The storm troopers will know exactly which doors to kick open

A provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush admin ’s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law. Bush may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to, well, any thing he wants...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/opinion/19mon3.html?em&ex=1172120400&en=910d86561f7ba2f6&ei=5087%0A

We must consider this in the context of other news. KBR/Haliburton (that's Cheney's Haliburton) got a half-billion-dollar contract to build prison camps IN THE UNITED STATES, and those camps are under construction now. Doubt it? Here's a link to the press-release as reported in the New York Times:

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F6091FF83D5A0C778CDDAB0894DE404482

In an echo of the "other causes" clause which validates any declaration of martial law, the KBR press release states that the camps are to be used "in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs." Um… "new programs"?!

Then consider the NSA wiretapping program, and that the phone companies have handed over all the records of every call made in the US. It is now a simple matter for the government to determine which Americans are conservatives and which are liberals. So if Bush or some other neoCon declares martial law, how long will it take for them to find you?

So here's a new joke: How many liberals can fit in a half-billion-dollar prison camp?

YOU ARE THE PUNCH LINE.

UPDATE: Republican calls for hanging of those who oppose president on Iraq

During the debate on the non-binding resolution on Iraq Alaska's sole congressman Don Young said, "congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged." He thought he was quoting Abe Lincoln, but he wasn't. Here is a video of it.



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The DeadElephant Symbol

For most Americans the slogans of the Vietnam era are long forgotten. But there is one “message” that everybody still remembers, that even the children born long after still recognize… the PEACE sign. That was the “symbol discipline” that arose organically in the 60’s. And it came to stand for much more than ending the war in Vietnam. It stood for ending the entire culture which had given rise to that war. It stood for a new culture. And because is was purely graphical, it could embrace the entire range of values that defined the new culture.

The current era, sadly, is much more cynical, and would not likely gravitate to such an overtly idealistic symbol as the PEACE sign. Progressives don’t seem ready to express a coherent new culture, and in any case, we have short-term problems to resolve that are absolutely dire. Bad as things were in the 60’s, we were not back then facing the simultaneous threats of rising American totalitarianism, World War Three in the Middle East, and total environmental collapse.

The neoCons who control our government and the corporate media might be insane, but they are damned effective at what they do. And their effectiveness is founded on their overtly manipulative use of language and symbol (“culture of life”, “homosexual agenda”, “liberal media”, “right to life”, “troop surge”) and on ruthless character assassination (Cindy Sheehan, John Kerry, Jack Murtha, the 911 widows, Jimmy Carter). Yet despite their stranglehold on the media, and their “message discipline”, the public is beginning to reject them.

The DeadElephant symbol is intended to crystallize that rejection of neo-conservative messages. Our goal is to make it impossible for anyone to hear their messages without thinking about the opposite message: the “culture of life” will make us think of the “culture of lies”, “regime change” will bring impeachment to mind, and the symbol of their brand of politics will become a DeadElephant. That’s why we’ve called this an “anti-marketing campaign”. Think of it as the marketing equivalent of monkey-wrenching.

Obviously, putting an end to the neoCons is not by itself enough. We have a world to save. But it’s an inescapable prerequisite. And it will happen.

Can't our marches look more organized?!

The question of “message discipline” at protest marches is something we’ve pondered closely. A consistent message would better demonstrate Progressive solidarity. On the other hand, the emotional investment obtained by creating a personal, individual message is critical to sustaining a movement. In fact, the DeadElephant.ORG campaign was in part conceived as a way to get the benefits of both.

What we offer is a consistent visual symbol - the GOP elephant upturned and dead - with a very broad selection of slogans addressing a wide range of neo-conservative ideals. Having many messages available lends a degree of personalization and surprise. The tone of ironic parody, and the perversion of key neoCon slogans and symbols, is also consistent and has contributed greatly to the “catchiness” of the campaign.

The Right is very effective at message discipline, as that is inherent in conformitism. Think of the success of the yellow “support out troops” ribbons, and the Right’s comfortable use of the American flag in their messages. It would be impossible, we believe, to have such message discipline within the anti-comformist Left. However, we might be able to create “symbol discipline” by showing one consistent omnipresent symbol. Any such symbol - a meme really - would have to arise organically, and will express most directly our Progressive goals. Until the neoconservative movement is utterly discredited, we offer the symbol of the DeadElephant. Please consider it a communal prayer.

Bush blames YOU for torture

This interview with Bush appalls me:
http://www.care2.com/news/member/798880044/296538

To listen to Bush insist over and over that the "techniques" -which he refuses to specify - were "within the law"...! He knows that we know that his Attorney General has re-defined torture to exclude any technique which does not rise to the level of pain associated with "organ failure". So if they pull out your fingernails that's not "torture" anymore. If they pull your f#cking fingers off, that's not "torture" either! So-called water-boarding of our "detainees" is a proven fact, and in this interview this President was asked directly if threatening to drown someone is torture. He will not acknowledge to HIMSELF what he's doing. He blames US for what he's doing "to protect your families". This is evil in it's purest form. I hope to see him hanged before I die.