The Chronicle of Higher Education And Fascism

Well, the cyber brown shirts were out in force over an opinion piece written by Naomi Schaefer Riley suggesting that black-studies programs were a bastion of "political partisanship and liberal hackery." Granted, you would have to be a braindead moron to not realize the truthfulness of such an opinion, but that hasn't stopped The Chronicle from firing Riley because she offended moronic political partisans and moronic liberal hacks.

This will be the last time I ever read, comment or link to anything in The Chronicle. They have violated the basic principles of a liberal society. In fact they have thrown their lot in with the brown shirts and have announced they will deem entire blocks of the American political tradition, such as Republicanism and conservatism, as anathema. They are goosestepping against freedom and I will have nothing to do with them.

What Fascism Looks Like

OMFG.

These people couldn't scream "Fuck the First Amendment" any louder if they took a bullhorn to the top of the Washington Monument.

They would probably take a dump on that too.

Updating Gleick-Fest 2012

I never did get around to redoing the post I lost the other day, and now there is very little need. Megan McArdle has done all the heavy lifting on the subject. The only people defending Gleick now are the cranks, the loonies, and the really quite unstables.

It is one of the good things about these kinds of episodes; it reveals those who are so far beyond the realm of rational discourse that one can dispense with worrying about them, at least in an intellectual capacity. It's like trying to reason with a neo-Nazi skinhead. Such people are not amenable to reason so you don't have to worry about trying to convince them with facts or logic. Though one does still have to worry about their propensity to violence, of course. Indeed, violence is the next step down the road once people embrace the irrational as their guide. The Green movement has long displayed fascistic elements, as anyone who makes a study of "Earth First" ideology can discover for themselves, in that it explicitly rejects rationalism, presents an organic view of society, and advocates a new "warrior culture" to produce social and political change through violence. (In case you are not aware, that is three for three in the "fascist ideological tendencies" category.)

You may think I'm overreacting here, but I must say I am shaken by the defenses being offered in this case. The flight from reality and reason needed to make these defenses are truly frightening to behold. If they are willing to justify and praise this, what won't they condone?

UPDATE:

To wit: Woman accused of hiring hit man to kill random fur-wearer

A self-proclaimed animal rights activist in Ohio has been charged with soliciting a hit man to kill a random person wearing fur, either by shooting the individual or slitting his or her throat.

Meredith Lowell, 27, of Cleveland Heights, is accused of creating a phony Facebook profile with the intention of contacting a would-be killer, according to the affidavit filed in an Ohio district court.

Lowell allegedly posted on the social media website the following request: "I would like to create an online community on facebook which would allow me to find someone who is willing to kill someone who is wearing fur toward the end of October 2011 or early November 2011 or possibly in January 2012 or February 2012 at the latest."

...

She then allegedly requested that the murder take place at a local library and that she be present so that she could then hand out documents about animal cruelty after the homicide.

"Bring a sharp knife that is at least 4 inches long, it should be sharp enough to stab someone with and/or to slit their throat to kill them," Lowell allegedly wrote in an e-mail, according to the affidavit.

The individual should be at least 12 years old, but "preferably 14 years or older," Lowell allegedly wrote.

Slitting the throat of a 14 year old girl or boy so she can hand out literature on how it is inhumane to wear fur.

Here Come The Food Nazis (Again)

Achtung! You must eatz your peas for de fatherland! Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables

WHAT will it take to get Americans to change our eating habits? The need is indisputable, since heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all in large part caused by the Standard American Diet. (Yes, it’s SAD.)

Though experts increasingly recommend a diet high in plants and low in animal products and processed foods, ours is quite the opposite, and there’s little disagreement that changing it could improve our health and save tens of millions of lives.

So the fuck what? The whole point of a liberal democratic society is that people have the right to decide for themselves what the good is, no matter what some pencil dicked "expert" says on the matter.

There is no compelling state interest, at least in a liberal democratic society, in maximizing the longevity of every single individual. NONE. Now, a fascist society, on the other hand, does make a claim such as the writer in the New York Times does. In a fascist society the state is paramount, so if the state deems you have a duty to eat your peas, or make little blonde haired blue eyed babies, or not be Jewish, etc. then the state can demand it.

