Fascist America, in 10 easy steps

Timely article on what is happening in this country.

We have been observing this trend toward fascism for several years; almost from the beginning of this latest nightmare, which began on 9/11.

Ms. Wolf is right when she says that it is difficult for ordinary Americans to see it coming. Everything still seems normal on the surface, except for burgeoning financial woes across all lower socio-economic classes, including the lower middle class.

Interestingly enough, this may be the thing that saves us, if anything can at this relatively late date.

Hitler seemed to understand that in order to maintain loyalty from ordinary Germans, he had to protect them from financial chaos and ruin. Bush/Cheney do not seem to care about that. Possibly, because the GOP has been focused like a laser for the last, almost, 60 years, on the destruction of FDR's New Deal and everything that has been built on top of that foundation.

The GOP will find no such loyalty from ordinary Americans once the coming economic collapse is obvious to more people.

Nevertheless, they have managed to out-do both Hitler and Mussolini, when it comes to the complete intertwining of corporate wealth and government power, a dangerous coupling and the very definition of fascism, according to its founder, Benito Mussolini.

Ms. Wolf, like most Americans, seems not to remember a very significant side-light to the passage of the first Patriot Act (and this is classic dictatorial intimidation).

Just as the debate about the Patriot Act was heating up on Capitol Hill and Democrats in the Senate, notably Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, among others in the barely Democratic-controlled body, were arguing against its passage, an interesting thing happened.

Anthrax began arriving, through the mail. on Capitol Hill. (It was also sent to a number of media outlets, considered by the GOP to be "Liberal.")

Not only did it have the desired effect (fear) on Democratic senators, especially those to whom it was sent, but it resulted in the closing-down of the senate office building, shutting senators out of their offices for months. (It had the same desired effect on those :"librul" news-casters as well. Dan Rather was almost ready to go to war, himself.)

The investigation into the anthrax missives went nowhere after it was learned that the strain of anthrax used in the letters was a strain of Ames anthrax, traceable to a U.S. bio-weapons lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. The FBI quickly lots interest, after trying to frame a scientist, who lawyered up and threatened to file suit against AG John Ashcroft and others.

It is also interesting to note, that when the patriot act came up for renewal and so-called fixes, Hill staffers once again found themselves locked in a garage, during another "terrorist scare."

Naomi Wolf: Fascist America, in 10 easy steps | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited:

From Hitler to Pinochet and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all.