Very frightened for the future? We should be.

[janestarz]

So Bush won. And they say, this time it was legit. They say that the popular vote was 51% for Bush.
I think that if the records and ballots have been tampered with, nobody is going to find out. Or the person who does find out will probably not make it to the nearest journalist. I'm not saying I'm convinced the ballots are tampered with. I'd say I'm convinced he could do it, and get away with it. The story of the touchscreens malfunctioning scares me. How many people tried to vote Kerry (or Nader), but didn't notice the machine wrote it down as Bush?

Let's look at Dubya's track record. I've read an article which was well-researched as to what Bush did on September eleventh, and who were with him. That article had evidence from multiple sources that Bush knew about the crash before going into that school. He was told about the second plane crashing during the question-hour for the kids, but he didn't leave until he was done. Raise any questions?

Then, Bush suddenly opens fire: WAR ON TERRORISM! Yes, I understand that these kinds of tragedies require big steps to be taken. But it's quite a big difference with, say, the Cuba-crisis when JFK kept cool, and a similar situation (at that time we didn't know what kinds of weapons the allies of the terrorists had!) where we declare war. I think that may have been the point where the downward spiral started.
Should we give in to terrorism? NO, of course not. But to declare war like this is also very abrupt.

Then came Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe invading Afghanistan was for the best, but invading Iraq was stupid. We had no idea what kind of weapons they had, if they had any! There never was any proof that Saddam had weapons of mass-destruction, there still isn't. And it's really intelligent to invade a country that might or might not shoot at your home country with weapons of mass-destruction. Despite all protests of the United Nations, they went on ahead and mongered their little war. Because, yeah well it is kind of silly to wage war on terrorism and then not invade a country right?
pasje posted the fourteen characteristics of a fascist state in bush_sucks, as well as here in her own journaland I read them. All applied to the USA as it is today.

But never mind internal politics. When did the Americans ever give a damn what other countries think of them? I think everyone should read this article, if only to open their eyes: "U.S. declines to endorse women’s rights statement" (Colombia Daily Tribune).

Balkenende tries his best to suck up to the biggest force on the world (I mean the USA - China is technologically not advanced enough throughout their country, Russia needs more infrastructure and a better economy, Japan doesn't quite have the military just like Europe, Africa is a goner, and the Arab states are divided amongst themselves). Balkenende doesn't realize, apparantly, that Bush opposes things we have already legalized here in the Netherlands. Abortion, Gay marriages, weed, euthanasia. Though our country is very tolerant concerning these things, and is ahead of most other countries in these things, they are things Bush opposes. As a 'good christian' Bush may have invaded Iraq but that was to free his people of ...er...a terrorist threat or something. As a 'good christian' Bush is opposed to ending the suffering of the terminally ill (a humane thing to do, I'd say), in a way he is opposed to the happiness of human beings. He opposes their rights to choose.
I wonder that maybe in a few years, if Bush pulls his strings or threatens us, we might lose these freedoms or have a war on our hands. Is it too far-fetched? Maybe. But look at Iraq. He didn't have any evidence there, nothing solid, just the words of his advisors, a grudge he inherited from his father, a need for oil, and the biggest military force in the world.

With the Senate and House of Congress as well as the Supreme court being mostly republican, it's obvious that whatever Bush wants to have written in Law, will come to pass. I don't think there is much he can't do. If he fires up a propaganda machine (and some statistics changing rapidly yesterday suggests he already has CNN wrapped around his finger), the public might love him more, and soon we might have a Fourth Reich on our hands.
There is one thing I urge American Democrats to do: vote! Get the Democrats back in the Supreme court, back into House of Congress, Back into the Senate. Support Hillary Clinton, so that in four years, (if you still are allowed to vote) you might have a chance to avoid this darkness. What America does, will affect the world. If America screws up, it will affect all of us. But I fear for you too. The popular vote was 51% for Bush. Which means that 49% were against Bush. A country that is that devided, might fall into civil unrest at least.

