Sunday, September 26, 2004
Let's play "Guess the country!"
Here's an interesting quotation from the International Herald Tribune:
Guess the country! No, silly, it's not the US under the Bush heel. It's Russia under Putin! (The author of the piece is Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the Yabloko Party, the oldest liberal party in Russia.)
But the similarities really are remarkable.
Absence of independent and politically meaningful mass media? Check. The collapse of CBS is the final degradation.
Absence of an independent legislature? Check. The Republicans now control all three branches of government, with the result a complete absence of checks and balances.
Absence of an independent judiciary? Check. Bush v. Gore.
Absence of civil control over intelligence and law-enforcement agencies? Check, kinda—they're starting to be deprofessionalized and turned political instruments.
Absence of free elections? Florida 2000. And, perhaps, election fraud 2004.
The complete fusion of business and government? Check. Just like in Texas.
Rule by clans? Check. That would be the Bush Dynasty.
No wonder Bush looked into Putin's eyes and liked what He saw!
A little over the top? Sure. I mean, Russia is just an outight kleptocracy, and under Bush... Oh, wait. I forgot. Social Security. After all, what other name than kleptocracy would you give to a regime that takes trillions of dollars working people contributed to their own retirements via FICA ("When Republicans say it's not about the money, it's about the money" (back)), gives some of those trillions to the super-rich in the form of tax cuts, and will then, under the guise of an "ownership society" give trillions more to the financial industry in commissions and rake-offs?
After lying, looting is what Republicans do best!
This system, [Guess the country!] has at least seven attributes: absence of independent and politically meaningful mass media; absence of an independent [legislature]; absence of an independent judiciary; absence of civil control over intelligence and law-enforcement agencies; absence of free elections; the complete fusion of business and government; and rule by clans.
Clearly, the organic medium for such a system is widespread corruption, the suppression of independent parties and opinion, and the fragmentation and deterioration of civic organizations.
What is the public face of this system? Only lies and evasions..... This system is perfectly suitable for a narrow group of people that calls itself "the state," and for their economic interests. The intelligence and law-enforcement services are designed to provide security for this group. They are not suited for protecting citizens from danger, or from terrorism.
(via IHT)
Guess the country! No, silly, it's not the US under the Bush heel. It's Russia under Putin! (The author of the piece is Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the Yabloko Party, the oldest liberal party in Russia.)
But the similarities really are remarkable.
Absence of independent and politically meaningful mass media? Check. The collapse of CBS is the final degradation.
Absence of an independent legislature? Check. The Republicans now control all three branches of government, with the result a complete absence of checks and balances.
Absence of an independent judiciary? Check. Bush v. Gore.
Absence of civil control over intelligence and law-enforcement agencies? Check, kinda—they're starting to be deprofessionalized and turned political instruments.
Absence of free elections? Florida 2000. And, perhaps, election fraud 2004.
The complete fusion of business and government? Check. Just like in Texas.
Rule by clans? Check. That would be the Bush Dynasty.
No wonder Bush looked into Putin's eyes and liked what He saw!
A little over the top? Sure. I mean, Russia is just an outight kleptocracy, and under Bush... Oh, wait. I forgot. Social Security. After all, what other name than kleptocracy would you give to a regime that takes trillions of dollars working people contributed to their own retirements via FICA ("When Republicans say it's not about the money, it's about the money" (back)), gives some of those trillions to the super-rich in the form of tax cuts, and will then, under the guise of an "ownership society" give trillions more to the financial industry in commissions and rake-offs?
After lying, looting is what Republicans do best!
