Trump team weighs plan to nationalize high-speed networks

[nebraska]

Trump team weighs plan to nationalize high-speed networks

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-team-we...30274.html

[pbrower2a]

Why would Donald Trump be for something so blatantly socialistic? Sure, anything below 5G will suddenly become inadequate and vanish.

One possible objective of nationalization of an industry is to create a government monopoly, and if it is a monopoly on communications it can be used against any possible dissident. Dictatorial regimes always monopolize communications so that there can be only one official way of expressing opinions -- that of the Duce, Fuehrer, Caudillo, Conducator, Poglavnik, or Vozhd. Or whatever self description that the Great and Infallible Leader uses for styling himself.

We have a President in contempt of any opinion contrary to his and anyone who expresses such opinions. I wonder whether our Great and Glorious Leader and his loyal Party stooges would use the power of control of the Internet to make things difficult for his opponents..... I am sure that this is being rushed so that there are no protections on privacy as exist in the USPS -- as in, that one cannot open a letter without compelling justification (such as that a contraband-sniffing dog detects a bomb or drugs).

Nice kitty! Couldn't hurt a mouse!

[nebraska]

This feels like Obama's 3rd term.

[1948]

Are Americans communists now?

[pbrower2a]

My estimate is that about 5% of Americans each are either fascists or Commies. About 15% each are would-be fellow-travelers. About 20% each are hyper-partisan Republicans or Democrats, each. About 5% are partisan enough that it would take a horribly-compromised or scandal-ridden nominee to make the one vote that they would ever make for the Party which they ordinarily reject. That leaves about 10% of the electorate that is the small middle in a highly-polarized society.

[1948]

If the government destroys your life, asking the government to protect you is like asking a thief to watch your house when you go on vacation.

[Bob Butler 54]

(01-31-2018, 12:38 AM)1948 Wrote: If the government destroys your life, asking the government to protect you is like asking a thief to watch your house when you go on vacation.

Do you too oppose democracy?

[Mabel]

The USA is no longer a democracy and even if it was then it shouldn't be
a police state or communist.

[Eric the Green]

(01-30-2018, 11:23 PM)1948 Wrote: Are Americans communists now?

35% of Americans are fascists or fascist-enablers now. Communists are less than 1%.

[Eric the Green]

I wonder if nebraska aka scholar is also 1948 and Mabel?

[theory]

All socialism involves slavery.

[The Wonkette]

(01-31-2018, 12:24 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: My estimate is that about 5% of Americans each are either fascists or Commies. About 15% each are would-be fellow-travelers. About 20% each are hyper-partisan Republicans or Democrats, each. About 5% are partisan enough that it would take a horribly-compromised or scandal-ridden nominee to make the one vote that they would ever make for the Party which they ordinarily reject. That leaves about 10% of the electorate that is the small middle in a highly-polarized society.

An awful lot of Americans are not much of anything, just going about living their lives. Trouble is, many of them don't vote.

[pbrower2a]

(01-31-2018, 02:15 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: [quote pid='34709' dateline='1517422675']

(01-30-2018, 11:23 PM)1948 Wrote: Are Americans communists now?

35% of Americans are fascists or fascist-enablers now. Communists are less than 1%.

Donald Trump has definitely taken the fascist road. But this is not like taking Interstate 80 west from New Jersey
 and expecting to go to San Francisco. One might go only so far as some suburb of New York City, and there are plenty of turn-offs along the way. You could end up in Berkeley, for that matter.

Donald Trump is beginning to resemble one of the leaders of a fascistic Britain in the sci-fi flick V for Vendetta, and his lexicon is practically Newspeak. Yes, 1984 could as easily be about fascism as about Communism.

Anyway, I can look at the infamous list of fourteen warning signs of fascism, and Donald Trump seems to fit them well.

1. Rampant nationalism. The President loves to bring up the flag, the national anthem, and the bromide "the American People" as excuses for scorning his opponents. And never forget to Make America Great Again! (Great for the Master Class, that is, because under Trump their gain, indulgence, and power constitutes the national interest as nothing else can). Ordinarily, patriotism is an admirable sentiment, but with a fascist, patriotism really  is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

2. Disdain for human rights. This man admires the authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin  in Russia and of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines. He endorses torture.  

3. Scapegoating. People who fail to believe him and adopt his agenda are seen as the cause of national failure.

4. Avid militarism. The young draft-dodger of the Vietnam era now loves military shtick.

5. Sexism. Donald Trump is about almost as pure a sexist pig as Warren Jeffs -- but he doesn't miss by much. "I can grab them by their (vaginas)", which, I understand, is some form of sexual assault.  

6. Controlled mass media. He has just suggested the nationalization of the 5G network, and with control of it he may be able to squelch dissent and give advantages to such entities as FoX Propaganda Channel and his Republican Party.

7. Corporate power exalted. The GOP tax 'reform' will 'reform' more of American income by passing it into the coffers of America's plutocratic and bureaucratic elites.

8. Labor power suppressed. He has yet to promote a national Right to Work (for much less) law, but he seems to suggest that working more hours for the good of America (meaning its economic elites) is a privilege.

9. Majority religion empowered. Donald Trump may be the most godless President that we have ever had -- unless the usual religion of an extreme narcissist or outright sociopath is 'worship of the self' -- but he has suggested that anyone who disagrees with him has a weakness of faith. It took until the State of the Union speech to bring that out. It's not a matter of morality; one can be quite moral without religion, without displays of religiosity, or with practice of the 'wrong' religion. Religion under Trump is to promote a pure plutocracy.

If anything happens to President Trump, we have Ayatollah Mike Pence in the wings. Pardon me if I vomit.

10. Obsession with crime and punishment. No, I do not mean the masterful novel by Doestoevsky (I doubt that the President has ever read it) -- putting criminals as the focus of national concern. Sure, MS-13 is horrible, and it merits suppression. But Donald Trump called for severe punishment of alleged offenders before they were convicted.

11. Hostility toward artists and intellectuals. Any dissident, such as someone who continues to believe that global warming is a reality, is offered as a menace to the national community. In the SOTU  speech he promised that government workers who violate the will of Trump supporters will be fired.

12. Exaggerated concern  for national security. Build the wall! Illegal immigrants and foreign terrorists are slipping through because America is too soft. (Never mind that the biggest terrorist threat comes from the fascist Right from white people born and raised  in the Good Old U S of A).

13. Corruption and Cronyism. If you though that Teapot Dome and the connections of Dubya to the infamous Enron Corporation were bad... this is a man who has strong links to organized crime. If one has dealings with the President  or with Republicans in Washington, it is wise to show a receipt from one particular hotel in Washington, and not from some 'loser' like Hyatt, Hilton, Wyndham, or Marriott.
 
14. Rigged elections. Such is up to the President's lack of conscience and the mercy  of the Republican Party, and maybe even with his buddies in the Kremlin.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/14-reas...is-fascist
[/quote]

Edited to undo faulty grammar and pronominal references.

[nom]

Voting doesn't work when you no longer live in a democracy and the government
hacks the voting machines.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/polit...48459.html

https://www.srnnews.com/jimmy-carter-us-...democracy/