Comments

[coen.livejournal.com]

I just read those 14 items facist states have in common. (the link to Pasjes journal)
Yes, it scares me. It scares me a lot.
I read an article about why religion should play a larger part in American politics and American schooling; God will protect the Americans against their enemies again if they allow God back into their state affairs again. The American girl who sent me this, really believes in that. It scared me to death! That is the way fundamentalists and totalists talk. That is the way Bin Laden talks. That should not be the way a highly civilized country with a long tradition of democracy should talk.
I always thought that the seperation of religion and state was one of the fundaments of the USA. I know that Americans are and always have been very religious people. Far more than in Europe. And I have no problem with that. But this deliberately rearing down the seperation between religion and state, that is really a step back into the middle ages.

I am so glad that I am not a homosexual in the USA. Or an Arabian in the USA. Or a homosexual Arabian in the USA. But then, I wouldn't want to be a homosexual Arabian in the Netherlands either. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want to be a homosexual Arabian in Arabia.
Anyway, that's all besides the point.

These are scary times.

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

It si good to be scared, because you can prepare yourself for the worst. You can watch for signs of this in our own country. We can speak up to the authorities when they do. And when we get to vote again, we hope to be granted anything but this. And if we talk, and discuss this with our surroundings, people may actually think about what they vote next time.
It only takes a chain of six people to reach everyone in the world. If we only tell our friends, and they will tell theirs, a lot can be done.

I can only quote the Serenity prayer here:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. "
I wish this for all the people in the world.

Hey...

[silverseabear.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I have to point at some things in your entry. First off, not everyone with an American passport is happy about having the damned thing. I propose you amend your question of "When did teh americans ever give a damn about what other people think of them" to something more even-sighted and less judegemental, such as "When did the US government ever give a damn..." Do you suppose it's easy to be anywhere outside the yoo ess and have people know where you're from? You know all these Canadian flags you see stitched onto people's backpacks when you travel? 65% of those people aren't Canadian. Think about it.

And as for 51% of the popular vote, you can go here for a better idea of the reality at the moment. www.gregpalast.com

A friend visited me from Florida a couple years ago. She said she'd already heard that shrub had the next election in the sack. That was in the summer of 2002. As for the computer touch screens, I'm willing to bet that most people will never hear that there was evidence of them being hacked three days before the election. The part of them that corresponds to the black box on a plane was missing three-hour blocks. Just magically gone.

The 14 similarities to a fascist state are not news. Again, people noted them years ago, shortly after Duh let the twin towers collapse. And you can be sure that there are plenty of Americans who suppose it was staged by an otherwise incompetent administration. What better way to draw attention away from one's own sore lack of leadership skills and general low intelligence level?

Separation of church and state has been an issue for longer than Duh has been involved in politics. It just so happens that he brought it heavily back into rotation after disclosing to the public in one of his speeches that God speaks through him. Yeah, God talks to Duh. But religious extremists won't be tolerated...

Propaganda? The american propaganda machine rolls on, never sleeps, and hasn't for years. CNN is a joke, funded and launched by a rabid rightwing bazillionaire who controls...more of the american media than I can remember anymore.

What you should probably be afraid of is shrubkje's attention focusing on the "liberalism" of your country. Axis of evil? How could a country not be, when they allow drugs, homasekshuls, islam, baby killin' and murder of the sick? And they let their citizens speak and travel freely, and don't require prayer in schools? They're probably making weapons of mass destruction even as we speak.

Watch out, Jane. Not everyone is a proud american, and there's not so much difference between an islamic country and one who allows muslims to practice their religion. Perhaps banning the burka in schools is a way for gov'ts to show solidarity with good god-fearing people. I say watch out because it would be far too easy to see such nonsense happen right where you are. I don't wish it on anyone, but i worry about the rest of the world nonetheless.

Re: Hey...

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

First off, not everyone with an American passport is happy about having the damned thing. I propose you amend your question of "When did teh americans ever give a damn about what other people think of them" to something more even-sighted and less judegemental, such as "When did the US government ever give a damn..."

You're right of course. A lot of people are tearing their hair out because Kerry didn't win. I read all 100+ posts on the Bush_sucks community that were posted since yesterday. A lot of people want to give up.
I didn't mean to insult you or anybody else, so I apologize if I did.

[muizenstaartje.livejournal.com]

I don't think Balkenende likes abortion, gay marriages, weed and euthanasia anyway. I don't think he would mind it that much if they are gone.

A good reason to vote next Dutch national elections and get another (better) prime-minister. ;)

[elektron.livejournal.com]

Strange, when you think that the US is a country founded on religious persecution.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the election was tampered with, since Bush is so sure that God wants him to be President.