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normally I enjoy saying I told you so.
Surprise, surprise. As in, if you're surprised, you simply haven't been paying attention.
The author of this article got one thing very wrong, though: he says "We are only now getting a full vision of Ashcroft's America." Sorry, Mr Turley, but this is precisely the sort of thing I excpected from Ashcroft, right from when his name was merely being bandied about as "under consideration" for the Bush regime Cabinet.
(At no time will you see me refer to a Bush presidency or administration, unless I'm referring to 1988-93; a moment's reflection should make the reason for this obvious.)
This is the sort of thing that the men currently running the United States have been wanting to do from the beginning, and the only thing that's held them back has been the necessity for creating a pretence of a political climate that excuses, nay, calls for it. This is why I shivered at Dubya's introduction of "Homeland Security." This is what's been at the root of every international policy decision the Bush regime has made -- how quickly we forget the middle-school-bully strategy of the spy plane incident with China, in these post-9/11 times.
I'm not surprised. I wish I was surprised. I wish I was still in Europe. I wish I had a convenient Stupid American to kick.
I wish I had no cause, right now, to say "I told you so" to people who said Dubya wasn't substantially worse than John McCain or Al Gore, or who supported him outright.
I wish the phrase "Homeland Security" didn't evoke echoes of Vaderland every time I came across it, or that the parallels were merely as incidental as the concidences shared by the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations.
I wish this was a bad dream I could wake from.
Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
niqaeli for the link.
This LJ now returns to its regularly scheduled slashly fannishness, already in progress.
The author of this article got one thing very wrong, though: he says "We are only now getting a full vision of Ashcroft's America." Sorry, Mr Turley, but this is precisely the sort of thing I excpected from Ashcroft, right from when his name was merely being bandied about as "under consideration" for the Bush regime Cabinet.
(At no time will you see me refer to a Bush presidency or administration, unless I'm referring to 1988-93; a moment's reflection should make the reason for this obvious.)
This is the sort of thing that the men currently running the United States have been wanting to do from the beginning, and the only thing that's held them back has been the necessity for creating a pretence of a political climate that excuses, nay, calls for it. This is why I shivered at Dubya's introduction of "Homeland Security." This is what's been at the root of every international policy decision the Bush regime has made -- how quickly we forget the middle-school-bully strategy of the spy plane incident with China, in these post-9/11 times.
I'm not surprised. I wish I was surprised. I wish I was still in Europe. I wish I had a convenient Stupid American to kick.
I wish I had no cause, right now, to say "I told you so" to people who said Dubya wasn't substantially worse than John McCain or Al Gore, or who supported him outright.
I wish the phrase "Homeland Security" didn't evoke echoes of Vaderland every time I came across it, or that the parallels were merely as incidental as the concidences shared by the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations.
I wish this was a bad dream I could wake from.
Thanks to
niqaeli for the link.This LJ now returns to its regularly scheduled slashly fannishness, already in progress.
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I'm planning a wake for America. Anyone who wishes to mourn the passing of the republic is free to come.
Cause, you know, that whirring sound? That's the founding fathers rolling in their graves.
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This has haunted me since the very first time I heard the phrase bandied about. The more I hear, the more I fear for the future of our country, and our liberties.
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Things certainly do keep on getting better and better in this best of all possible worlds, don't they? Such a shame that truth and justice have fuck all to do with The American Way. Or any nation's way, for that matter, but sweet Jesus it's frightening being allies/lapdogs of a nation simultaneously so powerful and so much better at Splendid Isolation than we ever were. [/pointless & sweeping xenophobia]
I take it you've seen The Siege ?
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And I went and thanked darthneko as instructed.
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Just out of curiosity, did you arrive here via
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Good to know it's not just me. In that way where I wish it wasn't there for either of us or anyone else to notice, but still.
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And no, actually I haven't seen The Siege, though I'm familiar with its premise; I don't need to see it, I read. And I can extrapolate future events from past and current patterns.
The truly sad thing is that speculative fiction authors have been warning against the rise of something like the Bush regime for over half a century. This is even more frustrating than all those nits clapping themselves on the back, chorusing "Never Again" at the NATO 50th anniversary, while genocide (or ethnic cleansing, as it's called these days) was being carried out mostly unchecked right in their own backyards.
too depressing for words.
Soooooo true. Jesus. Reminds me of watching coverage of the pomp and ceremony of earnest-faced representatives of The Establishment marching around London and commemorating the 50th anniversary of "the end of war in Europe", and announcing that "there must never again be war in Europe", which was immediately followed by an article about genocide in the Balkans. No flicker of irony. No newsreaders smacking their foreheads and saying "Oh, actually those people with the funny names live just round the corner, and gee, they're Europeans too." On the fucking NEWS.
I think I need a drink. Or icecream. Or PWP
Re:
*shudder*
The fact that this is even a question... *shakes head* And all this in the name of Homeland Security. Yeah. This is me, sleeping much better at night. Because there's nothing quite as reassuring as arbitrary law and punishment. Feh.
The proposed camp plan should trigger immediate congressional hearings and reconsideration of Ashcroft's fitness for this important office.
And begs the question of how the fuck was this guy deemed fit for his office in the first place.
Very scary, but yeah, you're right, not unexpected.
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(Anonymous) 2002-08-15 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)Joan
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Re: *shudder*
No, it isn't a question. It's always been understood that the government isn't supposed to be able to do such things; that's pretty much the point of the Bill of Rights. Apparently Americans are past due for a reminder that, principles aside, there's nothing actually stopping their government and its agents from doing whatever they damn well please.
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