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Two takes on a similar theme this week. The cartoon above, from November '05, is one of my own personal favorites. I don't think I've come up with a better expression of the sheer infuriating helplessness many of us have experienced over the past six years. These days, I feel like we're moving closer and closer to the final panel, as Congressional Republicans insist that any timetable for withdrawal will embolden the terrorists, and Rush Limbaugh declares repeatedly that Democrats will be the sole owners of defeat. In short, they're laying the groundwork to blame the entire mess on those of us who opposed it from the start -- and at the same time, they're still insisting that there is no cliff, that the streets of Baghdad are so safe that you can go for a pleasant evening stroll without a care in the world (as John McCain told Wolf Blitzer the other day).
These people are always, always wrong. But they deny it as long as they can, and when they can no longer deny it, they change the subject.
Which brings us to this, more recent piece ...

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Originally posted by Dayve:

..why do neo-cons hate people who actually think for themselves...??

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Originally posted by fredgiblet:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey

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excerpted from http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2006/08/cracks-in-wall-part-i-defining.ht
ml
Dean is also emphatic that authoritarianism, in all its forms, is completely antithetical to both classical conservatism (he still considers himself a Goldwater conservative), and to the founding ideals of America. We must be clear: when right-wingers threaten liberals, they are directly threatening the seminal political impulse that created our nation. An operative democracy depends on having a populace that is open to new ideas, able to think for itself, confident in its abilities, willing to take risks, and capable of mutual trust. America was founded as the world's first radically liberal state. History has shown us that the nation's best moments, past and future, are created by people with a strong liberal orientation.

Authoritarians aren't merely constitutionally incapable of this kind of cultural and political openness; they are actively hostile to it, and seek to stamp it out wherever they find it. Everything in their souls drives them to dismantle the democratic impulse, and bring people under the heel of hierarchical authority -- which is why history has also shown us that the nation's worst moments, past and future, are created by people with a strong right-wing authoritarian orientation.

In my next post, I'll move away from Dean's book, and into a deeper look at the psychology of right-wing followers. We'll take a brief look at some of the reasons people are drawn into right-wing authoritarian belief systems -- and a longer look at the events that cause some of these same followers to eventually choose to abandon those systems.

* emphasis in the original *

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Originally posted by ShinyEd:
Who made America a fucking joke today?...

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Originally posted by Dayve:

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Originally posted by fredgiblet:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey

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Thanks for that link.

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Originally posted by Dayve:

..why do neo-cons hate people who actually think for themselves...??

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Why do liberal believe they are thinking for themselves?

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Originally posted by fredgiblet:
I figured that this wasn't a particularly serious thread,

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In short, they're laying the groundwork to blame the entire mess on those of us who opposed it from the start…

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Originally posted by SoupCatcher:
As a nice complement to Bob Altemeyer's research and John Dean's book I'd like to add a series of posts by Sara Robinson over at Orcinus ( http://dneiwert.blogspot.com - scroll down the left sidebar for "Cracks in the Wall" and "Tunnels and Bridges").

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Originally posted by Dayve:
This is an excellent piece of writing. I think everyone regardless of political ideology should read it. We could all stand to learn from the research on the authoritarian personality and how it affects society as a whole. Although, I suppose those who might recognize a few of the traits of the authoritarian figure as some of their own may be a little offended.
It certainly rings true to me.

Again:
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2006/08/cracks-in-wall-part-i-defining.ht
ml

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Originally posted by SoupCatcher:
.....liberal side of the blogosphere in 2006.

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Originally posted by deepgirl187:
LOL, Dayve. That pretty much sums up the way things have been going the past few years.

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"If you want to win a war, you must serve no master but your ambition."

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Believe it or not, I really do try to read both sides of an issue. I've found that to get at the real crux of a matter I go to the more liberal blogs - to me they offer views based on the facts more than some of the right wing blogs I've read.

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Originally posted by SignyM:
I would think that someone who was sincere would be sincere enough to think about what they were saying. Doesn't it trouble you that you have to keep shifting reality in order to maintain a viewpoint?

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Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Any way you look at it, you lose. ~ Simon & Garfunkle

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Originally posted by SignyM:

I would think that someone who was sincere would be sincere enough to think about what they were saying. Doesn't it trouble you that you have to keep shifting reality in order to maintain a viewpoint?

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Originally posted by chrisisall:

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Originally posted by SignyM:

I would think that someone who was sincere would be sincere enough to think about what they were saying. Doesn't it trouble you that you have to keep shifting reality in order to maintain a viewpoint?

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Citizen's right, DISruptor is too fixated on how he wants to view things; logic and reason are beyond him, politically speaking.
There are still folk alive today that say Hitler was mis-understood, a good man, and framed regarding the holocaust.

The only good human, is a dead human Chrisisall

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Originally posted by kaneman:
Auruptor's post ARE logical, debatable, and thought provoking...

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Originally posted by chrisisall:
Thanks for the laugh, oh ye of few working neurons. This says it all regarding you logic circuits.
Just look at what it says under 'Kaneman' in your posts. You're not just a troll, but a twisted one. G'day.

Drive-by Chrisisall

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Originally posted by BigDamnNobody:
And yet Auraptor's post, out of all the players involved, was the most on topic and ad hominem free (least trollish).
Funny that.

Posting to stir stuff up.

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Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
WHY people form these opinions is every bit as valid as the evidence upon which they form them.

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Originally posted by BigDamnNobody:
And yet Auraptor's post, out of all the players involved, was the most on topic and ad hominem free

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Originally posted by Dayve:

my favorite anti-war anthem.. a little Country Joe & The Fish

Well, come on Wall Street, don't move slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go.
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Viet Cong.

And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam.
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

(sung along with that one a few times)

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Ultimately, "Man of God" is a classic folk song of protest. It's a musical objection to an unjust war, hypocritical leadership, and the entire military-industrial complex that aided Bush's ascent to the presidency and has since profited from the war.

"I'm mad," says Gilkyson. "And I want other people to be mad about this too."

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