The Constitution Sucks, So Let's Ignore It

"Opponents of California's gay marriage ban
need to learn how democracy works,
Chuck Norris argues at TownHall.com.

Post-election Proposition 8 protesters are attacking churches for backing the ban and threatening boycotts, Norris writes, when they should be accepting the majority vote of their fellow Californians.

"Like it or not, it's the law now," the actor writes.
"The people have spoken." If democracy doesn't tip our direction, we don't swing to anarchy.

That would be like the Wild West, the resurrection of which
seems to be happening in these post-election protests.
- Chuck Norris

The utter ignorance of how the Constitution protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority is once again shown by the self righteous radical right in the persona of Chuck, "I'll Kick Your Liberal Ass," Norris. His anti Americanism is blatantly breath taking. His pronouncement leads me to ask, Has he ever read the Constitution or articles that explain that the Constitution was created to protect the rights of the individual not the rights of the majority? Apparently not!

To paraphrase Chevy Chase of SNL, "Chuck, You ignorant slut". I know your brain damage from taking all those kicks to the head have affected your ability to think, but the simple truth is that the Constitution does not allow the plurality to take away unalienable rights of the minority, which includes the right to form a legally binding union with another individual. Its none of the governments, societies, and certainly none of your F'in business. Read the "frickin" document.

Unalienable rights are god given and are not up to you or some misguided bunch of twisted christians to give or abrogate. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness includes the right to enter into a legal partnership with whomever you desire and those basic rights, are non-negoitable. Period. Your rights don't include the right to remove the rights of others except under the most dire and stringent of circumstances, such as a felon trying to buy a gun. Period. Your removal of the rights of others by a religiously motivated referendum, is not democracy in action, it is a mob action of the self-righteous, tantamount to a political lynching and will be the death of this democrat republic you profess to love, if it is allowed to stand.

That is precisely why the founders demanded that there was a separation of church and state, because, they had first hand experience with being persecuted by self righteous, over zealous religious fanatics, e.g. the Puritans who burned and drowned those they considered to be witches. They didn't want those kind of fanatics to be able to do that in this country.

It is incredible that the religious radical, far right, wraps itself in the flag and castigates others for their ignorance and lack of patriotism, while their own ignorance is so blatantly apparent. They neither know or understand the bible they are so fond of quoting nor the premise of the Constitution that embodies the rights of each individual granted by the very God they proclaim to love.

Chuck, the bible has a word for you and people like you! Hypocrite, as in:
Hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to remove the splinter from your brother's eye. —Matthew 7:5 "—

Commentary:
The Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the country no State can pass a law that supersedes the Constitution, period. We fought a Civil War to establish that very point. Any law that violates an individual right is null even if the State or States in question passes a law that is direct violation of the Constitution. Marriage is a semantic devised to deprive individual rights just like the Separate But Equal laws (Jim Crowe) that were passed after the Civil War to continue to deny the rights of blacks in the South. We settled that issue in the sixties and passed the Civil Rights Act that did away with those "laws." If the law or a law deprives anyone of an Unalienable Right it's a bad law and it will be challenged eventually and it will be struck down. Like it or not.

My question to you is, What do you gain when you deny someone else a right you claim for yourself? Certainly you must realize that in America everyone is equal under the law and that is the true American ideal. Freedom and equality under law. Without that America is just another rudderless ship-of-state adrift in the world and nothing very special. That was and is the true ideal that the founders shed their blood for; not some Rambo right wing fictionalized machismo bullshit.

By the way, originally "marriage" was a a contract that conveyed the woman in the union to the man as his property, she was his chattel, there was nothing "holy" about it, it was usually arranged to strengthen political alliances or to consolidate wealth. The woman had little or no say in the affair, it was strictly a business deal and frankly it has meant different things to different people, especially women, throughout history and the word "marriage", is no excuse to deny anyone's rights.

Would you really deny someone else the ability to make a legal contract that binds their life to someone they love? I understand that you may feel squeamish about the subject based on your personal beliefs, but how can you in good conscience be so petty as to strip another's rights to protect your personal idea of right and wrong.

That's why the founders wrote the Constitution so that we are not subject to the whims of others. This is not a debate that can be won it is a moot point, Prop 8 is unconstitutional. Its right wing sophistry to argue otherwise.

© 2008 by Michael Weber

Will America Regret Electing Obama?

