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The Wretched Mind of the American Authoritarian
Decadent governments often spawn a decadent citizenry. A 22-year-old Nebraska resident was arrested yesterday for waterboarding his girlfriend as she was tied to a couch, because he wanted to know if she was cheating on him with another man; I wonder where he learned that? There are less dramatic though no less nauseating examples of this dynamic. In The Chicago Tribune today, there is an Op-Ed from Jonah Goldberg -- the supreme, living embodiment of a cowardly war cheerleader -- headlined: "Why is Assange still alive?" It begins this way:
I'd like to ask a simple question: Why isn't Julian Assange dead? . . . WikiLeaks is easily among the most significant and well-publicized breaches of American national security since the Rosenbergs gave the Soviets the bomb. . . .
So again, I ask: Why wasn't Assange garroted in his hotel room years ago?
It's a serious question.
He ultimately concludes that "it wouldn't do any good to kill him, given the nature of the Web" -- whatever that means -- and reluctantly acknowledges: "That's fine. And it's the law. I don't expect the U.S. government to kill Assange, but I do expect them to try to stop him." What he wants the Government to do to "stop" Assange is left unsaid -- tough-guy neocons love to beat their chest and demand action without having the courage to specify what they mean -- but his question ("Why isn't Julian Assange dead?") was published in multiple newspapers around the country today.
Christian Whiton, a former Bush State Department official, wasn't as restrained in his Fox News column last week, writing:
Rather, this [the WikiLeaks disclosure] is an act of political warfare against the United States. . . . .Here are some of the things the U.S. could do: . . .Explore opportunities for the president to designate WikiLeaks and its officers as enemy combatants, paving the way for non-judicial actions against them.
I emailed Whiton and told him I'd like to do a podcast interview with him for Salon about his WikiLeaks proposal and he replied: "Thank you for the invitation, but I am starting a trip tomorrow and will be on a plane just about all day." I replied that it didn't have to be the next day -- I'd be happy to do it any day that was convenient for him -- and he then stopped answering. As I said, the real objective is for them to beat their chest in public and show everyone how tough they are -- take 'em out, Whiton roared -- but they then scamper away when called upon to be specific about what they mean or to defend it (let alone to participate in the violence they relentlessly urge). Whiton was just echoing his fellow war cheerleader, torture advocate Marc Thiessen, who wrote this in The Washington Post, under the headline "WikiLeaks Must be Stopped"
The government has a wide range of options for dealing with him. It can employ not only law enforcement but also intelligence and military assets to bring Assange to justice and put his criminal syndicate out of business.
"Military assets": apparently, according to this brave and battle-tested warrior -- Marc Thiessen -- the U.S. can and should just send a drone over London or Stockholm and eradicate Assange, or just send some ground troops into Western Europe to abduct him.
Read the full article at Salon.com
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37 Comments so far
Show AllWho knows how many Palestinians Corporal Goldberg garroted?
Yes and I understand that he was a house painter but wasn't
very good at it.
Yes Glenn, but what can be done about it? It seems dozens and dozens of journalists, academics, pundits, politicos and the like are detailing how bad conditions have become and are becoming, yet have little if any suggestions on what to do about it.
I am very disappointed that no-one in the progressive elite has suggested anything except to vote for the sligtly lesser of the two evils and maybe write your reps. Judging by the trends of the last few DECADES, this clearly does not work.
I guess feeding off of the anger, frustration, disgust and confusion of progressive folk sells books and articles and that is enough for them. Is this too just business?
socialist: I'm sure there are many, including me, who share your disappointment in leadership. Peaceful, creative ideas about how to deal with this decades-in-the- making mess seem to be few and far between.
We've been deliberately tribalized to prevent red and blue citizens from joining together against them, just like the deliberate divisiveness between poor blacks and poor whites.
Yes I agree cassandra, divide and conquer works very well. Perhaps in the coming few years, as conditions for the vast majority continue to worsen, people might be spurred into some sort of action other than voting for the D/R representatives of the Corporate Mafia.
