than they are now. So go back and watch another episode of american idol or dancing with the stars or the apprentice, fear factor survivor or other braindead crap and wait for it, yes, ignorance is bliss…….
grandma July 31st, 2007 4:36 pm
Nothing to get excited over there.
Just another hot air Dem “investigation” that the gullible Dem koolaid drinkers will fall for in their desperate attempt to make it seem like their beloved Bush-Enabling Dems are really doing something. Yeah right.
Even if Gonzales were impeached, his replacement would be just as bad if not worse than Gonzales with the Dems voting “YES” for the new nominee claiming “Bush should have the person he wants in there, you know.”
I don’t care what anyone says, this will probably happen. It’s not a matter of sophistication or them trying to be subtle about this. He’s been grabbing “executive exclusivity” since he took office. When this does happen, we will no longer be America. We will have become something more akin to what his “soulmate” has in Russia. Grab the passports and run to the border–the northern one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
Send this link to everyone you know–there is absolutely no doubt at all as to what’s going on…
Hey, erma, you obviously have never had a real, academic debate with someone, because you are asking me to prove a negative. You are agreeing with the article that made the extraordinary claim that Bush/Cheney might not leave office at the end of their term. That claim is for you to prove if you agree with it, not for me to refute.
What you are doing is comparable to someone saying aliens will land on Feb. 2 2008. And then telling me that because I disagree with you that it is up to me to prove that it won’t happen.
liberal with an attitude July 31st, 2007 4:44 pm
Right-on!
You’re right, if Margaret Thatcher Clinton is allowed to take over the White House nothing will change, in fact it could be worse (if one can imagine that). Hillary has said that “Bush has been too soft on Iran.”
But really, I just can’t see pompous and arrogant Cheney/Bush leaving. I see no sign they plan to leave. But they may. I’ll believe it only when it happens.
“In Ohio 2004, the arsenal of dirty tricks exploded.”
And are still exploding. Alternet, July 30, 2007:
“Two-thirds of Ohio counties have destroyed or lost their 2004 presidential ballots and related election records, according to letters from county election officials to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner.”
A violation of Ohio State Law, a number of court orders and directives from the gov. The truth is no longer out there…
Forget Bush already, he’s just the dupe. This is Cheney’s last Olympics, and he’s going for the gold…
OSUgradstudent July 31st, 2007 4:51 pm
Despite your patronising and elitist remarks about what you THINK I haven’t done, you refuse to answer my question.
My question has nothing to do with proving a negative. That’s just a cop-out answer on your part.
The type of answer I’m looking for is a very basic one such as, you could have said:
“Well, yes Erma, it’s clear to me that Bush/Cheney plan to leave because they have talked about what they will do after they get out of office, or they have been proud of their “accomplishment” and are looking forward to turning the White House over to the next candidate or they have stated where they plan to retire after they’re out of the White House.”
Something along those lines is what I looking for and was talking about.
See how simple that is. One would think a OSUgradstudent would be able to come up with something THAT basic! It’s not complicated and it really doesn’t take much critical thinking skills.
The fact is, they haven’t talked about any of this stuff (that I’ve heard) and that’s my point. I see no sign from them that they plan to leave.
The only thing Bush did say was that Condi would not be running for president. (Wink, wink…she’s not running because I’m not leaving and she knows that).
LIBERAL WITH AN ATTITUDE says, “Hillary is going to be the next President with Obama at her side and absolutely nothing will change. But the illusion will be in place as the first woman and black man will be in the white house..” This is some kick-ass SMART logic. I mean to establish the APPEARANCE of other when all stays the same (satisfying those behind the orchestration of the status quo) is pure genius and disables any need for martial law and/or suspended elections. I think THIS is the route the “powers” will seek; although with Bush-Cheney wreaking of the stench of absolute power having corrupted (already) absolutely, ALL options ARE on the table. Tragically.
Me too Kathy
I see where some bloggers here deny the gist of the article. Well it is nice to have another side for a debate. But before any deny, they really should READ the website offered by Sj and others, before leaving or returning to make like comments. Grandma, Aymon, Sj and Erma along with a whold bunch of others here today are pretty damn smart.