After the stunned realization that Obama has really won, and the pent up joy of utter relief has dissipated, there is the very real human reaction of asking, now what? Can he deliver what he promised? Will he fail?

I already hear the voices on the far right and the far left buzzing about how he will fail and ultimately disappoint because he is not liberal enough or that he is a socialist and will lead the country to ruin.

The truth is, he is neither the messianic savior of the world, some on the left have made him out to be, nor, is he the rabid uber-liberal, as, the right have portrayed him. He is just a fallible human being.

To be sure he is one of, if not the most gifted politicians I have seen in my lifetime. And that includes FDR, HST, JFK, LBJ and RWR. His campaign was a master stroke of poise, he exuded a calm deliberate reassurance, especially to white voters like myself. His demeanor made McCain look harried, confused and erratic by comparison without ever directly mentioning McCain's temperament or age. Because, if I may resurrect a phrase from my youth; He is cool man!

Given that, there is a real danger, that we have read into this man, our greatest hopes and projected our greatest fears on him and when his feet turn to clay as they must, we will turn on him and that ultimate disappointment, will turn into resentment and anger. The inevitable, "I guess he was just another politician saying anything to get elected", will follow.

But if we do, we have missed the entire point.

Because, I would argue that he has already given us everything one man or woman can give another, the ability to see the possibilities and not the impossibilities, which is, in short, the ability overcome any obstacle or shortcoming that they might encounter.

Therefore, I believe, he has delivered on every promise he has made, he has given us, the realization that no matter how insurmountable the obstacles, or how daunting the challenges we face, that together we can overcome them.

He has shown us, not only, that the founders dream, lives, and was not just some noble utopian ideal, but that it was attainable, and is, therefore, sustainable. He has shown us that; Yes we can achieve equality for everyone.

So maybe the question we should be asking ourselves is not; Can he deliver on his promises to the nation?, but rather, How will we help him deliver on his promises as a nation?

Alone, any-one-man can and will fail, but, if we rise together as a nation and focus positively, nothing can stop us, together we are an irresistible force, together we are unstoppable.

The reality is, he has given us back, the we, as in, we the people, as in, a government of the people, for the people, and most importantly, a government by the people.

He has already shown us, the we; when united and, positively focused on the possible, there is no impossible.

Can we build an electric car that goes 200 miles at 60 miles per hour?
Yes we can!
Can we achieve world peace?
Yes we can!
Can we eliminate poverty?
Yes we can!
Can we find a clean safe renewable source of energy?
Yes we can!
Can we educate every child to live up to their full potential?
Yes we can!
Can we insure every American?
Yes we can!
Can we clean up the financial crisis, restore sound fiscal policies and regulations?
Yes we can!

He has taken away the excuse of, no we can't.
What more could we ask of any leader?

Stay involved, stay connected, be the change you want, at: http://change.gov/

Commentary:
Republicans are licking their wounds and trying to plot a course back to power. They have not yet fully realized that their cynical political games are unmasked. That we know who the men behind the curtain are and we are not afraid of the Mighty and Terrible Oz.

For two hundred and thirty two years, since the founders wrote those magnificent letters of promise to their progeny, there have been those, who, focused on their narrow needs and interests and have obstructed the fulfillment of that promise. News flash nothing will ever be the same because on November 4th 2008 their promise was fulfilled. Game over in spite of you. Check and mate.

Word for the day.
Obamattude:
O-bam-at-tude [O-bomb-at-tood]
noun.
1. the realization that, together, we can achieve anything through positive focus, perseverance and strength of character, even the real American dream, that has eluded us until now, freedom and equality for all. esp. of the mind: As in; The realization that, yes we can!

© 2008 by Michael Weber

Why The Republicans Lost

I am struck by the abundance of analysis in the after math of the 2008 election. None has been more fascinating to me than the Republican Party's own suspect attempts at introspection. What is truly amazing is that their are clueless as to their own foibles. Their new website, (ideas.rebuildtheparty.com/), is asking for suggestions and ideas as to why they failed so miserably and how they can regain power. There is already a long list of reasons why they failed, and what they should do, but, none of them is remotely close to being true or accurate.