Worsening conditions: the only option left.
So the teabaggers want to kill social security, medicare, public education, public transportation and public... anything else?
Fine! Look at the teabaggers. Useless morons on social security, medicare, and public... everything else.
The next farmer who gripes about taxes loses his $90,000 government check next year.
No more big bad government paying for logging roads, either.
Sometimes the best way to beat an overwhelming opponent is to give them everything they want and then to pile on more. Lots more.
Visualize economic collapse.
The teabaggers, libertarians and assorted gun nuts are bullies, wimps and candy-asses. Give them a taste of real roughing it, real outdoor living.
The kind of relentless factual chronicling of what people said and wrote, that Greenwald does, is done by very few writers, as most aren't willing to do the journalistic legwork. What Greenwald does is necessary. What Greenwald writes is especially necessary to deal with the lesser evil apologists, as Greenwald provides concrete facts to poke holes in their apologias.
You missed my point, I agree with that however: yes, but what can be done about it?
Maybe this is a wake up call. We, myself included, have been waiting for one or more of our progressive heroes to start a movement for us ... and none of them ever does. Cindy Sheehan tried but she was quickly marginalized in favor of writers for The Nation Magazine, HuffPo, KOS, etc. She's too salt of the earth, doesn't hobnob with enough "in crowd" Democrats. She is direct. She knows how to walk the walk. People like that make the others look bad so they do their best to marginalize, humiliate, and ignore. Kids in Jr. High school do the same thing, only this is a more sophisticated form of bullying. Some of the things they said about Nader were outrageous. Tod Gitlin, for one. Listening to this horrid man malign Nader for daring to oppose the vile Democratic Party turned my stomach.
The picture: Tod Gitlin and Ralph Nader standing in front of a mountain of the Democratic Party's agenda, evidenced by:
the dead bodies of young US soldiers, murdered citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, slaughtered Palestinians, murdered peace activists on the high seas answering to a higher call, secret renditions, peace activists with busted down doors, the biggest transfer of wealth out of the middle class and into the pockets of the richest among us, and according to Noam Chomsky and Francis Boyle, the greatest infringement on the civil liberties of American citizens - yes, worse than Bush!
And Tod Gitlin scolding Nader, telling him to move out of the country, all for challenging the above atrocities.
If it weren't for Nader appearing on a few tv shows during the campaigns, no one would even know that there is hope beyond the duopoly. Nader tried to start a movement. Gitlin tried to stoop it. Now I wonder what Gitlin is doing these days, after his success passing off the meme that Nader is an egotist. I call that projection.
The other night, I went to hear Robert Sheer speak -- along with Amy Goodman and Joe Conason -- at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Performing Arts Library in NYC. From reading his articles, the last straw for Robert Sheer must have been Obama's appointment of Tom Donilon to advise Obama on National Security. Donilon was associated with the Fannie Mae mortgage fraud mess -- which is at the heart of his new book, The Great American Stickup.
Sheer supported Obama during the campaign, but he has come to be very critical of Obama. In fact, the other night, Sheer apologized for attacking Nader when they were both on the same Nation cruise. Today, Sheer told the audience that he is ashamed of himself and his behavior toward Ralph Nader.
Conason continues to be an apologist, but Sheer has become more and more outspoken, even incredulous at the actions taken by Obama. There is a noted shift in Sheer's attitude and opinions since his BookTV talk at the beginning of October.
Thanks to everyone on CD who recommended Lance Selfa's book -- The Democrats: A Critical History. The book was for sale at the event I attended. I also recommend the newly published Chris Hedges book: Death of the Liberal Class.
"I guess feeding off of the anger, frustration, disgust and confusion of progressive folk sells books and articles and that is enough for them. Is this too just business?"
Socialist, I often wonder. Then I remember that Socrates said that a state is no better than its citizens, and have to believe that trying to educate people and open their eyes is an vital act. But then I remember that Leo Strauss was a Platonist. . .
