I haven't ranted in a while. So, it's time to rant about a large variety of subjects: why I don't watch the news. This is a large amount, especially considering that I am writing and you are reading. So if you don't think it's a large amount, then too bad. I said it on the Internet, and therefore it must be true.

So I was watching Free Speech TV the other day, and it made me quite depressed. Nothing like turning on the TV, expecting to hear how something's going right, and then I get to see George Bush wiping his ass with the Constitution. Normally I'd assume that's how a Republican would read, what with their heads ensconced right up their asses, but having seen Bush delivering a speech, I'm convinced his head is on top of his shoulders. Maybe that's why nobody likes him anymore, but I digress.

So yeah. The Freedom of Information Act doesn't apply to Bush's regime any more. This makes me quite nervous. Since he tends to fuck up everything more than humanly possible, I want to know what exactly he's trying to hide from the American public.

The problem is that I don't know what the hell it could be. I'm relatively certain that it can't be a policy that's stupider than what we have now, since if it was, a Republican would have already proposed it, a Democrat would have fucked it up more, and it would be passed and declared official policy years ago. Taking a deep breath and moving on, what this says is that we, as a people, do not have the right to know what our government is doing and that we're basically relying on a bunch of corporations to tell us what the government is doing.

So in other words, we're COMPLETELY FUCKED.

What with the conservative media- Oh wait, don't I mean "liberal media"? No. Okay, well, let me think about this. Fox News. CNN. New York Post. Wall Street Journal... do I really need to go on here, people? Those that don't have a conservative bias do have a "make money" bias and so it's mostly the same thing as everything else: cheap sensationalism and glossing over the incompetence. Seen any pictures of crippled or dead soldiers and civilians in the Middle East recently on mainstream news? Didn't fuckin' think so.

What with the conservative media basically saying what the government wants us to hear, we're dependent on a bunch of highly-paid assholes to tell us what to think. Or rather, we're dependent on a person to tell us these things.

Yes, a person. Corporations are people, didn't you know? Or maybe you haven't heard of any of the following cases (I'll add in a summary for you):

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
Corporate charters are ruled to have constitutional protection.

Munn v. State of Illinois (1876)
Property cannot be used to unduly expropriate wealth from a community

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886)
Precedent for granting corporations constitutional rights.

Noble v. Union River Logging Railroad Company (1893)
A corporation first successfully claims Bill of Rights protection (5th Amendment)

Lochner v. New York (1905)
States cannot interfere with "private contracts" between workers and corporation -- marks the ascension of "substantive due process."

Liggett v. Lee (1933)
Chain store taxes prohibited as violation of corporations' "due process" rights.

Ross v. Bernhard (1970)
7th Amendment right (jury trial) granted to corporations.

U.S. v. Martin Linen Supply (1976)
A corporation successfully claims 5th Amendment protection against double jeopardy.

Marshall v. Barlow (1978)
The Court creates 4th Amendment protection for corporations -- federal inspectors must obtain a search warrant for a safety inspection on corporate property.

First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978)
Struck down a Massachusetts law that banned corporate spending to influence state ballot initiatives, even spending by corporate political action committees.

Central Hudson Gas v. Public Service Comm. of NY (1980)
Concerns a state ban on ads promoting electricity consumption.

Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990)
Upheld limits on corporate spending in elections.

Thompson v. Western States Medical Center (2002)

Nike v Kasky (2002)
Nike claims California cannot require factual accuracy of the corporation in its PR campaigns. California's Supreme Court disagreed. The U.S. Supreme Court took up the case on appeal, then issued a non-ruling in 2003.

Somehow, I didn't think you'd heard of it. So yes, corporations are now, legally, people. Yes, there are some limits on it, but let me repeat something. "Struck down a Massachusetts law that banned corporate spending to influence state ballot initiatives, even spending by corporate political action committees." Spending money to influence politics is now a corporate right. And we're trusting the rich sons-of-bitches who can now legally buy politicians to keep us updated on how we're getting royally shafted? Uh-huh. If you believe that, I've got some swampland in Florida to sell you.

Here's a few questions to ask.