My favorites are:
we need a new logo and slogan
stop reaching across the aisle
fight appointment of liberal judges
say thanks but no thanks to AARP

Here's my list for why you lost: Your party is:
imperious
amoral
cynical
superior
unscrupulous
deceptive
devious
Machiavellian
ruthless
slanderous
murderous
jingoistic
intolerant
self-righteous
Orwellian
brutal
exclusive
bigoted
prejudiced
close minded
mean
small minded
petty
vindictive
power-hungry
authoritarian
dictatorial
theocratic
anti-democratic
un-American
anti-constitutional
extra-constitutional
repressive
secretive
arrogant
ignorant
smug
intellectually stunted
uncurious
stagnant
unfair
elitists
opportunistic
cheating
lying
back-stabbing
belligerent
bellicose
bombastic
demagogic
fraudulent
blundering
buffoonish
underhanded
fear mongering
divisive
hypocritical
backward looking
reactionary
knee-jerk
an unending source of false accusations
bearing false witness
hate-filled
hateful
unchristian
uncharitable
unkind
unconscionable
exhibits barbarous international thuggery
breeds and promotes selfishness, greed and corruption

I could go on, but I am sure none of this will register with you or make the slightest bit of difference in anyway, as to you, making positive changes in your dismal party, you have embraced some of the worst aspects of human nature and enshrined them in a misguided wrong headed ideology that looks for the worst in others while ignoring your own glaring, grotesque deficiencies. You are bankrupt morally and spiritually.

Through your malignant foreign policies you have murdered millions of innocents while weeping disingenuous, pro-life tears, for the unborn. You have squandered this nations wealth on needless wars while denying basic social needs of its citizens.

You have allowed oil conglomerates to suppress and crush green car technologies in favor their continued pollution of our planet.

You cry freedom and deny freedom to others. You sing America's praises of freedom and deliberately undermine it's Constitution and in secret take away American's freedoms.

You have brought great harm to this nation and the world and and you deserve to be thrown into the ash heap of bad political ideas, like Communism and National Socialism.

You deliberately polished a political turd like Palin and served her with smug self assurance that the American people are stupid and will buy anything.

The spontaneous joy you saw expressed on the election of Barrack Obama was the expression of pent up hope that you and your party have repressed with your exaggerated fear mongering for eight long years. People gravitate towards ideas and hope you are bereft of either.

And last but not least, you do not govern as servants of the people, as the Constitution requires, you rule as an elite class of aristocrats with a smug sense of superiority and entitlement. You have even stooped so low as to steal elections through the suppression of peoples right to vote so that you can retain power. You are despicable and un-American in the extreme sense of the word. You are fascists to be exact. A remnant of Tory seed that sees itself entitled to a life of privileged ease at the expense of others, taking everything and giving nothing back. You despise the idea of a democratic republic, and are trying to create a theocratic, oligarchy that dictates and rules by fiat, guided by your narrow views and twisted philosophies.

In short you lost because you are out of touch and you suck.

Damn you and your party.

© 2008 by Michael Weber

Republican Rule Is Dangerous

I have been reading extensively lately and have not had much time to write for my blog. I came across this article by John Dean former counsel to the president, Richard Nixon. I have recommended his book "Conservatives Without Conscience" it along with this article give a clear insight into the NeoConservatism, that has devastated this country and our Constitution. I will also post a link to his site. The following is a reprint of his article.

The Evidence Establishes, without Question, that Republican Rule Is Dangerous: Why It Is High Time to Fix This Situation, For the Good of the Nation
By JOHN W. DEAN
Friday, Oct. 31, 2008

Occasionally, during the past eight years of writing this column, I have addressed the remarkably dangerous manner in which Republican Party officials rule the nation when they control one or more of the three branches of the federal government. Over the same period, I've also made this argument, even more directly and loudly, in three books on the subject.

In this column, I will be more pointed on this subject than I have ever been, while also repeating a few key facts that I have raised earlier - because Election Day 2008 now provides the only clear remedy for the ills of Republican rule.
Click here to find out more!

The Republican Approach to Government: Authoritarian Rule

Republicans rule, rather than govern, when they are in power by imposing their authoritarian conservative philosophy on everyone, as their answer for everything. This works for them because their interest is in power, and in what it can do for those who think as they do. Ruling, of course, must be distinguished from governing, which is a more nuanced process that entails give-and-take and the kind of compromises that are often necessary to find a consensus and solutions that will best serve the interests of all Americans.