Look, it’s all very well you skeptics calling us “naive” for exploring this possibility, so if it never happens you can dance around and say I told you so (rfrancis, OSUgradstudent). But the fact is, Bush HAS taken down parts of the constitution, he HAS written executive orders, he HAS appended signing statements to bills, all of which appear to pave the way for such an event. Combined with a couple of catastophic events, say, a deep recession, another 9-11, and it will happen.
This is not fantasy: household and government debt under Bush is simply unprecendented in American history. The economy could easily collapse if debtors lose confidence in the dollar: not a stretch to imagine. The “war”, tax cuts, military spending and corporate pork are breaking our backs like never before. Some economists are saying the debt crisis is the worst since the Great Depression.
Another 9-11 or worse is entirely feasible: the Bush government has (deliberately) not implemented recommended safeguards. They have nothing to lose - and a lot to gain - from such an event.
We are NOT protected from tyranny by 90 million people being armed. These people will be the first in line to be Bush’s boot boys: they are generally religious, right-wing and paranoid of being attacked (especially by terrorists). If 90% of people thought Iraq was the right thing to do as a response to 9-11, you can bet your bottom dollar that most people will think a state of emergency is appropriate if another 9-11 happens. This is not 1776 - Americans are not used to being rebels, and will roll over like pussy cats when their “commander-in-chief” tells them to.
Could you imagine a few years ago that top politicians would publicly advocate torture? Could you imagine that habeus corpus would be denied to American citizens? Could you imagine that the president would publicly ignore spying laws? Could you imagine elections could be rigged and nobody would do anything, even the “losing” party?
There’s precedent for this folks. The Reichstag fire, the collapse of the German economy and look what happened. Goodbye democracy, hello fascism.
I’m not saying it will definitely happen, or even is likely to happen, but we must consider the possibility, there must be contingency. You people who thinks it’s naive, look to all the Holocaust victims who didn’t leave Germany in time who thought it would never happen to them. Trust me, they were as convinced as you and they were dead wrong.
Let’s start with a quotation from Franklin Delano Roosevelt on March 4th, 1933:
“I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself–nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”
Let’s us each lead with these words as we raise the expectations of our fellow citizens and thus the expectations on the public servants that service us locally, statewide and nationally. For we the people are sovereign and command that our democracy be one where all shall be able to participate equally.
No, I still can’t post.
Kathyodat, the webmaster heard you were going to be a presidentil candidate and does not want to give the other candidates equal time.
If you don’t toss your hat into the ring, I will be sorely disappointed. No excuses, just do it!!
The computer glitch is fixed, you may now post your excuses.
Rex 84. Operation Cable Splicer. Operation Garden Plot.
New Orleans was a dry run. Let chaos ensue, then chopper in the Blackwater mercs. Force the population to leave, then not allow it to return (divide and conquer.) Promise aid, deliver nothing but ice and contaminated trailers. Deny everything.
Let’s hope the troops we support are so sick of being used, abused and murdered by their Loonitary Decider that, when the time comes, they do the right thing. And any who might be interested in arresting Cheneybush for being “domestic enemies of the Constitution” beforehand, knock yourself out.
test. September 11
OK, one was the video September 11 Revisited. Easy to Google.
The other was about the stock put options the week before September 11.
OSUgradstudent:
It is a bit presumptuous on your part to think many here are not practicing academics and somebody here is not “intellectual”. That is “ad hominem”, not logic.
This is one of the best progressive sites there is, and the amount of information, analyis, and sheer intellect on display here is likely more than you entire OSU.
So simply state what you think is correct, support it with reasoning and people here will provide you with a reasoned response. But we cannot reason with “ad hominems” and “non sequiturs”, as well as complete ignorance of the massive empirical evidence about the current regime.
Thanks KEM PATRICK
Yeah Frank,___ and FEMA paid a friend $36 million for the bags of ice, $12 million to store the unused ice for two years and then last week $3.5 million to melt the unused ice. What are friends for? If we do have a fianncial meltdown, FEMA will be here to help. Well, maybe FEMA won’t have any money either,___ no ice folks.