Gee, I though we fought a Second World War so we didn't have to listen to such dipshits.

For myself, I'm gonna stick with John Stuart Mill.

Bye Bye Anonymous?

It seems an international effort is ongoing to deal with the cyber-brownshirts that call themselves "Anonymous": 14 arrested for alleged cyberattack on PayPal’s website in show of support for WikiLeaks

Fourteen people were arrested Tuesday for allegedly mounting a cyberattack on the website of PayPal in retaliation for its suspending the accounts of WikiLeaks.

Separately, FBI agents executed more than 35 search warrants around the country in an ongoing investigation into coordinated cyberattacks against major companies and organizations.

As part of the effort, there were two arrests in the United States unrelated to the attack on the PayPal payment service. Overseas, one person was arrested by Scotland Yard in Britain, and there were four arrests by the Dutch National Police Agency, all for alleged cybercrimes....

The cyberattacks on PayPal’s website by the group called Anonymous followed the release by WikiLeaks in November of thousands of classified State Department cables.

Anonymous is a loosely organized group of hackers sympathetic to WikiLeaks. It has claimed responsibility for attacks against corporate and government websites worldwide.

The group also claims credit for disrupting the websites of Visa and MasterCard in December when the credit card companies stopped processing donations to WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.

A federal indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., says that Anonymous referred to the cyberattacks on PayPal as “Operation Avenge Assange.”

The 14 charged in the PayPal attack were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio. They ranged in age from 20 to 42. The name and age of one of the 14 was withheld by the court.

I hope the Feds throw the book at them.

The Only Word That Comes To Mind Is "Gestapo" UPDATED & BUMPED

Say hello to the new Federal Department of Education:

Kenneth Wright does not have a criminal record and he had no reason to believe a S.W.A.T team would be breaking down his door at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

"I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers," Wright said.

Wright came downstairs in his boxer shorts as a S.W.A.T team barged through his front door. Wright said an officer grabbed him by the neck and led him outside on his front lawn.

"He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there," Wright said.

According to Wright, officers also woke his three young children ages 3, 7, and 11 and put them in a Stockton police patrol car with him. Officers then searched his house.

As it turned out, the person law enforcement was looking for was not there - Wright's estranged wife.

"They put me in handcuffs in that hot patrol car for six hours, traumatizing my kids," Wright said.

Wright said he later went to the mayor and Stockton Police Department, but the City of Stockton had nothing to do with Wright's search warrant.

The U.S. Department of Education issued the search and called in the S.W.A.T for his wife's defaulted student loans.

That's right. The same Federal government which has brought you the worst economy since the Great Depression is now sending S.W.A.T. teams out in pursuit of student loan money.

But hey, the folks in the Department of Education are only following orders.... that makes it all better.

UPDATE:

Well, this may make things a little different:

After Wright's claim received national attention, the Department of Education issued a new statement by Deputy Press Secretary Daren Briscoe, who noted the criminal investigation. "The Inspector General's Office does not execute search warrants for late loan payments," he said.

"Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, we can't comment on the specifics of the case," Briscoe said. "We can say that the OIG's office conducts about 30 to 35 search warrants a year on issues such as bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of federal student aid funds."

I do know there is a problem in this country with fake "students" maxing out loans for classes they never take. Some of the money goes to the university for tuition, but the rest is pocketed by the "student" who is never seen again. Our state university system in fact has a separate grade to give to those students who enroll in classes but never turn in any work. This grade alerts the university and Federal officials to this potentially fraudulent activity. Sometimes it isn't fraud involved. It's just dumb, stoned, drunk, depressed and/or confused students.

I'm still going to question the necessity of a dawn SWAT style raid, but at least this has moved into the realm of criminal activity.

What Is The Difference Between Hacker Group "Anonymous" And Fascists?

Answer: Not a whole hell of a lot. 'Anonymous' takes down Americans for Prosperity website

The online activist group "anonymous," which has used coordinated denial of service attacks -- a crude but effective Internet weapon -- to temporary disable sites belonging to foes ranging from Scientology to WikiLeaks foes -- has turned its firepower on the Koch-backed conservative group Americans for Prosperity, making the group's site intermittently unavailable tonight.