Republicans' authoritarian rule can also be characterized by its striking incivility and intolerance toward those who do not view the world as Republicans do. Their insufferable attitude is not dangerous in itself, but it is employed to accomplish what they want, which is to take care of themselves and those who work to keep them in power.

Authoritarian conservatives are primarily anti-government, except where they believe the government can be useful to impose moral or social order (for example, with respect to matters like abortion, prayer in schools, or prohibiting sexually-explicit information from public view). Similarly, Republicans' limited-government attitude does not apply regarding national security, where they feel there can never be too much government activity - nor are the rights and liberties of individuals respected when national security is involved. Authoritarian Republicans do oppose the government interfering with markets and the economy, however - and generally oppose the government's doing anything to help anyone they feel should be able to help themselves.

In my book Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches, I set forth the facts regarding the consequences of the Republicans' controlling government for too many years. No Republican - nor anyone else, for that matter - has refuted these facts, and for good reason: They are irrefutable.

The McCain/Palin Ticket Perfectly Fits the Authoritarian Conservative Mold

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican candidates, have shown themselves to be unapologetic and archetypical authoritarian conservatives. Indeed, their campaign has warmed the hearts of fellow authoritarians, who applaud them for their negativity, nastiness, and dishonest ploys and only criticize them for not offering more of the same.

The McCain/Palin campaign has assumed a typical authoritarian posture: The candidates provide no true, specific proposals to address America's needs. Rather, they simply ask voters to "trust us" and suggest that their opponents - Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden - are not "real Americans" like McCain, Palin, and the voters they are seeking to court. Accordingly, McCain and Plain have called Obama "a socialist," "a redistributionist," "a Marxist," and "a communist" - without a shred of evidence to support their name-calling, for these terms are pejorative, rather than in any manner descriptive. This is the way authoritarian leaders operate.

In my book Conservatives Without Conscience, I set forth the traits of authoritarian leaders and followers, which have been distilled from a half-century of empirical research, during which thousands of people have voluntarily been interviewed by social scientists. The touch points in these somewhat-overlapping lists of character traits provide a clear picture of the characters of both John McCain and Sarah Palin.

McCain, especially, fits perfectly as an authoritarian leader. Such leaders possess most, if not all, of these traits:

* dominating
* opposes equality
* desirous of personal power
* amoral
* intimidating and bullying
* faintly hedonistic
* vengeful
* pitiless
* exploitive
* manipulative
* dishonest
* cheats to win
* highly prejudiced (racist, sexist, homophobic
* mean-spirited
* militant
* nationalistic
* tells others what they want to hear
* takes advantage of "suckers"
* specializes in creating false images to sell self
* may or may not be religious
* usually politically and economically conservative/Republican

Incidentally, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney also can be described by these well-defined and typical traits - which is why a McCain presidency is likely to be nearly identical to a Bush presidency.

Clearly, Sarah Palin also has some qualities typical of authoritarian leaders, not to mention almost all of the traits found among authoritarian followers. Specifically, such followers can be described as follows:

* submissive to authority
* aggressive on behalf of authority
* highly conventional in their behavior
* highly religious
* possessing moderate to little education
* trusting of untrustworthy authorities
* prejudiced (particularly against homosexuals and followers of religions other than their own)
* mean-spirited
* narrow-minded
* intolerant
* bullying
* zealous
* dogmatic
* uncritical toward chosen authority
* hypocritical
* inconsistent and contradictory
* prone to panic easily
* highly self-righteous
* moralistic
* strict disciplinarians
* severely punitive
* demanding loyalty and returning it
* possessing little self-awareness
* usually politically and economically conservative/Republican

The leading authority on right-wing authoritarianism, a man who devoted his career to developing hard empirical data about these people and their beliefs, is Robert Altemeyer. Altemeyer, a social scientist based in Canada, flushed out these typical character traits in decades of testing.

Altemeyer believes about 25 percent of the adult population in the United States is solidly authoritarian (with that group mostly composed of followers, and a small percentage of potential leaders). It is in these ranks of some 70 million that we find the core of the McCain/Palin supporters. They are people who are, in Altemeyer's words, are "so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds."

