Alice, I think we can take as "probably true" (if not proven fact) that all fascist agitation since the end of World War II has originated from the United States. Largely because:

(A)-The U.S. embraced legions of Nazi war criminals after the war, not just the notable ones like von Braun as in Operation Paper Clip but untold numbers of others, literally filling entire urban neighborhoods with people from Eastern Europe, especially the Ukraine, who had gleefully collaborated with the Nazis and were therefore fleeing from rightfully imposed Soviet death sentences.

(B)-Many of the top-level (Paper Clip) Nazis had asserted shortly before the Nazi surrender they would create the Fourth Reich from the United States. (Google "Fourth Reich" without quotation marks for some additional information; also Google "ODESSA," all caps as here but again no quotes.) (No, I have not read Marrs' The Rise of the Fourth Reich; I did not know about it until tonight. But I did just order it.)

(C)-The U.S. since World War II has helped impose and provied lavish support to every fascist regime on this planet.

The older Communists I knew as a young man, among them men who had fought the fascists in Spain, mostly believed there was a secret organization, initially in Berlin but after Germany's defeat in Washingtion D.C., that was lavishly funded by the Ruling Class and that existed solely to foster global fascism. I tended to doubt this until the recent events in Ukraine, for which see last Sunday's Outside Agitator's Notebook, specifically my comment on "The Danger of False Narrative." But now, given the obvious collaboration of Rightist elements throughout the world, I have to assume those now-dead Leftists were probably correct.

Note too in this context that from the Soviet perspective, WW II was exactly what they called it: "The Great Patriotic War against Fascism," while for the Western powers, it was a war to determine which type of fascism would prevail: the velvet-glove fascism of the English-speaking countries, or the jackboot fascism of Germany, each equally an expression of capitalism. Obviously now that capitalism has no global economic rival, the fascists have pulled off their velvet gloves and govern with not only iron fists but death-ray technology as well...in which context think of the looming environmental apocalypse (and the One Percent's obstruction of any ameliorative measures) as yet another form of genocide, with the entire planet functioning as a death camp.

...G'nite Alice; hope this is not too disturbing.

truthspringse...: Well, I went to that web site and got an impression right away what that guy is all about. I think DHBranski has pretty much hit it on the head...disconnected from reality! Those things are fun for some people and that's ok as long as you don't totally believe in ALL that stuff. And, I also believe that Alex Jones along with Jeff Rense and Art Bell and George Noory and their guests may be fun to sometimes listen too or read..but not to be taken too seriously. I don't totally dismiss everything totally but I generally have to have more proof for many of the claims these people tend to make. Like it's fun to go to the movies and watch science fiction but most people who do leave the theater knowing that it was just science FICTION. Same thing with horror movies dealing with supernatural forces..like the Exorcist...showing a young girl who rises up several feet above her bed or sits there and throws up green pea soup then her head rotates 360 degrees....although there are probably a lot more people who buy at least some of that stuff. Yes, I've read of the supposed "real life" exorcism's as well. But this stuff will rot your mind and get you to do things that you might regret...case in point...the people who killed their children doing exorcisms on them...thinking they were possessed.

Loren, how is Sweden's right wing an example of the "USian" Empire's fascists' genocidal austerity crusade? Are you saying that Sweden's fascist element was instigated or inspired by the "USian" version? - AIW

Rather than leave multiple posts, I think I'll respond to whoever and whatever evokes a response from me, all in one post. And I'll start with Palindromedary.

Palin, you say your great-great grandfather was a pig. This has me kinda curious. How was he a pig? I don't often hear people describe their ancestors that way, altho I'm sure you've got your reasons. Anyway if you'd care to disclose the specifics, I'd be interested in "hearing" what they are.

Donna K, your #14 post makes for quite a debut. I love your philosophy and outlook. You sound like someone with a lot of hard-won wisdom. Your life story, what you've shared of it, is amazing. If more people had your values, what a different place our world would be. I so agree with your idea that the greatest reward for an act of kindness comes from within. And there is no deeper pleasure than that. What you've apologetically characterized as a "rant", I hear as a sermon; not a preachy, sanctimonious sermon, but one from the heart.

Your next post after that (#17) reveals your take on Reagan, which was very similar to both mine and Marc's. Like you, we both lived in California while he served as governor; also when he became president. I reckon we'll be feeling the effects from the damage Reagan inflicted on our country for a long time to come, maybe the rest of our lives. It nauseates me that people have named airports, etc. after him. He was such a scumbag.

By the way Donna, you sound like you're close to my age. I was a teenager in the mid-to-late sixties. And like you, I don't harbor any hang-ups about "dating" myself.

My next response is to Chuck (post #18). How about a memory boost? I honestly don't remember what Thom said about John Adams. From time to time he's spoken of the "founding fathers" and sometimes they blur together in my head. I'm also curious about the thoughts behind that statement, if you'd care to elaborate.