From the typically immodest press release, which begins, "Dear Citizens of the United States of America":

It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch--the billionaire owners of Koch Industries--have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back.

The manner they chose to "fight back" is to attack the principles of free speech. Evidently free speech isn't meant for everyone, according to this collection of self appointed overmen; a collection, it must be said, who resort to a high-tech form of violence to silence their opponents instead of using rational discourse (which doesn't seem to be their forte anyway.)

All I can say is if the tactics of "Anonymous" appeal to you, you really ought to mature a little and maybe grow a conscience.

Is This Guy Really This Stupid?

Follow along with this boys and girls:

Proponents of human-caused global warming claim that "cognitive" brain function prevents conservatives from accepting the science that says "climate change" is an imminent threat to planet Earth and its inhabitants.

George Lakoff, a professor of cognitive science and linguistics at the University of California-Berkeley and author of the book "The Political Mind: A Cognitive Scientist's Guide to Your Brain and Its Politics," says his scientific research shows that how one perceives the world depends on one’s bodily experience and how one functions in the everyday world. Reason is shaped by the body, he says.

Lakoff told CNSNews.com that “metaphors” shape a person's understanding of the world, along with one’s values and political beliefs -- including what they think about global warming.

"It relates directly (to global warming) because conservatives tend to feel that the free market should be unregulated and (that) environmental regulations are immoral and wrong," Lakoff said....

On the other hand, he added, liberals' cognitive process allows them to be "open-minded."

Really, any institution that granted a PhD to this fellow ought to immediately demand it back. His inability to follow the basic dictates of logic is shocking. The logical thing to assume is that if on one side you have conservatives who tend to favor the free market over regulatory schemes, then the opposite side (i.e. liberals) wouldn't be someone with an "open mind" but instead someone who favors regulatory schemes over free markets.

Duh.

Unfortunately, it is this kind of mind numbing stupidity which has come to define modern liberal academia. A lot of the "research" being produced really is this illogical and pitiful. Why is such shoddy and second-rate thinking accepted by people who are supposed to have intellectual standards? Well, largely because academia is a narrowly defined ideological echo-chamber where alternative perspectives are neither sought out nor tolerated. As a result the ideas that "progressives" trot out are never exposed to critical thought. Any college sophomore who has taken a basic formal logic class could have pointed out the elementary errors in logic the good professor had made, but in the land of the feverishly committed it never comes up. The "research" says what they want to hear so, by definition, it must be right.

So, in answer to my question: Is Prof. George Lakoff really as stupid as he sounds? Yes, he is. He is also most likely a proto-fascist (though not a Nazi,) or at least his ideas are proto-fascistic in nature in that they justify the use of political power by one group over another based upon their supposed native superiority.

Berkeley must be proud.

Democrat Attempts To Ban Salt

Would that I were joking:

Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.

"No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises," the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.

The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz , D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion says it best:

Don't think government, if given the chance, will try to control the most minute aspects of your life?

Don't worry that once the bureaucracy gets ahold of the right to regulate your health care decisions -- starting with what type of insurance you are required to buy -- the end result will be absurdity?

Are you one of those people who think that government has the ability to restrain itself from exercising power given to it?

Imagine the mindset one would need to have to even propose such a ban in the first place. Now, imagine trying to square that mindset with basic human rights or democracy. (Hint: It can't be done.)

Irony In Oregon

You can't make up this kind of stuff. Fascism on the march: University of Oregon Divided over Free Speech Controversy

The University of Oregon student body has been learning some useful lessons in liberty as the campus debates what to do about an extremely controversial group's presence on campus. Last week, the student government narrowly voted to defend free expression when it voted down a resolution designed to push the group off campus for good.

The organization is the Pacifica Forum, a discussion group hosted on campus by an emeritus professor, as permitted by university rules. The group is so controversial, it appears, because every so often it discusses topics that a lot of people on campus find extremely offensive—such as the swastika or Nazism—well, not just because of the topics, but because some of the participants appear to the critics to be voicing far too much sympathy for ideas of white supremacy....

