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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/irish-lawmaker-stand-up-to-donald-trump_us_5830b4cfe4b058ce7aab802d<snip>
Irish Labour Party Senator Aodhán Ó Riordáin ripped into his countrys government for its warm response to the election of Donald Trump as president in a passionate speech thats gone viral.
Edmund Burke once said that the only way evil can prosper is for good men to do nothing. America has just elected a fascist, Ó Riordáin said on Nov. 10. And the best thing that good people in Ireland can do is to ring him up and ask him if its OK to still bring the shamrock on St. Patricks Day.
Im embarrassed by the reaction of the Irish government to whats happened in America, he added.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, leader of the more conservative Fine Gael Party, apparently did confirm in a phone conversation with Trump that he would attend the White Houses St. Patricks Day celebration. Kenny, who has previously condemned Trumps bigoted remarks, offered the president-elect his sincere congratulations and shared his belief that under [Trumps] leadership our bilateral relations will continue to prosper.
But Ó Riordáin argued it is not time to let up the pressure on Trump.
Can the government not understand whats happening? Were at an ugly international crossroads. Whats happening in Britain is appalling, whats happening across Europe is appalling, Ó Riordáin warned.
It has echoes from the 1930s. And America ― the most powerful country in the world ― has just elected a fascist, he added.
kebob
(499 posts)tell me something I don't know!
Snarkoleptic
(5,997 posts)It's supposed to be a warning/heads-up, but it's better used as a checklist now that Drumpf is POTUS elect.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002792903
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful 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.
2. Disdain 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.
3. Identification 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.
4. Supremacy 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.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to 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.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion 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.
9. Corporate 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.
10. Labor 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.
11. Disdain 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 and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession 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.
13. Rampant 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.
14. Fraudulent 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.
malaise
(268,968 posts)Hi there!
Snarkoleptic
(5,997 posts)malaise
(268,968 posts)bigtree
(85,996 posts)...such a different news program.
Of course she was on this. Thanks for posting, malaise!
malaise
(268,968 posts)Watch her sing the British national anthem - hilarious
suffragette
(12,232 posts)Especially his "list of features that are typical of what I would like to call Ur-Fascism, or Eternal Fascism."