Are we there yet? (Fascism remix)

It's official. My favorite new websites are Anecdotage and 10 Zen Monkeys. A November 2006 TZM article posted by R.U. Sirius posed a real goatee-scratcher: has the U.S. fallen into fascism yet? Respondents ranged from a former consultant for Michael Badnarik's 2004 presidential run, to a founding member of F.A.I.R.

Of course the answers fell under three general headings: "No! Never!" ... "Without a doubt, yes!" and "Not yet."

The liveliest reply is that of Ken Layne, the West Coast Bureau Chief of Wonkette:

Fascism is such a twisted, loaded and abused word. We need a completely new term.

Humorless liberals yell “Fascist!” at anything they don’t like: NASCAR, Wal-Mart, or especially somebody enjoying a nice hamburger.

The Neocons have made the bizarre decision that Fascism is actually a 1,400-year-old Semitic religion from Arabia, even though that religion is virtually indistinguishable from the monotheistic Semitic religions they claim to follow. Of course, the Neocons are the closest thing to a purely Fascist party in America.

And my beloved libertarians have the bad habit of believing Fascism is a mom asking grandpa not to blow cigar smoke on the babies, or the cops asking some target shooters to point away from the pre-school.

So what the hell is Fascism in 2006? Russia provides a pretty good example: Media directly controlled by the Kremlin, ethnic minorities literally deported by the military (re: Georgians), oil companies nationalized (and their executives jailed), official skinheads attacking farmers markets, faux-terrorist apartment bombings in Moscow used to justify aggressive wars against bordering ethnic states, and the murder of investigative journalists.

Read the rest, and the other replies at 10 Zen Monkeys.

(Find my favorite Anecdotage here.)