W E D N E S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 0 4Latest Casualty In War On Terror: DemocracyIn Russiaby Michael in New York on 9/15/2004 12:13:00 AMRussian President-for-Life Vladimir Putin continues his stranglehold onpower in the former (and future?) U.S.S.</p><p> He's using that horrificattack on schoolchildren as an excuse to seize even more power -basically by massively overhauling the political systems and endinglocal elections for key officials throughout his empire.The reaction of the duly elected people he's usurping? "Thank you,President Putin."Putin claims the rebels/terrorists/insurgents are bent on thedestruction of Mother Russia, though of course the truth is that thepredominantly Muslim people of Chechnya have never called for anysuch thing -- they have repeatedly and consistently called for theremoval of Russian troops that took over that land again afternominally declaring it independent.You just know Bush wishes he were heading Russia instead ofAmerica.</p><p> But he'd never get away with that sort of usurpation ofpower here, right? We'd never stand for a President who declared anindefinite state of emergency with expanding powers for the federalgovernment, would we? We'd never allow Soviet-style powers wherethe government could grab American citizens off the street and lockthem up forever and refuse to even acknowledge that they wereholding anyone or even identify them to the press, would we? We'dnever countenance the government making plans to "postpone" theelection" if they thought necessary, would we? We'd never allow theUS government to break every international treaty in sight and makea mockery of our values, would we? We'd never allow our men andwomen in uniform to be enouraged at every level to rape, beat andkill men, women and children in order to make ourselves safer, wouldwe? So we have nothing to worry about here.</p><p> What's happening inRussia could never happen here.</p><p> Add New Comment Logged in as AnonymousUser Logout from DisqusLogged in asusing Facebook Connect (Logout)Type your comment here.</p><p> HuffPost PoliticsAllison Kilkenny: Obama, Nukes, and the World -President Obama has seized upon North Korea'smissile launch to talk about a new approach tonuclear disarmament.</p><p> Most people agree with theswell commonplac...11 minutes agoDaily Kos"Difference isn't a threat" - Dave Neiwert, theblogosphere's leading expert on the eliminationistmovement, has a typically excellent post about theweekend's tragic shooting at Croo...14 minutes agoCrooks and LiarsNCAA Basketball Open Thread - Satire from TheOnion.</p><p> Yeah, yer brackets are in the toilet.</p><p> Openthread for the NCAA Championship game, a regularopen thread appears at 8:30 Pacific Ti...37 minutes agoEschatonMonday Night Thread - I wonder if Peter will dosomething stupid on Heroes tonight.1 hour agoFiredoglakeFDL Movie Night Welcomes John Holowach: High:The True Tale of American Marijuana - Last month,Attorney General Eric Holder said the federalgovernment would stop raiding marijuanadistributors in states where it is legal.</p><p> But lastweek H...1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S Show All Free Solar PowerYou May Qualify for Free Solar for YourHome.</p><p> Easy Install.</p><p> UL Tested.www.Power-Save1200.com/SolarWet Tech EnergyHighest Quality International Steel buoysand Mooringswww.wettechenergy.comObama's Gift To InvestorsThe Gov't Will Soon Make Some InvestorsRich.Read the Full Reportwww.StreetAuthority.com www.BonsaiSandals.comAds by Google AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Latest...http://www.americablog.com/2004/09/latest-casualty-in-war-on-... 1 of 64/6/09 9:44 PM