I don’t think it is a conspiracy. It is all too believable. When you put all of the pieces together you have to wonder “What is their real agenda?” The scary part is that all of the “I have to have a gun” owners are NRA members and will probably join forces with whomever wants to squelch those nambey pamby wimps who oppose guns and support gun control. The mass media will probably end up like the poor fellow in 1984 whose job was rewriting the news, but then we already have that, as well as many other similarities of 1984. Orwell was just a few years ahead of himself with this one.
Tells me it’s more important than ever to see that video. I’ve ordered it, and now I’m suspecting that it may get banned, and the website pulled down. I encourage everyone to Google that website and order the video ($6 including shipping and they encourage everyone to copy and share it) before it disappears. Here comes censorship. Why is Commondreams participating in this? We’re not talking insurrection here, just facts and evidence.
Newsflash for commondreamers. They’re not going to cancel the elections in 2008. Why would they cancel them when the elections:
1-aren’t fair anyway
2-are primarily based on the canidate’s appearences (including height weight and voice, not just race/gender) and on materialism
3-are based on personal wealth
4- are based on corperate bribes
5-elect members of the same plutocracy serving corperate interests not the American public
6-elect members call themselves democrats, which means they will sit around and do nothing as the dictatorship (which will never officially call itself that) takes over OR SIMPLY thinks or is hoping that it will be a “democrat” as the dictator
7- elect members who are republicans, who will actively ensure and support a dictatorship when the time comes. We all know they want a Monarch anyway.
Ultimately, the oligarchy, during martial law or not (also which they will never officially call it) will allow elections to occur because they know full well that elections do not matter. And elections, for 97% of the congress, is simply replacing one crooked corperate serving lawyer for another.
We live under the illusion of democracy, and the oligarchy needs the fake and trumped up elections to keep the illusion going (and all the debates and primary debates too- on a sidenote, I hope when you watch even these democrat debates I hope you realize you’re just hearing the same old soundbytes, and same rhetoric as before- that’s all it is, rhetoric-these canidates are smart, and most are good looking too so they know how to sound appealing and to manipulate YOU the voter, even those of you who THINK you’re invulnerable). Nevertheless, that way the vast majority 85% of the apathetic, unaware, timid, paranoid, authority fearing, insecure public feel they have some control over their lives and/or government, when in fact they have none. It’s almost like it’s been scripted from the beginning of this nation’s birth, and getting increasingly tyrannical since the death of FDR. People are in denial, they have to tell themselves they have control of, influence, and representation in their government, when in fact they have none. Elections? sure sometimes their votes counts, but again, your replacing one corperate serving businessman/woman with another- so whats the point?
Hey annabelle, I’m a lot more afraid of the Cheney/Rove cabal than I am of the NRA gun owners. In this, they’re on our side.
When you guys talk about violent action against a dictatorial government, consider that McVeigh built a bomb and rented the delivery system. His bomb was on target, wrong as it was, and most assuredly he was wrong. The point is, he built a precision bomb on the cheap. If Bush and company do the dictatorial thing, handguns and long rifles will be practically useless. Now consider the methods presently employed by poor people in Iraq against the most powerful military in the world. All the weapons of the most powerful military need one thing … a target. That’s why the advisory uses bombs.
mastershake, your argument is compelling. Does that mean my door won’t get kicked in?
Actually, I saw our country change when Kennedy was assassinated and the entire country bought the story that he was shot from behind after endlessly watching the Zapruder tape. I saw people move into denial out of fear.
Let’s support our Congress growing baby teeth. Maybe they will go to holding bush’s feet to the fire and demand an honest AG, like Comey!
Well, I wouldn’t put it past this administration to try something like this, but it seems like a lot of trouble, when they could just as easily steal another election as they have done so far, and keep the public pacified with believing they live in a ‘democracy’.
That said, I do think its a bit unreasonable for many people here saying “they don’t show any signs of leaving”, and asking others to prove that they have shown signs of leaving. That seems ridiculous to me, and doesn’t prove anything. I mean, do most administrations show signs of leaving 2 years before the end of their terms? Are we supposed to see them packing their bags already or what?