"A 22-year-old Nebraska resident was arrested yesterday for waterboarding his girlfriend as she was tied to a couch, because he wanted to know if she was cheating on him with another man"
So what can they charge him with. It's not torture according to our government.
How about "Attempted Enhanced Interrogation?"
Unlawful detention for starters.
If Assange is harmed in anyway, how complicit will be the Chicago Tribune for publishing this death threat?
I doubt that Assange is any danger from people reading Goldberg's column. I suspect that few of the morons who would try to kill Assange know how to read. Why would they listen to Limbaugh or Beck if they could read?
"... tough-guy neocons love to beat their chest and demand action without having the courage to specify what they mean ..."
Oh, I dunno about that. Divergent perceptions and interests are certainly apparent and quite useful. In general, however, neocons seem to be at least as tough and specific as their 'liberal' (neolib?) counterparts and other 'lesser evilism' supporters. I don't think lack of courage (or insight, for that matter) can be attributed to any particular grouping amongst the populace.
Their indoctrination, on the other hand, is most definitely tailored for desired effects depending upon their own perceived inclinations. One wouldn't want to instill too much courage and specificity into those who might be inclined to upset the applecart in ways that could be unprofitable. To the contrary, 'politically correct' pacificism also serves a very definite purpose in such cases and requires very few specific directives. Some even see it as courageous.
"craven" I think that's what Julian Assange called them.
NPR was reported to have the military imbed with them at one point to find out what they put out and cultural interests. Many people listening to NPR think it is public radio or because they have no other options. While driving many times I have to turn it off because of the spin or the questionable motives or intent of the show that is insidious, or I question why that guest speaker was given enormous amount of airtime, at least regarding political issues. The MSM I have managed to shut up almost completely by ditching TV, because they remind me of a circus act of bad clowns, whooping up of crowds and false faces. Goldberg doesn't everyone know where he is coming from?
I listened to the JFK speech on "Secret Society" from YouTube and in it he says that journalism is not to entertain but to inform.
When our government congressmen and officials say they had faulty information that lead us into the Iraq war, do you really think it would have made a difference if they had known the weapons of mass destruction was a myth? We know were they are coming from. They do not represent me.
The media watchdog organization, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), studied the relative differences among various news shows. They found NPR and PBS to be just as mainstream/status quo as many commercial news shows.
Noam Chomsky told a personal story about driving while listening to NPR and their clearly corporate/status quo biases. He had to pull over, it was so upsetting
The public radio station in Boston, WUBR, hosted a debate between Francis Boyle and Alan Dershowitz, a debate about the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Boyle was clearly the winner and the station removed it from the archives. I imagine Dershowitz and his minions at Harvard had something to do with it. Several people have asked the station to put it back into the archives but they have thus far refused.
I recommend "The Real News," and Democracy Now, not perfect but far better than the rest of the lot.
Yes, let's kill people to shut them up. Land of the free, home of the brave, indeed.
During WWII a kid from LA joined us as a replacement, and for a couple of days bent our ears with tales of how fearless he was, driving his hot rod 100 mph down Sepulveda Boulevard, etc. Then when we went forward and got some 88 fire he jumped over a hedgerow and shot himself in the foot with a carbine to get out of there.
So much for self-described bravery.
That kid sounds a lot like George Bush when he said: " bring it on "!
I think saying 10 is being generous.
Hell, fascism was here on the day the SCOTUS appointed W Bush president.
Is Jonah related to the Goldberg woman to whom Clinton's seducer gave the evidence-stained blue dress for safe keeping?
Yes indeed, Gorsegrower.
And thanks for the opportunity to again observe that Jonah Goldberg's only noteworthy accomplishment is that he remained within the belly of the leviathan two hundred and seventy-seven days longer than his Scriptural namesake.
Not to defend the military but even a soldier who returns from serving can be sane from the lessons learned in serving these brutal wars politicians tie the American people to. I have read about numerous cases of kids wrestling and torturing each other to death even when they didn't intend for it to happen. What happens here at home and overseas is an indication that the war mentality cancer is pervasive on all levels. The solution to this cancer will require more than elections alone given that right wing military coups against politicians who want to promote peace and understanding on both domestic and foreign policies will be the fear that pushes them against doing what's true and best for this nation. I'm afraid that defeating authoritarianism will require public cooperation that will take time and possibly money. Rise and unite peaceful soldiers. The journey awaits your support.