The group met at the university's Erb Memorial Student Union until a few weeks ago, when it met in a larger space than usual because of the expectation of hundreds of protesters for the discussion of the swastika on January 15. The protesters came and disrupted the event.

The disruption appears to have been organized by student government president Emma Kallaway, and Vice President Getachew Kassa who, according to the Oregon Commentator's January 25 issue, helped to coordinate a rally prior to the disruption:

"We wanted to create fear and anger in the forum, and we accomplished that today," said Kassa. [emphasis added]

Of course, the irony here is the only fascism practiced in this situation was by Kallaway and Kassa who admit they wanted to use fear to intimidate their political opponents.

Mussolini couldn't have said it better himself.

Sweden Takes (Another) Fascist Turn?

What the hell is going on in Sweden? Jews Flee Swedish Town in Wake of Anti-Semitism

Violent anti-Semitism has become increasingly commonplace in Sweden’s southern city of Malmö, leading many Jewish residents to leave out of fear for their safety. “Threats against Jews have increased steadily in Malmö in recent years and many young Jewish families are choosing to leave the city,” said Fredrik Sieradzki of the Jewish Community of Malmö.

Last year, 79 crimes against Jewish residents were reported to the Malmö police, roughly double the number reported in 2008. In addition, Jewish cemeteries and synagogues have been repeatedly defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, and a chapel at another Jewish burial site in Malmö was firebombed last January during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Many Jewish residents of Malmö feel that local anti-Jewish sentiment is linked with negative attitudes towards Israel.

In addition to its small community of roughly 700 Jews, Malmö is home to a growing Muslim population. However, local Jews insist that the majority of anti-Jewish sentiment, although certainly existent in the Muslim community, is coming from local Swedes.

Sadly, this isn't the first time Sweden and fascist tendencies could be linked together.

A Good Argument In Favor Of Loyalty Oaths

I swear, the more of this kind of crap I read the more I begin to think all public university employees should be required to take an oath pledging they will conduct themselves in accordance with the Constitution under pain of dismissal. This time it is my alma mater the University of Illinois where the anti-First Amendment fascists have arisen. The lengths the power that be will go to in order to squelch speech they don't like is truly repugnant. This time they are targeting students who wish to bring back the Chielf Illiniwek mascot, which I guess ranks as a criminal enterprise to the minds of these "scholars."

The efforts to actually stop the SFCI event appear to have ended here — but the attempts to silence expression about the Illiniwek mascot continued. Professor Robert Warrior, director of American Indian Studies at UI, wrote to Romano to complain about the fact that the SFCI event was being promoted on the billboard outside the venue where it was to take place, asking, “Can ROs that rent the hall say anything they want on the billboard, including racial stereotyping?” Romano responded, “I share your feeling about the billboard,” but she said that there was nothing she could do because it was “part of the package.”

Warrior also demanded that the university take down posters in the student union that he found to have a “genocidal” message. The posters had a picture of Illinois fans on it and read: “Never seen a real Indian? GOOD! Because obviously we haven’t either. The ‘Next Dance’ — Because even though ignorance may not be bliss, it sure is fun!” When informed that administrators would look into posting rules to see if the posters could be removed (that e-mail is missing from the FOIA materials), Warrior wrote to Gonzalez on September 29 that he was taking his ball and going home: “I don’t care about posting rules. Hate escalates. It’s a fact. … I am no longer willing to participate on diversity committees like the one I am on that you chair, initiatives, or events.”

Gee, they would have to do without the good professor's ignorance of the Constitution on diversity committees. That would be a blow. I mean, who would take on the role of ignorant hateful buffoon? Oh wait, its a modern university, there would be plenty of folks ready to step into that role.

*sigh*

I am philosophically opposed to loyalty oaths, but when you see such persistent rank stupidity the oaths begin to look more and more appealing.

Comrades In Arms

I'm not sure why anyone who pays attention to these things would be surprised to discover Osama Bin Landen is a big "global warming" proponent. Both radical Islam and AGW catastrophists share a disdain for Western civilization; both want to see fewer Western people breathing; both have a rabid hatred of democracy and a desire to see rule by an "enlightened" elite.