If corporations are persons, why can they marry more than one additional company? Shouldn't corporations be compelled to have only one merger or purchase? After all, polygamy is against the law. If a company wants to make another acquistion or purchase, shouldn't they be compelled to sell off the existing acquistion, and only if it meets certain criteria? If same sex marriages are not allowed by law, why are corporations allowed to purchase companies in the same industry or market segment? If corporations commit fraud, shouldn't they surrender their profits for the term of a sentence consistent with human fraud? If a company commits murder, shouldn't it be given the death penalty? Shouldn't companies have to undergo strict credit counseling and pay back their debt just like people under the new bankruptcy law? If a corporation starts a new company and it doesn't work after one year, shouldn't they be compelled to keep the corporation going after one year, since late-term abortion is illegal? If the security of the nation requires it, shouldn't corporations be drafted for service and paid small salaries to cover costs with no profit? Shouldn't multinational corporations have a single citizenship or risk deportation?

Why do corporations have more rights than people?

Another fun fact: Mussolini's original name for fascism was "corporatism." I'll allow you to fill in the blanks in what I'm implying here, and then say it outright.

George Bush is a fascist dictator.

Fascism

NOUN: 1. often Fascism a. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism. b. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government. 2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

"A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends. The supreme god of a fascist, to which his ends are directed, may be money or power; may be a race or a class; may be a military, clique or an economic group; or may be a culture, religion, or a political party.

The obvious types of American fascists are dealt with on the air and in the press. These demagogues and stooges are fronts for others. Dangerous as these people may be, they are not so significant as thousands of other people who have never been mentioned. The dangerous American fascist is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power. They are patriotic in time of war because it is to their interest to be so, but in time of peace they follow power and the dollar wherever they may lead.

The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism. They use every opportunity to impugn democracy. They use isolationism as a slogan to conceal their own selfish imperialism... They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection." (1)

" and Continuing Nationalism

Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

for the Recognition of Human Rights

Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause

The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

of the Military

Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Sexism

The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

6. Mass Media

Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

with National Security

Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

and Government are Intertwined

Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. Power is Protected

The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Power is Suppressed

Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .

for Intellectuals and the Arts

Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

with Crime and Punishment

Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Cronyism and Corruption

Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Elections

Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections." (2)

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Microsoft. Department of Homeland Security. . Attorney General. Iraq. Axis of Evil. Terrorism. Patriot Act. 9/11. 2004 elections. 2000 elections. Connect the fucking dots, people! We don't like democracy and we're not opposed to terrorism - we only do when it helps us! Look at the CIA attempted coup in Venezuela of the democratically elected Chavez. Look at Hunter Oil developing facilites in Kurdish areas in Iraq, the talk about making the Kurds a seperate government. Look at the US sponsoring the PPK, a known terrorist group that's killed over thirty thosuand people in Turkey!

I've strayed pretty far from my original idea, so time to hear my theory on what it could be that Bush is hiding?

War with Iran.

Just listen to the news. See the steadily increasing talk that has "Iran" and "terrorist" in the same sentence? Or "al-Quaeda", or anything else about the Jesus-hating terrorists who want to rape our freedom? Yeah. I don't trust that man with our military, since he's already gone and fucked everything up already in Iraq. But we just need to re-define success. The government that governs least governs best, and applying that to Iraq, WE WON THE WAR! Or, given the more likely thing of having a bunch of oil companies ruling this country, there's the idea of "We won the war because we can sell oil for 74 dollars a barrel and produce it for 2 dollars a barell in the Middle East instead of 31 dollars a barrel in the US right in Virginia."

I could be wrong. God, I hope I am. But if Bush does go there, then do yourself a favor: Stay out of major cities, because we're bound to lose at least one. Chicago? Detroit? Los Angeles? Who knows.

I'll clarify one thing for you. I love my country. I'm damned patriotic, and I still think this is the best damned country in the world, fuckups or not. I support our troops by wanting their lives to not be wasted on imperialist wars, by demanding accountability, by letting them come home. That's why I'm using my given right of free speech that people have died for to protect to say what I have in mind. I don't love this country like it's my daddy that can do no wrong and shouldn't be questioned, but like an adult, who knows people fuck up sometimes, and that people do stupid or bad things.

I rant because I care; and if you disagree, then you're perfectly well within your rights to, even if I don't like what you're saying.

So God bless America, and fuck you to everyone who's opposed to our freedoms.

-Rosa

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1- The Danger of American Fascism / Henry A. Wallace / The New York Times / Sunday 09 April 1944

2- Lawrence Britt / Spring 2003 / Free Inquiry magazine