Also, I loved this quote from KEM PATRICK regarding the depression, “…no one went hungry”. Wow, that seems pretty misinformed if you ask me.
Pete July 31st, 2007 6:01 pm
Pete, stealing another election will not keep George W Bush or Dick Cheney in power because they can’t technically (according to our now-defunct US Constitution) be in office for more than 2 terms.
That is the point: In order to keep Bush/ Cheney (Rove) in power they would have to cancel the “election” under some pretense. That is why I have said that they have no intention of leaving to turn power over to anyone else, regardless of whether the new candidate calls him/herself a R or a D.
It’s possible they are completing the installation of this dictatorship to turn it over to Hillary and I’ve thought about that but considering the way these two (Bush/Cheney) have acted since 2000 with their arrogance and their “we are above the law and this is MY government” approach, that’s why I don’t see them going anywhere.
Hello all, i just wanna throw my 2 cents in this. I think that most people in the USA are extremely pessimistic and at the same time existentialists. Ok let me explain, what i mean by the extreme negativism and existentialism is that most americans don’t believe in past or future. They believe that the only time that exists is the ‘present’ (Right here, right now world view) but people are wrong on this, because this gives them a negative world view, in which they think that Bush and neocons have been with us forver, and will stay will us like a Damocles Sword with us forever. I know that both parties are capitalists and corrupt. And americans think that democrats and republicans, will be with us forever, this is an anti-rational view. Look at Venezuela, it took 40 to 50 years for the masses to wake up and overthrow the capitalist system which is a system that puts bread on table for rich people, and misery for the majority. We need democracy not capitalism which only benefits the rich. Americans must learn that the only cure to capitalism is socialism, but the americans masses must unite toward a socialist goal
Erma, I think you misunderstood me when I said they can always steal another election. I meant steal another election for whoever their next talking head would be. I realize this is the last term for Bush, but they don’t need Bush in there to continue more of the same. He doesn’t do this stuff alone.
Why are 90 million gun-owners so easily dismissed?
Because 75 million of them will happily don the brownshirts and support the coup.
In 1933, Prescott Bush was involved in planning a coup to take down FDR’s administration and replace it with a fascist regime….look at this link and all doubt as to what these thugs are up to will disappear…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml
No need to be a conspiracy theorist…it’s all right there for anyone to read….
In addition to the “idle speculation” about what the armed forces would do, and “loose talk about 90 million gun-owners,” we must remember the private armies now deployed by Blackwater USA and other military contractors, which are not prohibited from deploying against the American people. Blackwater has been hiring all around the world from the most repressive regimes. The actions of Blackwater “security forces” in New Orleans after Katrina is just the teeniest, tiniest tip of the iceberg. The ONLY, ONLY solution is to impeach Bush and Cheney now. We must ALL call our Congresspeople and demand it. Nothing less than the very future of this once-great nation depends on it.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
History continues to repeat itself, we don’t seem to be able to learn, America has a dictator already and nobody noticed, nothing has happened to stop it. Gun ownership gives the illusion of liberty, opposition to any dictator requires organization, there is none in the US, 9 million guns are a lot, but there are individuals not massed, not a threat to Bushies, even so, most of the gun owners would probably support the regime anyway.
With the US economy looking to be on the downturn the conditions will be ideal for a full takeover, by then any attempt at a revolution will be easily crushed, with the creation of the super farms whole regions can be starved just by cutting off transportation. Urbanization has concentrated people geographically making it easier to control the population. The media has already been subverted, communication can be controlled and part of the population has already been brainwashed.
Start stockpiling food unfortunately you’ll need it.
This is exactly why there will not be any cancellation of voting. I really am concerned about the alarmist nature that has started to pervade this site’s comments, though I understand why it is so. I think we should focus on the facts; knowing the President has expanded the executive powers to well beyond what has been known to exist before his rise to power is enough to argue for resistance. We should pay attention to his current sins against we the people which are heinous enough. I feel it is important to note that the president does have too much power that should not be in his hands.