Hell, they were made for each other. (Like this shining light who sees in this Osama's "good advice.")

Germany's Pursuit Of Nazi "Law"

I have already noted the fascist turn Sweden has taken, in direct violation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in criminalizing Home Schooling, going as far as taking children away from parents who feel they have the right to choose the education of their offspring. Now, there is news that the U.S. has granted political asylum to a German family after the German government threatened to us a Nazi era law to take children away and imprison parents who wanted to home school their children.

Mr Romeike and his wife withdrew their three oldest children from school in 2006 after they encountered problems with violence, bullying and peer pressure.

However, the decision to educate their children at home brought the family into conflict with the German authorities.

The family endured harassment from the authorities, and on one occasion police officers came to the family’s home and forced the children to attend school.

The family fled to the US after Germany’s highest court ruled that in severe cases of non-compliance social services could remove home schooled children from their parents.

Describing the case, Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman said that “the rights being violated here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate”.

The Nazis instituted the law because they felt it was a good way to achieve their goals. Today's German government feels no different.

A good rule of thumb is if you see yourself using the same methods as the Nazis to reach your goals you may want to second guess yourself.

Gleaned from First Thoughts.

Sweden Takes Fascist Turn

In Sweden, evidently, the state is everything, and everyone enjoys their freedom on the whim of the state. Well, they must be happy they agree with Hitler on something. (After all, we must remember Sweden found the "moral courage" to sit out WWII.)

Swedish authorities forcibly removed Dominic Johansson from his parents, Christer and Annie Johansson, in June of last year from a plane they had boarded to move to Annie’s home country of India. The officials did not have a warrant nor have they charged the Johanssons with any crime. The officials seized the child because they believe home schooling is an inappropriate way to raise a child and insist the government should raise Dominic instead.

“It’s one of the most disgraceful abuses of power we have ever witnessed,” said HSLDA attorney Mike Donnelly. “The Swedish government says it is exercising its authority under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in their unnecessary break up of this family. In addition, the Swedish Parliament is considering an essential ban on home schooling. We have heard that other home-schooling families in Sweden are having more difficulty with local officials. We fear that all home-schooling families in that country are at risk.”

Swedish social services initially limited visitation to the child to two hours per week but now have curtailed that to one hour every fifth week and no visit at all for Christmas because the social workers will be on vacation.

Actually, even a perfunctory reading of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, shows that Sweden is in gross violation of it:

Article 7:

1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.

Article 8:

1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.

Article 9:

1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately and a decision must be made as to the child's place of residence.

3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best interests.

It is clear the objection of the State concerns the religious views of the parents, and no charge of abuse has been levelled against them. That Sweden has determined that one hour of contact every fifth week counts as "direct contact with both parents on a regular basis" is nothing short of a sick joke.

Furthermore the actions of Sweden are in direct violation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 26: 3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The meaning is clear. The right of parents to decide upon the kind if education their children receive comes before the interests of the state. End of discussion.

The belief that the interests of state are always primary is the bedrock belief of fascism. It is also the motivating force here, thus justifying this action by Sweden as fascistic.

Think The "Climate Summit" Was About Science?

Think again: Hugo Chavez cheered

THE Copenhagen climate summit was pretty much summed up in the high-level segment yesterday when [Australian climate change minister] Penny Wong's speech was interrupted by whistles and chanting and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez got a standing ovation....

President Chavez brought the house down.

When he said the process in Copenhagen was “not democratic, it is not inclusive, but isn’t that the reality of our world, the world is really and imperial dictatorship…down with imperial dictatorships” he got a rousing round of applause.

When he said there was a “silent and terrible ghost in the room” and that ghost was called capitalism, the applause was deafening.

But then he wound up to his grand conclusion – 20 minutes after his 5 minute speaking time was supposed to have ended and after quoting everyone from Karl Marx to Jesus Christ - “our revolution seeks to help all people…socialism, the other ghost that is probably wandering around this room, that’s the way to save the planet, capitalism is the road to hell....let’s fight against capitalism and make it obey us.” He won a standing ovation.