Bless Assange. Bless Bradley Manning, and bless anyone else involved who manages to remain blessedly unknown.
May each return to comfort soon.
We need more. But these few people have already won a battle for millions. The US can ill afford to kill Assange. If they touch him publicly, they're advertising.
The cat is out of the bag. The horse has left the stall. 400.000 fresh docs! 77,000 but a few weeks old! If the government kills Assange, they broadcast a message more focused and more visible than a mass of military documents with a picture clear enough of war, but dispersed between many documents produced by insiders sharing jargon and skipping references needless to others in the field at the time.
No, the US fights Assange in the press, and as it does, one can spot its allies in the press, were these not already blatant:
- All or most TV news programs had announced that there was little or nothing in the documents. Since they all did so within several days of te release, they clearly had not read the documents. (Apparently credibility ceases to be of primary concern when hiding major crimes).
- The New York Times, last Sunday, online edition, ran a penneyweight character assassination piece as though it were a new story, on its opening screen.
The piece is a model of prejudicial language fallacies. It's at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/24assange.html
Per the Times, Assange is trailed by "notoreity," not intelligence or enforcement. He moves not as a hunted man but "like a hunted man." He "trails a youthful entourage" as opposed to having others working with him.
I would go on, but there's no real need to share my frustration. The point is that the US Gov't and part of its appended elites apparently recognize that they cannot just squeeze the Net shut - for the moment. So they're resorting to slander and spamming in counter, releasing armed forces media edited for favorable effect, bribing people to harass Assange with phoney harassment charges.
I suppose it is no longer news, but the Times has clearly lost what it had of spine in the days of Ellsberg's revelations. For the Times to so engross itself in petty sniping as to miss commenting on the significance of the release and of Wikileaks itself as an institution points to conflicts of interest that have debilitated it as a news organ. The Times has apparently reflected, though not in print on this occasion, on the advantages of leaking to such an institution as Wikileaks. Contributors can maintain anonymity, if they can otherwise. Many people have contributed many documents to Wikileaks, and almost all have done so with impunity. The Times has apparently decided that Assange and Wikileaks make them look bad: they reveal the horror and corruption of the wars the Times has supported; they reveal the systemic failure of the Times to adequately criticize institutions that it has so deeply bought into.
I had long ago cancelled my subscription, but I would love to wander into a coffee shop and buy the Times, even if it might feel more like slipping into a warm tub than gathering information. But now I imagine that if I do, I support an institution that pays its reporters to libel its competition and to dismiss authentic criticism of American governmental psychopathy.
I do see some value in supporting some institutions that pay investigative reporters. And the Times continues to publish. But, sadly, I suppose that it is no longer news.
Reading the NYTimes is a necessity if you want to keep informed--informed of the bullshit the democrats are buying into, that is. Plus sometimes they have good recipes.
thx, the support against wikileaks is interesting to me in how the attack is not just from the military, as one might expect, but it's widespread across the various organs of empire itself.
Thanks, Glenn, for another great piece. I always read your articles. You're one of the few writers who write sanely about the wars and related matters.
I cannot in good conscience pay taxes to this warmongering government anymore. Perhaps the only way to stop the wars is to de-fund them.
It's our money the Pentagon is using to prosecute two illegal and immoral wars which are heavily influenced by religion, racism, and war profiteering.
Untold billions of our tax dollars have simply gone missing: stolen. Or perhaps indirectly, or maybe even directly, given to the very people the U.S. says is the enemy. Untold billions more have been used for armaments and military operations- to mainly kill civilians.
Rapes, killing of prisoners, collective punishment, murder of civilians, (including children), torture, and other crimes have all been committed- not once, but many times- against Iraqis and Afghanis, by U.S. troops, all against the international laws of war, which have proved entirely toothless.