Do not be discouraged, the battle against the corrupt underbelly of this so-called democracy is raging, and we, with our pens stand at the front lines. This president has faced more criticism than any other president in history (I do believe resistance against Nixon was more noted in the media due to more diligent journalists, but we have seen unprecedented protests around the world against President Bush). I wish you all the best in your fight against corruption and will join you at the gates of Washington D.C. with pitchfork and torch in hand if I am mistaken. Let’s stick to the real issues guys, this president has given us enough ammunition not to have to invent future scenarios. Stay vigilant, we have many on our side.
Dave,
Of course the military won’t be here to protect us by not following martial law orders. But Blackwater and other private security forces will. Just watch. It’s why we need Jeremy Scahill to tips us off when the 120,000+ private security troops in Iraq are pulled out. It’s a sure sign that a dirty nuke is going to drop within a few months and registered democrats will be hauled into detentions indefinitely. It’s why Alberto isn’t going anywhere. And it’s why the Dems are cowards. They’ve swallowed the kool aid.
I have been sounding the alarm about martial law for months now. It is a distinct possibility that needs to be addressed.
Stealing another election is of course a possibility, but why wouldn’t Cheney have other, contingency, plans? (wish lists?). He has the manpower, the secrecy, why not plan for anything and everything?
Our National Guards are busy guarding another nation, as is much of our regular military.
Since they’re far away and busy and getting ground down, private armies will be needed. Blackwater employees shot at civilians in New Orleans after Katrina. Private armies don’t have to be American citizens, just people willing to shoot Americans for money.
Why would Cheney do it?
Because democracy is not strong enough to battle the evil, wicked enemies that want to kill us and take away our freedoms. A more powerful, all-powerful leader is needed in these times of troubles (I haven’t read Mein Kampf for a long time-I forget how it goes after that).
Ways it could happen:
1. natural catastrophe in an urban area. rolling martial law, one devastated area at a time.
2. national disturbances, upheavals following imposition of draft.
3. terror attack which will be immediately blamed upon villains du jour (currently Iran and al-Qaeda). perhaps terrorists will be said to be hiding in some city and need rooting out (before the time bomb goes off-call Kiefer Sutherland!).
4. sudden eruption of fighting between Iranians and US military, thousands of whom are eyeball-to-eyeball in the Gulf (and many with itchy trigger fingers). Then either join the madness or be a traitor.
5. a final desperate defense against impeachment (and incarceration for war crimes?). Keep an eye on European courts ruling against the butchers.
I agree that we probably have one year to stop this madness (and I posted just so yesterday).
Few things will make me happier than to be wrong about this. I would party hearty after an unfraudulent election next year, November.
Fraudulent election and declaration of martial law are two separate things. I think we would do better to focus on discussing how to achieve a clean election, and thereafter cut out the corporate money that has corrupted it. I am convinced they will cheat again, they have had eight years to prepare it. We have to demand, but really demand with our fists high, that a paper trail issues from these machines that can so easily be and have been rigged, its a simple solution which must be put into place everywhere. If there is ever a declaration of martial law, I will see all of you in Washington D.C., until then let’s please stop being paranoid.
dwatkins9: Why are “ninety million gun owners” dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
Not if they’re a bunch of sheepish idiots…
PatriotisVeritas, I’m with you on this. Let’s not get alarmist about what they might do. Let’s focus on what has already been done, and impeach these guys for what are already very solid grounds.
Usually, discussion on this site spirals down into the absurd only after some serious comments have been made, usually in the wee hours of the morning.
In this case, the problem starts with the article itself:
- executive orders 13303, 13315, 13350, 13364, 13422 are really not substantial (see http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ for details);
- executive order 13438 IS important, but does not have the significance attributed by the article. The ACLU has noticed and is concerned, (”Executive Order ‘Material Support’ Provision Sweeps Too Broadly and Will Restrict Humanitarian Efforts in Iraq (7/27/2007)”).
The authors’ lawsuit cites the 2004 Ohio election abuses and seeks redress in the form of improvement in the election procedure to be used in future elections. How absurd is it to brag about this in an article which posits the cacnellation of the next election?
By the way, it’s the 110th Congress now, not the 109th as stated in the article.