Hitler or Lenin couldn't have done it any better.

And the sheep listening to him couldn't be any dumber.

The U.N. Is A Fascist Organization

Watch this and tell me it isn't.



You have to step up to fascists when they arise. It's too bad these "scientists with values" have thrown their lot in with these enemies of human freedom.

Continuing The Gleichschaltung

So NPR has decided to throw its weight behind the effort to make this a one-party state. That's great. NPR reporter pressured over Fox role

Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network’s top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network’s political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said.

According to a source, Liasson was summoned in early October by NPR’s executive editor for news, Dick Meyer, and the network’s supervising senior Washington editor, Ron Elving. The NPR executives said they had concerns that Fox’s programming had grown more partisan, and they asked Liasson to spend 30 days watching the network.

At a follow-up meeting last month, Liasson reported that she’d seen no significant change in Fox’s programming and planned to continue appearing on the network, the source said.

NPR’s focus on Liasson’s work as a commentator on Fox’s “Special Report” and “Fox News Sunday” came at about the same time as a White House campaign launched in September to delegitimize the network by painting it as an extension of the Republican Party.

One source said the White House’s criticism of Fox was raised during the discussions with Liasson. However, an NPR spokeswoman told POLITICO that the Obama administration’s attempts to discourage other news outlets from treating Fox as a peer had no impact on any internal discussions at NPR.

Yeah, right. What are the chances that lefty leaning NPR just happens to "accidentally" be carrying the administration water again. NPR must truly believe everyone who listens to them is blithering. (They may be right.)

Of course this is merely a continuation of the Obama administration's attempt to implement the policy of Gleichschaltung, or "bringing into line" of the media.

Roger Kimball noticed this back when the NEA scandal broke in September:

“This is just the beginning.” Who could doubt it? Reading through this transcript, I was struck by two things. One was the aroma of self-intoxication. These bureaucrats and artists and activists are utterly besotted by the contemplation of their own virtue. They know what’s good for the country, and what’s good for you, and they’re willing to devote themselves ceaselessly to making it happen.

The second thing that strikes one about this transcript is the aura of menace that floats just behind the talk of passion, pushing the president’s agenda, connecting with “labor unions, progressive groups,” etc., etc. As Yosi Sergant’s pep talk suggests, these people regard legal obstacles not as boundaries to be observed but as impediments to be overcome by “tactics,” a word that frequently appears in the transcript.

There is a German word for what we are witnessing at the NEA and elsewhere in the Obama administration’s effort to push its agenda. It is Gleichschaltung. It means two things: first, bringing all aspects of life into conformity with a given political line. And second, as a prerequisite for realizing that goal, the obliteration or at least marginalization of all opposition.

This has it exactly right. The "bringing into line" could certainly be witnessed in the media reaction or, more accurately, the media's non-reaction to the NEA story itself. It was studiously ignored by all of the media which wanted to prove their bona fides to the ruling establishment. The one outlet that did not, of course, was Fox, and just as quickly they became the focus of fire. Unsurprisingly, NPR has been falling all over themselves to order to embrace the Gleichschaltung. Of course they did not do this as a result of direct marching orders from the White House, but that is the point of this process. Once it gets established the Gleichschaltung moves forward under its own weight.

Vatican Announces "Sex, alcohol, fat among world's big killers"

In a move that was widely condemned as overstepping the modern boundaries of personal autonomy, the Catholic Church today announced:

Tackling just five health and moral factors could prevent millions of premature deaths and increase global life expectancy by almost 5 years, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Poor childhood nutrition, sex, alcohol, bad sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure are to blame for around a quarter of the 60 million premature deaths.

...

The Vatican listed the world's top mortality risks as high blood pressure (responsible for 13 percent of deaths globally), tobacco use (9 percent), high blood glucose (6 percent), physical inactivity (6 percent), and obesity or being overweight (5 percent). They also proclaimed them to be an "abomination before God."

These factors raised the risk of chronic diseases and some of the biggest killers such as heart disease, diabetes and cancers, and affected "countries across all income groups -- high, middle and low," it said. "Our Lord Jesus must be weeping in heaven."