Meanwhile, it is difficult to even get any American citizens to engage in a discussion about these monstrous wars of aggression. The propaganda, stretching as it does all the way from FOX through ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and on to PBS and NPR, seems to have been effective in disabling even the consciences of many members of the so-called Left.
It is frightening to contemplate how small the anti-war movement seems to be. Only a few really notable activists and groups have made any waves at all- Code Pink, the IVAW, Cindy Sheehan, and some others- and for the most part they have been marginalized, ignored, or dismissed by both the mainstream press and the mainstream population.
Try to find an American who even knows who Cindy Sheehan is, for example, and if you don't draw a blank, you may get an answer something like "Oh isn't she that crazy woman who was threatening President Bush or something?" (note: no, she isn't, and no, she didn't).
Or ask people who Julian Assange is. Most Americans do not know. They will say "he's an actor?", or something similar.
This kind of ignorance is almost universal despite the fact that Assange has released the greatest trove of secret war documents since the Pentagon Papers.
Ask Americans if they understand what the drone program is actually doing, and how much it costs them to do it; no one seems to care.
Ask about the suicides of veterans and you will hear "Well, that's war". It seems that most Americans feel the "war on terror" has been "worth the sacrifice."
They are so deluded.
My son is in high school. The wars are not even mentioned by any teachers, to the best of my knowledge. My son's friends will graduate in a year or two and a certain number of them will join the military, and their high school education has completely failed to warn them about what the U.S. military has been doing for the past nine years.
There is truly a mass hypnosis affecting our country. A mass delusion. the other day I read a comment somewhere in which the writer defended his concern with what the Taliban was doing because it was "necessary to know what is going on in Iraq."
So, nine years of MSM and government propaganda have accomplished this wonderful feat, of somehow even convincing citizens that there is an Iraqi Taliban, and of course they are all terrorists so we must wipe them out et cetera.
I HATE what this country has become since the mad King Bush 2.
Now it's more of the same, more war crimes and so forth under Obama- but hey, hey's black! And he's a Democrat! Well, that doesn't help one little bit. He's part of the same game as Bush was. And it is E-V-I-L!
If I pay taxes, the money goes in part to paying for the expenses of committing war crimes- in fact, I am paying for my government to murder human beings who have done no harm to me nor to my country.
It is beyond sinful, beyond obscene. It is sheer evil, and every day I do not protest it in some way is one more day of victory for that evil.
Frod: an absolutely masterful, heart-felt, and spot-on post. I agree 100% with every sentence you wrote. You've pretty much summed up, brilliantly, the main points that I feel every day also - and it is SO frustrating and maddening knowing that you are awake and aware of the truth in a growing nation of zombies, as if you are the only one looking out the window on a train approaching a washed-out bridge, while the rest of the passengers sleep on, oblivious.
Very, very well said.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."
gnken
When will the questions be asked of U.S. Officials, Military, Political, Private Contractors etc. who are guilty of Human rights abuses - when will they be arrested??
"gnken
When will the questions be asked of U.S. Officials, Military, Political, Private Contractors etc. who are guilty of Human rights abuses - when will they be arrested??"
Never. That is part of the nature of fascism.
Unless the global economy collapses and Russia and China decide to invade the U.S., but that's why we have so many nuclear weapons...
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The economy IS collapsing, under the hyperinflative flurry of "quantitative easing". Since the entire world is chained together under "globalization" (read "global empire", upon which the sun never sets), russia & china will collapse into rubble also(who's china going to sell their goods to?). If they come over here, it will be in sailboats, bearing clubs and spears, but they'll have more pressing matters to tend to (like us), like survival in a new darkage.
To: bardamu October 31st, 2010 12:08 am
I've just re-read your item on the NYTimes. I totally agree. I was a copy boy there around the time of the JFK assassination.
Recall The Great Newspaper Strike in New York in the summer before the JFK assassination? Four months of union (American Newspaper Guild?) strike pay of $15 a week. That strike, by the way, created The New York Review of Books.
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