"Elsenpie" (post #19), I agree with you and Jefferson.

"Dianhow" (post #20), I will never stop cursing the Clintons for NAFTA. It will be a freezing day in hell before I vote for Hillary. And I'm with you on that next Supreme Court appointee. By the way, I congratulate you for severing ties with the GOP.

DHFabian, you state that when Ray-gun first got elected, the U.S. was rated at #1 in overall quality of life. On what basis? I'm aware that our quality of life (for the majority of us anyway) was a lot better before "the Gipper" took the White House, but I question whether it was #1. Without universal healthcare? I don't think so. And that's just one example.

Marc, I hate to admit it but you make a strong argument in post #27. I humbly yield to your perspective on who gets the Worst President in U.S. History award. Reagan may not have hammered the first nails into democracy's coffin, but the ones he is credited for sure stuck. Like shit on wallpaper. (Now wasn't that poetic!)

SaxnFlutman - another musician! Cool. And I love your avatar photo. But aside from that, I wouldn't be too hard on this generation of young adults. We grew up during the so-called "Golden Age" for America's working & middle classes; they didn't. Our backgrounds instilled high expectations; theirs doesn't. And as I've observed, this generation has some awesome activists among them, particularly around global warming and freedom of information. Regarding the latter, Aaron Schwartz, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowdon come to mind. Those guys deserve Nobel prizes, not jail sentences.

And "Liberalwoman", what a gorgeous avatar!! - Aliceinwonderland

Sorry, chuckle8, I don't know enough about Sweden's present-day economy to be a useful source. Maybe somebody else here had lived there and/or knows its relevant facts. I do know its humanitarian features are now (and have been) under constant attack from its own Right, another example of the USian Empire's drive to (further) subjugate the Working Class by imposing "austerity" aka genocide.

To Mathboy

Hi. I saved these links from the Salon and Huffington Post. I'm not sure that the complete legal document is included in these articles.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mansur-gidfar/mccutcheon-supreme-court_b_5077459.html

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/02/supreme_courts_abomination_how_mccutcheon_decision_will_destroy_american_politics/?source=newsletter

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/02/supreme-court-mccutcheon_n_5076732.html

I just got this email:

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/04/dirty_secret_behind_mccutcheon_why_everyones_getting_the_winners_and_losers_wrong/?source=newsletter

Tom, what do you mean, "college tuition costs eleven times what it did in the 1950s"? I went to UCLA in 69/70, & tuition costs 20 TIMES more today!!!

I constantly shake my head at the complacency with which these astronomically obscene rate hikes have been accepted by students! If these kinds of increases (with their no-discharge loans) had occurred when I was in school, we would've taken to the streets, occuppied the administration building, and go on strikes... What's up with kids today, no real outcry, no demonstrations, and where's the protest music? Times today are at least as bad as the late 60s, if not worse...

“Find out just what any people will quietly submit to, and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.” . . . - Frederick Douglass

Quote Aliceinwonderland:While Ray-gun played a big part in ruining this country and paved the way for subsequent presidents to further the damage, I'm not so sure he's the worst in U.S. history. A stronger argument for that dubious distinction could have been made before Baby Bush stole the presidency in 2000. - Aliceinwonderland

Aliceinwonderland ~ At face value I would certainly agree with you. However, considering the fact that Papa Bush road into the White House on the coat tails of (666) you know who, I think it is safe to conclude that both he and "Baby Bush" were a direct result of the Reagan Presidency; and, as such, just another legacy from that creepy and spooky administration. Don't forget the false prophet, Jerry Falwell--that's pronounced "Fall Well" folks (go figure)--and his "Moral Majority" who rallied the southern Evangelical "Christian" community to support these monsters. That evil coalition is still in force today; and, is just another legacy of Ronald Wilson (666) Reagan that we still have to deal with today. The corpse may be rotting away; but, the evil spirit is alive, well and active to this day...

Our country needs an Exorcism!

I'm old enough to remember the hostage crisis. We can also note that the US ran up unprecedented debt during the Bush administration, and that this debt was actually set off UNTIL after the end of Bush's term in office. In other words,the debt was sitting on the desk when Obama took office, and of course, he is blamed for it. Tragically, there can be no liberal/progressive backlash to the rather frightening conditions we have now. This generation looked at the policies and programs that were in place from FDR to Reagan, which took the US to its height of wealth AND productivity, and deliberately reversed course.

First we need to recognize that the real class war has been the middle class against the poor. The US shipped out a massive chunk of our working class jobs since the 1980s, and then told the poor to "drop dead."

Or... speak out often Call demand e -mail Organize Protest Donate what you can Share facts Cesar Chavez did and accomplished so much Posting online is fine but we are preaching to the choir here . As thom says' Tag You're IT ACTION IS REQUIRED