The Problem with Electing Authoritarian Conservatives

What is wrong with being an authoritarian conservative? Well, if you want to take the country where they do, nothing. "They would march America into a dictatorship and probably feel that things had improved as a result," Altemeyer told me. "The problem is that these authoritarian followers are much more active than the rest of the country. They have the mentality of 'old-time religion' on a crusade, and they generously give money, time and effort to the cause. They proselytize; they lick stamps; they put pressure on loved ones; and they revel in being loyal to a cohesive group of like thinkers. And they are so submissive to their leaders that they will believe and do virtually anything they are told. They are not going to let up and they are not going to go away."

I would nominate McCain's "Joe the Plumber" as a new poster-boy of the authoritarian followers. He is a believer, and he has signed on. On November 4, 2008, we will learn how many more Americans will join the ranks of the authoritarians.

Frankly, the fact that the pre-election polls are close - after eight years of authoritarian leadership from Bush and Cheney, and given its disastrous results - shows that many Americans either do not realize where a McCain/Palin presidency might take us, or they are happy to go there. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me, for there is only one way to deal with these conservative zealots: Keep them out of power.

This election should be a slam dunk for Barack Obama, who has run a masterful campaign. It was no small undertaking winning the nomination from Hillary Clinton, and in doing so, he has shown without any doubt (in my mind anyway) that he is not only qualified to be president, but that he might be a once-in-a-lifetime leader who can forever change the nation and the world for the better.

If Obama is rejected on November 4th for another authoritarian conservative like McCain, I must ask if Americans are sufficiently intelligent to competently govern themselves. I can understand authoritarian conservatives voting for McCain, for they know no better. It is well-understood that most everyone votes with his or her heart, not his or her head. Polls show that 81 percent of Americans "feel" (in their hearts and their heads) that our country is going the wrong way. How could anyone with such thoughts and feelings vote for more authoritarian conservatism, which has done so much to take the nation in the wrong direction?

We will all find out on (or about) November 5th.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/
John W. Dean, a FindLaw columnist, is a former counsel to the president.

The Promise of America

The Republican base have crossed the Rubicon*, of separation of church and state, and blended political philosophies with religious ideology, this toxic mix has poisoned the public discourse.

Their petty attacks and political machinations have used fear as a battering ram against the truth and that fear has turned into rage. It has clouded the minds of some with doubt. This country has been greatly diminished by it. Some would take away the rights of many for the privileges of a few. By taxing the poor and giving to the rich.

At the same time they would have you believe that by suppressing the rights of a few "liberals and homosexuals" that they are in some perverted way preserving, "traditional American values". Since when has this Nation ever been about suppressing anyones unalienable rights? Rights that are endowed by their creator, because all men and women are created equal in the eyes of God. Yet these self righteous, twisted, Christians, believe that they and they alone hear the voice of God and everyone else is damned. To my ears they sound more and more like the radical Taliban Islamists who are the sole arbiters' of God's will on earth and anyone that is not with them is an infidel and must die.

But in spite of the vitriol that they haver injected into American politics, beyond the hostile and ugly face of this campaign, beyond the animus, beyond the backdrop of financial chaos they have created with their policies of privilege and uncertainty it engenders, beyond charge and countercharge, beyond their visceral hatred, America's promise still waits.

Many Americans have lost sight of that promise and forgotten the potential greatness of this nation, and forgotten the greatest promise ever made, by one generation to another in the history of mankind, a promise of freedom and equality for everyone.

Whatever else happens on November 4th 2008, we stand at the crossroad of that promise, and of its fulfillment or its failure, afraid and trembling or confident and victorious. November 4th will determine whether we become a nation, of the few, by the few, for the few, or we remain a nation of the people, by the people, for the people.

I for one choose the latter. That is why we must rise above the lies and deliberate deceptions that hold us bound by uncertainty and fear. We must drowned out the voices that cry out, "Kill him"' the voices that cry out, "Traitor!', "Treason!", "Terrorist", that cry out, "Socialist!", off with his head" and "Bomb Obama!". We must speak out loudly, and we must speak the unflinching truth to those voices of intolerance and injustice.

The blood that was shed by our forefathers and our fathers to preserve this promise of freedom and equality demands that we move forward not backward, that we press on with courage and fulfill the promise that is America.

Commentary:
This nation has almost succumbed to the illusion that its greatness lies in its ability to unleash its unlimited military might on anyone without consequences. That is a dangerous idea that has been promoted by the far right, who have massive financial interests in the military and the industries that supply the military with arms. It has subordinated, diplomacy, to a relatively dysfunctional position in the executive branch without a strong vigorous advocate. The real power of this Nation lies in the perception of its character, by other nations, that America strongly defends individual rights, freedom and liberty. We have nearly lost that moral advantage within the last four years. Gain it back on November 4th.

