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Henry the Kriminal to head "independent" 9/11 investigation commission November 28, 2002 If there is a major criminal out there, George W. Bush is sure to choose him or her to serve in some official capacity. Birds of a feather? No wonder George didn't want any part of the World Criminal Court There is a sick hilarity to the idea of Henry Kissinger, who is a wanted war criminal in Chile, Argentina, and France for his role in the overthrow of Salvador Allende and his association with the terrorist network, Operation Condor, serving as head of the "independent" commission that will investigate the 9/11 attacks. It's comparable to appointing Hannibal Lechter to preside over the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. In his Slate article, The Latest Kissinger Outrage , Christopher Hitchens, who has developed a fondness for right-wingers, lays out Kissinger's crimes and asks, "Does the Bush administration feel proud of appointing a man who is wanted in so many places, and wanted furthermore for his association with terrorism and crimes against humanity? Or does it hope to limit the scope of the inquiry to those areas where Kissinger has clients?" To complete the circle, perhaps Bush can find a job for retired Major General Richard Secord of Iran-contra infamy. Poor Secord must be feeling left out. The F Words It is interesting to note how many so-called liberals, progressives and Democrats shy away from the words "fascism" and "fascist." Yet, they are silent when the right-wingers apply the words "unpatriotic," "commie" and "socialist" to us, and spit out the word "liberal" as though it were an epithet. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary provides this definition of fascism: A political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave this definition: "Fascism should rightly be called corporatism, as it is a merger of state and corporate power." Let's add up where we are. We already had the merger of state and corporate power long before the stolen presidential election of 2000 and five members of the Supreme Court, instead of allowing the Florida vote recount to go forth, substituted their votes for that of the American electorate and thereby installed George W. Bush in the White House. Is not George W. a dictatorial leader, especially when Bob Woodward, in his new book, Bush at War, quotes him as saying, "I'm the commander—see, I don't need to explain—I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." Dictators don't explain things. Did not Congress comply with Dictator Bush's demands that they illegally amend the Constitution by passing the USA PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Act, which he then took it upon himself to ratify by signing both bills? Now we have a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, coupled with severe economic and social regimentation and the beginnings of forcible suppression of opposition. Fascism by any other name is still fascism. Splitting Hairs The word "democracy" when applied to the US seems to send some folks ballistic. We get letters scolding us that the US is a "republic," not a "democracy," oftentimes accompanied by long discourses—even references—about the evils of pure democracies. Yes, a pure democracy is among the worst forms of government. But there are democracies and democracies, just as there are republics and republics. Might we let the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary put this hair-splitting to rest? Note the italics where both converge: democracy [noun] 1 a : government by the people; especially: rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections 2 : a political unit that has a democratic government 3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S. 4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority 5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges republic [noun] 1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government b (1) : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c: a usually specified republican government of a political unit 2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity 3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia Truth and Consequences for Some German Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin found herself pressured to resign for observing, "Bush wants to divert attention from his domestic problems. It's a classic tactic. It's one that Hitler also used." Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretein's communications director, Françoise Ducros, in an offhand, private remark to a reporter at the NATO summit in Prague, correctly called George W. "a moron" and now she has resigned As these public officials have discovered, speaking the truth can set off a firestorm in political and diplomatic circles. But there have been no repercussions for Bush when he told Bob Woodward (Bush at War), "I loathe [North Korean President] Kim Jong-iI." Nor has Bush been sent packing back to Crawford, Texas, for further telling Woodward that "underlying his foreign policy 'there is a value system that cannot be compromised, and that is the values that we praise. And if the values are good enough for our people, they ought to be good enough for others, not in a way to impose because these are God-given values. These aren't United States-created values. These are values of freedom and the human condition and mothers loving their children.'" If the above aren't outrageous enough, Woodward quotes him as saying, "You can't talk your way to a solution to a problem. And the United States is in a unique position right now. We are the leader. And a leader must combine the ability to listen to others, along with action." Is this guy a class act or what? Thank You A big thank you to those of you who stepped up to the plate to help us pay our bills this month. It's your donations that are vital to keeping Online Journal going. If having an independent publication that is not beholden to any special interests, including corporations and foundations, is important to you Online Journal needs your financial support each and every month. Bev Conover Editor & Publisher http://www.onlinejournal.com/Editor_sDesk/editor_sdesk.html