Impeachment is NOT going to happen no matter how much “we” focus on it. Get a clue. Just today, Nancy Pelosi announced there will be NO impeachment of ANYBODY.
Get a clue.
She says “we have too much work to do.”
(Yeah I’m sure you do…lots of parties to go to.)
The Bush-Enabling Dems are not going to impeach two of their own people: Bush and Cheney, and the very people they have been enabling since 2000.
One talk show host is saying to send ball to these useless Democrats. One of his callers even shipped his congressperson a bowling ball. Do you really think these congresspeople will “get it?”
And really, they have plenty of balls as it is: FOR HELPING THE BUSH CRIME FAMILY.
PatriotisVeritas July 31st, 2007 7:21 pm:
“We” are not going to have clean elections until these e-voting machines are in the garbage. As long as the machines exist there will be no clean elections. Period.
And really these people are not interested in clean elections. It should be pointed out that the Dems helped put these e-voting machines in place all over the nation. They were for that.
It would take years for us (”WE”) to get rid of these e-voting machines. “We” don’t have that much time. “We” are an inch away from a full-blown dictatorship or have you not noticed? “We” are not going to vote our way out of this disaster.
But if some of you want to live in the illusion that we are still in the days of “politics as usual” (pre-2000) so be it.
Pleasant dreams.
In 2006 KBR was awarded a $385 MILLION DOLLAR contract to build “detention camps” for the expected “hoards of illegal immigrants” due to arrive here.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B62C8724D-AE8A-4B5C-94C7-70171315C0A0%7D&dateid=38741.5136277662-858254656
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/47/17936
I don’t think it takes much imagination to understand that these are CONCENTRATION CAMPS meant for the likes of YOU AND ME and anyone else who opposes the policies of the residence Fascists!
John Perkins, author of “Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man” has written another book called, “THE SECRET HISTORY of the AMERICAN EMPIRE”……..Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and The Truth About Global Corruption.
I just picked it up today and can’t wait to read it. The book will no doubt reveal why we can’t rule out any form of corruption by this government.
The political deck is so stacked. Corporate monopoly media and friends control who gets into parliament, and controls their actions after that. They have the political system pretty much sewn up. The terms “Freedom and Democracy” are constantly rammed down our throats for a reason. They very much want to keep their cosy Orwellian farce.
Now, to cancel these elections would be like taking the cosy deck of cards and throwing them into the air. Cheney, like us, could not predict the end result. The end result could end up looking like Iraq - and you know Cheney would not do that.
Erma,
Its not that Bush and Cheney couldn’t try suspending elections. He could, Guilianni tried to extend his mayor position by 3 months after 9/11 and guess what, he failed.
Its not that they couldn’t try it and its not that the people on this messageboard don’t think they would want to do it.
Its that if the Bush and Cheney cabal actually attempted what you seem so “chicken littleish” about they would fail horribly and depending on how far they tried to take it, end up in jail themselves for treason.
People with power want one thing… more power.
Bush and Cheney have more power right now than anyone else on the planet. They would absolutely love to hold on to it.
BUT
ALL the other candidates for President want that power too and all their supporters want them to have that power.
Bush is polling at Nixon’s level, his disapproval rating is so high that there is no way he could successfully pull off the kind of coup you seem so fearful of. He would have no support, and as powerful as he is, it is the support of others that all his power is derived from.
I’ll bet you $100 it is not going to happen.
Regarding the detention centers there is one on Highway 10 driving east from California toward Phoenix on the Arizona side of the state line. The sign on the side of the road says “state prison,” nothing else. The prison is way off the highway, just a group of brown buildings, no other signage to be seen. I’ve often considered driving toward the entrance just to check it out but I’m afraid I’ll be detained, seriously.
Erma, I am well aware that Pelosi has said time and again that “impeachment is off the table.” And I have to admit it doesn’t look hopeful that we’ll get them to impeach, but, well, I’m still pushing for it. She may be speaker of the House but she is still only one member of the House. We don’t need her vote, if enough other members can be persuaded. Again, I’m not hopeful… but I haven’t given up. Maybe you have.