O.K. I'm kidding. The Vatican never said this. The World Health Organization did:

Tackling just five health factors could prevent millions of premature deaths and increase global life expectancy by almost 5 years, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Poor childhood nutrition, unsafe sex, alcohol, bad sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure are to blame for around a quarter of the 60 million premature deaths around the world each year, the WHO said in a report.

But while not having enough nutritious food is a big health risk for those in poorer countries, obesity and being overweight pose yet bigger risks in richer nations -- leading to a situation in which obesity and being overweight causes more deaths worldwide than being underweight.

...

The WHO added that if the risks in its report had not existed, life expectancy would have been on average almost a decade longer in 2004 for the entire global population.

The totalitarian overtures inherent in such thinking are mind-boggling. How are you going to "tackle" such issues? We already have countless education programs in the United States that have had little or no effect on obesity, so presumably they are speaking about something else here. (The story doesn't even mention education.)

Who needs bible thumping "you'll live your life the way we say you'll live your life" Puritans when you have the W.H.O.?

Beware: Anti-Liquor Fascists On The March

I hate these people. They are evil and should be resisted by any and all means. Alcohol link to one in 25 deaths

One in 25 deaths across the world are linked to alcohol consumption, Canadian experts have suggested.

Writing in the Lancet, the team from the University of Toronto added that the level of disease linked to drinking affects poorest people the most....

The paper says that, although there have been some benefits of moderate drinking in relation to cardiovascular disease, these are far outweighed by the detrimental effects of alcohol on disease and injury.

In addition to diseases directly caused by drinking, such as liver disorders, a wide range of other conditions such as mouth and throat cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, depression and stroke are linked to drinking.

Drinking patterns do vary around the world, and the researchers point out that most of the adult population - 45% of men and 66% of women - abstain from drinking alcohol for most of them for their life.

Across the Americas, average consumption is 17 units per week, while the Middle East was the lowest at 1.3 units per week.

Not only is this all the basis for evil bullshit, it is also a lie. The numbers do not lie. Let's compare life expectancy for the top five European alcohol consumers with those with the top five Middle East nations in life expectancy (where alcohol is generally banned.)

Germany: 77 years
Ireland: 76 years
Spain: 78 years
Denmark: 76 years
United Kingdom: 77 years

vs.

Israel: 78 years (alcohol legal)
Kuwait: 77 years (alcohol recently legalized)
U.A.E.: 75 years (alcohol mostly legal)
Oman: 73 years (alcohol illegal)
Saudi Arabia: 72 years (alcohol illegal)

In fact a full 30% of countries in the Middle East have rates under 70 years (12% are still in the 50's), while not a single Western European country is below 70.

But facts never stop a fascists drive for power, and this is expressly what this is about.

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: "This study is a global wake-up call.

"We need an international framework convention for alcohol control, similar to that on tobacco, as soon as possible, to put into practice the evidence-based measures needed to reduce alcohol-related harm.

"These include increasing the price of alcohol, reducing its availability and banning advertising, and the action needs to start now."

See, for fascists like Ian Gilmore, personal choice is never a variable to even be discussed. For such monsters (in the sense of their not having a soul, which seems all too likely) human beings are cattle which the elite have the right, nay duty, to control because said cattle are too stupid to do what the elites want them to do.

These fascists really believe that the common people (i.e. schlubs like you and me) exist not for their own ends, they exist for the well-being of the state. So if you make a decision the fascists don't like they will remove your ability to make that choice. As fascist Don Shenker put it:

Many countries are investigating new ways to cut deaths and disease and reduce the burden on health services by using the price of alcohol to lower consumption.

"As the chief medical officer has identified, putting a stop to the irresponsible sale of low cost alcohol would be an effective step in the right direction.

Hmm...finding any notion of personal autonomy there? Nope. We are all beholden to the state in such a vision. That is their ideology, and that ideology is fascist in intent and execution.

All fascists are evil bastards that deserve to be stopped.

So let's stop them while we still have the democratic processes to do so. God knows they will not allow their anti-alcohol measure to be put to a democratic vote. Once again, sounds pretty fascist doesn't it?