If you love your country speak up! Speaking truth to power is real patriotism.


*Crossing the Rubicon is a metaphor for deliberately proceeding past a point of no return. The phrase originates with Julius Caesar's invasion of Ancient Rome when, on January 10, 49 BC, he led his army across the Rubicon River in violation of law, hence making conflict inevitable. Therefore the term "the Rubicon" is used as a synonym to the "point of no return".

Where's the outrage?

Not long ago I received an e-mail from my oldest sister, which I posted. It's subject line was: 'Am I The Only Guy That's Fed Up! The e-mail contained several excerpts from Lee Iacocca's new book, "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" Frankly that's a question I've been asking myself a lot over the last four years. Sometimes I have felt a profound sense of isolation and a burgeoning anger about the growing list of deliberate assaults on the Constitution. Don't people understand what peril we are facing?

Where's the outrage?
For the repeated unchecked desecration of the Constitution.
For the Suspension of the Fourth Amendment.
For the Invasion of a country that posed no threat to America.
For the torture of prisoners of war advocated by no less than the Vice President.
For the arrest and open-ended imprisonment of SUSPECTED terrorist.
For allowing a pervasive atmosphere of corruption to exist in Washington without a word of moral outrage.
For hiring cronies so incompetent an American city was left to languish like in a third world country.
For sending American troops into harms way without proper armor and equipment.
For allowing war profiteering with no bid contracts.
For allowing innocent civilians to be slaughtered by federally funded private mercenary paramilitary like Blackwater.
For trying prisoners of war by secret tribunal rather than by trail in open court with.
For suspending the writ of habeas corpus.
For squandering 10 billion dollars a month on an unjust war for oil, while America's infrastructure crumbles.
For the voter suppression that stole two Presidential elections and perverted the foundations of America most sacred right, the right to vote for who represents us.

I am by temperament an Independent, and I have voted both Democratic and Republican over the years, but, I was unable to stomach the profound radical changes that the Republican party made since the implementation of the Contract with America by Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay in collusion with an intolerant, radical religious right.

Some notable, long time Goldwater Conservatives have spoken out, including Mickey Edwards and John Dean, and Susan Eisenhower, but, for the most part the majority of Republicans seem to have ignored these egregious excesses and continue to rationalize them or spin them or worse they have embraced them. They remind me of the "good Germans" after WWII that disavowed the consequences of their own complicity.

While people are trying to focus on "the real issues" like the economy and the spin doctors are trying to distract them with "bogus issues," like gay marriage, there is in my mind only one issue, that supersedes all other issues, the survival of the Constitution and this nation as a democratic republic.

For me the most alarming aspect's of John McCain's campaign have been: 1. His embrace of the Bush's negative attack machine, headed by Karl Rove that helped Bush get elected with some of the most scurrilous ads in American political history, e.g. Swift Boaters. 2. The fact that he now employees a legion of lobbyists to run his, "straight talk" campaign the same lobbyists he once disavowed. 3. The fact that he has been pandering to Bush's radical base who authored the extreme positions that have eroded this country's Constitution and replaced it with their own twisted ideologies. And 4. The continued efforts of the Republican Party to suppress minority voters.

The next election is a watershed event, this country has come to a crossroads of profound importance, it will decide wether America remains a democratic republic or becomes a nation of a one party oligarchy of a few rich powerful men and its corporate financiers, that prizes their own power over the rights of the people.

McCain's embrace of these dangerous left over remnants of the malignant Bush Administration are a clear sign that the same players will survive and the assault they started will continue. Nothing else will matter if he is elected.

Far from being the Change We Need McCain is, the Past We Must Reject Forever!

A Wolf(owitz) In Sheeps Clothing

There has been a political metamorphosis going on within the Republican Party for the past thirty years. It has been a gradual process that has left many older Republicans perplexed.

The so called NeoConservatives have abandoned original Republican philosophical underpinnings and transformed Republicanism into a pernicious ideology that has had, and is having a devastating impact on this nation.

Who are the "NeoConservative Republicans" and why we should care?