You don’t need to tell me the story of the Democrats, I’m well aware of their complicity in taking our country down this path. But I believe in our Constitution, even if our leaders don’t, and impeachment is the method provided for times like we are living in now.
What else are we going to do?
Whatever you propose doing, don’t wait until (if and when) the elections are cancelled. Do it now. There is already more than enough reason to take action.
It is a no-brainer to any intelligent individual that any election system needs a verifiable paper trail, but getting rid of paperless machines won’t solve the problem anyway. You think they needed the e-voting machines to steal the elections? Think again. Read Greg Palast. They were only a small part of the problem… weren’t even needed.
But anyway, I agree with you that we don’t have clean elections… which is why I figure it is easier for the corporate fascists currently in power to continue staging elections, rather than cancel them.
But there is still time to fight for clean elections. I don’t agree that it is too late (but I’m not operating under the premise that the 2008 election will be cancelled). Not every federal, state, and local election is currently being rigged. Not every election has electronic machines either. People can reverse that trend. They need to be involved and work locally to ensure clean elections, through grass-roots organizing, and raising awareness of the problem.
Don’t give up!
If this is real, folks, get a digital camera, photos, GPS coordinates, and we’ll Google Earth it. Until we can point to some physical space, it’s hard to separate the fringe theorists, the contractor who just took the money and ran, another bluff, and the real McCoy.
Let’s quit the fear-mongering, all it does is cause people to self-censor. Hard facts.
In any case, they can’t legally detain anyone for exercising his First Amendment rights. If that day comes, they’ll have absolutely no legal leg to stand on. Indeed, the insurrection, the enemies of democracy, terrorists, etc. will be the establishment itself. But that hasn’t come yet. I, for instance, have written hundreds of usenet and blog articles as a democracy litmus test — and never been bothered by the government in the least. So from my perspective, fear-mongering is counter-productive to encouraging people to come out in their communities and workplaces, speak, raise their voices, etc.
That said, do we impeach the bastards? Absolutely. They’re rotten to the core.
dwatkins9 wrote:
>Why are “ninety million gun owners” dismissed so easily and cavalierly? An armed citizenry is a bulwark against tyranny.
Hmm. I can see how that might have been the case centuries ago, but against modern militaries? I observe that extremely high gun ownership rates in Iraq posed no problem at all for Saddam Hussein, even though he was hated by a large majority. Assuming he would qualify as a tyrant, that does not bode well for the bulwark theory. But perhaps it could be refined with a fuller explanation of how it is that guns are supposed to prevent tyranny these days–along with a look at why it didn’t work in Iraq.
SarahConnah wrote:
>It never ceases to amaze me that as the curtain is drawn back to reveal the agenda that began in 2000 and runs rampant today, no one publicly acknowledges that same agenda included September 11, 2001 as an essential plan in their pre-planned strategy.
Perhaps I can shed some light on that using myself as an example. There are three basic reasons I normally don’t talk about it. 1) Although I have little doubt that there are dastardly abuses and conspiracies way beyond those which have already been exposed and confirmed, I feel I can be more credible and persuasive in influencing others if I confine myself to solid ground and don’t venture too far out into speculation. 2) Even though I find it significant that Bush went to bed on 9/10 with an anti-aircraft missile battery parked on the roof of his hotel (suggesting they had some reason to make preparations for an air attack) I also remember the deer-in-headlights look on Bush’s face when he was informed of the nature of the attack–followed by hours of courageously wetting himself and fleeing to a succession of secure locations while Darth ran the show back home. So while I grant it would be very much in character for them to deliberately stand idle, sacrifice innocent lives, and let a hijacking or such happen so that they could commence their fear-mongering, I feel they were caught quite off-guard by the magnitude of the attack. If they had planned it, or had fully known what was coming, I’m sure the aftershow would have been a far better choreographed affair. (In much the same way I feel sure they really did believe they would find WMD in Iraq–based on the fact that they never did. If they had known in advance there were no WMD’s there, I think they would have had the foresight to bring their own supply.) And 3) Considering the evident rapacious, plundering nature of the bloodsuckers in charge, I am reluctant to let go of the possibility that they might also be as delusional, obtuse, ham-fi