James Allen starts us off this week with Freedom of Speech? Not in Modern America. "I know this is sort of old news, but it deserves to be brought up again," James writes. In a practice that began before the 2004 election campaign, and continues today, audiences at Bush's public appearances are cleansed of anybody wearing anti-war or pro-Democrat shirts, buttons, etc., with some people simply being asked to leave, and some actually being arrested. James just wants "someone in Washington to stand up for the law and not themselves." Not a bad idea."The decision was born of pure ideology. It is the ideology of control, of power, of oligarchy. It is an ideology that spits on freedom, that pisses on the graves of those who built this nation and upon those, living or dead, who've fought and died for it." What is Hell's Handmaiden talking about? Why it's Pure Idealism... and Domestic Spying. As reported here (and elsewhere) the administration's plan to spy on U.S. citizens went into play seven months before 9/11 - the supposed "justification." If it wasn't reaction to terrorism that led to that anti-democratic decision, what was it? Ideology.
News of the Future (courtesy of Avant News writer Ion Zwitter): Social Networking Site Digg.com to Replace Traditional Voting in 2008 Elections. This week's parody entry explains how and why digg.com could be a logical replacement for other voting methods. Frankly, it doesn't seem like that bad an idea...
If you've had enough of all these attacks on your freedom and your democracy, maybe you're ready to start doing something about it. David - A.K.A. "the Good Human" - gives us Book Review - Crashing the Gate. "This book might help to encourage some readers that the people can make a difference, even if we don't trust the politicians..." The book, by popular bloggers Jerome Armstrong (mydd.com) and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (dailykos.com), is a how-to guide for grassroots, progressive activism.
Wrapping up the week's posts is Ashok posting on The Unity of Justice and Fraternity: On Lincoln's "Second Inaugural". In his usual style, Ashok examines Lincoln's address in the context of the decisions to be made and finds some interesting lessons for today's leaders. At the time of the address the Civil War was all but done with and the nation had to face the question of how to heal. How do you bring Southerners back into the Union, but still make clear that it was the evil of slavery that brought the nation to war? This was Lincoln's response.
Thank you for joining us on our bi-weekly look at the decline of democracy (and occasionally hopeful responses to it). The next edition of the Carnival will be posted on Monday, August 28th, with entries requested by Saturday, August 26th, at midnight.
Submit your blog post for the next edition of the carnival of the decline of democracy using our carnival submission form. More information on future carnivals can be found on our carnival home page.
Tags: carnival of the decline of democracy, blog carnival, politics, American government, domestic spying, freedom, free speech
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Hey free speach is vital, i agree, but come on, some of those people out there don't even have respect for people who've worked pretty hard to do what they do. They deserve a little respect, and I don't care if you dislike or like what the president has done, I think we should respect any man who has the guts to be the president of this nation. Whether we are talking about Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, we should respect these leaders.
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