facist horizon?

"Because Americans like me were born in freedom, we have a hard time even considering that it is possible for us to become as unfree - domestically - as many other nations. Because we no longer learn much about our rights or our system of government - the task of being aware of the constitution has been outsourced from citizens' ownership to being the domain of professionals such as lawyers and professors - we scarcely recognise the checks and balances that the founders put in place, even as they are being systematically dismantled."

wow.

"I am arguing that we need also to look at the lessons of European and other kinds of fascism to understand the potential seriousness of the events we see unfolding in the US."

okay, let's look and consider. this author suggests there are 10 steps towards facism
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
well, okay. done.
2. Create a gulag
yep. we have gitmo. and then we found out about the real hidden cia prisons in poland and whatnot.
3. Develop a thug caste
the author here points to the mercenaries, err "contractors" we use in iraq as well as "groups of angry young Republican men, dressed in identical shirts and trousers, menaced poll workers counting the votes in Florida in 2000." i'm not as convinced that these two groups equate w/the blackshirts in facist italy or the brownshirts in germany. but, i do think that we are employing mercenaries of companies like blackwater. and, i strongly oppose the idea that they should be immune from prosecution should they do illegal & immoral things (which bush has proposed).
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
well, the gov't says they're only listening to you if you're talking to terrorists. so, we know they're listening. but we don't really know how much.
5. Harass citizens' groups
yep. peace fresno gained some national attention when it was discovered that they had been infiltrated by the local police.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
i remember reading stories about "arabs" being detained after 9/11. the author points to the "no fly" lists, something i don't immediately associate w/detaining. but, i do think you're often being arbitrarily denied or at least harassed.
7. Target key individuals
there's been pressure here. the author also links the recent lawyer firings to this. i'm not so sure that it's the same.
8. Control the press
well, this is happening @ least in parts. one example is the pentagon denying the right to show photos of coffins returning from iraq. there's a journalist in sf in jail for refusing to turn over video of an antiwar demonstration.
9. Dissent equals treason
how cow. i've heard this tons of time. i've had it said to me (although not using them thar fancy words.) i've had students tell me this and they can't see any possible way why it wouldn't be true. the author points out another aspect that continues to frighten me, "when Congress wrongly, foolishly, passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 - the president has the power to call any US citizen an "enemy combatant". He has the power to define what "enemy combatant" means. The president can also delegate to anyone he chooses in the executive branch the right to define "enemy combatant" any way he or she wants and then seize Americans accordingly."
10. Suspend the rule of law
"the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or any 'other condition'." this is a change in policy, and some say it even violates the constitution.

so, by just looking @ this article, the author, in my opinion, had pretty good footing for 8 of the 10. and the shaky 2 aren't that far off. the author continues by saying,
"Of course, the United States is not vulnerable to the violent, total closing-down of the system that followed Mussolini's march on Rome or Hitler's roundup of political prisoners. Our democratic habits are too resilient, and our military and judiciary too independent, for any kind of scenario like that.

Rather, as other critics are noting, our experiment in democracy could be closed down by a process of erosion."

see, i'm not all that convinced that it couldn't also happen the first way. it's definitely happening the latter way already, but i don't think that means the former won't as well.