We should care, because, as you will see, they want to do away with America as a democratic republic, and replace it with a powerful, theocratic oligarchy, transforming it into a nationalistic authoritarian state whose power is wielded by an elite few who can pursue their own vision of "the public good."

Bluntly stated by a leading NeoCon strategist, Grover Norquist, when he said, that he wants to shrink government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

They are the Machiavellian power behind the throne. They're political philosophy retains the outward trappings of traditional Republican principles: fiscal conservatism, strict adherence to the Constitution, small central government, laissez faire capitalism. They have reduced some of these principles to slogans they use to as labels to demonize others i.e. "tax and spend liberals", but in practice they have run up tremendous national debts, expanded government, and have begun a reverse socialism that benefits the rich.

They have added four other elements to this toxic mix, based on the teachings of Leo Strauss a professor of Political Science who taught at the University of Chicago.

His four basic principles are:
1. Strauss and his followers* like Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle, reject man's natural rights and believe that an unfettered government power held by a few powerful elite who could better determine what was in the best interest of the "public good" was preferable. And that it required an imperial like figurehead that was guided by "prudence and moderation" which are euphemisms for "unlimited and unconstitutional executive branch power." Strauss rejected the idea of limited government and advocated an omnipotent, unlimited state power in the pursuit of jingoistic "nationalism."

2. Strauss also believed that only a powerful omnipotent state could control natural human aggression and that a omnipotent state could only be maintained by a perpetual state of war, "even if one has to be manufactured." (such as Iraq?) And its citizens could be rallied behind it by false patriotism.

3. Strauss believed in aggressive lying. He believed that in order to maintain an omnipotent state that it required "perpetual deception" of its citizens. This is all a part of their perpetual campaign to confuse the public and keep it ignorant of their political designs.

4: Strauss believed that fake religiosity was a useful tool to promote this agenda. But Strauss’ position was that the political rulers and the intellectual elite (its philosopher kings?) need not be bound by religion themselves; religion was primarily a propaganda tool to be used to get the masses to acquiesce in state intervention on behalf of aggressive nationalism.

BEWARE: They are the voices urging a war with Iran and now Bill Kristol: is taunting Russia into an ever increasing aggressive posture in South Ossetia which Georgia invaded at the urging of the Bush W.H.. Writing in the Washington Post today, Robert Kagan goes even further, suggesting that the Georgia-Russia conflict may be the start of World War III:

Commentary:
"The founders," believed that natural law holds men are endowed with unalienable rights and that government was always a threat to those rights and that government should be "bound by the chains" of The Constitution.

I had an alarming epiphany four years ago when it struck me like a bolt that I was no longer living in the America of my youth. There were deeply disturbing and insidious changes taking place in this Nation that were the antithesis of the founders vision. It filled me with a fear I didn't understand at the time. I started educating myself as to what was behind this relentless decent into an Authoritarian Fascist Nation.

Don't take my word for it, I urge each and everyone who comes to this website to pursue their own inquiry into what has taken place in America and then reject the cynical policies of the NeoConservative movement on Nov 4th.

*Some of his ardent followers included: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle. Lynne Cheney worked with Perle at DPB. Both were close advisors to Vice President Richard Cheney. Others include: Irving Kristol,
Widely referred to as the "godfather" of neoconservatism; William Kristol, Son of "godfather" of neoconservatism, Irving Kristol and chairman of the Project for a New American CenturyLewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff and national security advisor for Vice President Dick Cheney; John Bolton, US ambassador to the UN; Elliott Abrams; deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy; Robert Kagan, Mr. Kagan writes extensively on US strategy and diplomacy. Kagan and fellow neoconservative William Kristol co-founded the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) in 1997. Kagan signed the famous 1998 PNAC letter sent to President Clinton urging regime change in Iraq; Michael Ledeen Seen by many as one of the most radical neoconservatives, Mr. Ledeen is said to frequently advise George W. Bush's top adviser Karl Rove on foreign policy matters. He is one of the strongest voices calling for regime change in Iran.; Frank Gaffney Jr. Mr. Gaffney is the founder, president, and CEO of the influential Washington think tank Center for Security Policy, whose mission is "to promote world peace through American strength." All were heavily involved in Republican administrations going back to Reagan.

Where to start your own search:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/11/neocon-russia-war/
http://www.alternet.org/story/15935/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism
http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/index.html
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/lind1.html
http://www.againstbombing.org/point3.htm