Just kidding. That is completely ridiculous. YAY government scare tactics. Can we just get rid of everyone currently heading a major national government right now?
It makes me sick because now you can't have liquids on flights. That's absolutely ridiculous! I typically fly standby and it's imperative to have your toothbrush, toothpaste, etc in your carry-on so that if you can't get on a flight but your luggage does, at least you can look presentable the next morning. And what are pilots going to do? It's just dumb. Isn't part of being an American freedom to do what you want? Isn't part of that taking whatever you want on an airplane? I agree...they are winning.
matt, they've always been winning. machiavelli knew that fear is the most powerful way to rule. it's not the best, and it often ends with persons hating their government, but if you're not loved, you had best be feared. we all know W isnt loved right now, so it's in his best interest to spread fear. and we all know how cozy the media is with the president.
it's a sad thing, but it's the way it's always been
'They' was referring to the terrorists, not our government. The media was doing the job of fear mongering long before Bush came along (killer bees, shark attacks, every little thing in the mid 90s).
Sure, Bush has helped a lot, but it also has a lot to do with our society. You don't find this kind of paranoia in continental Europe, not two miles over the Canadian border, nor I would gather in the rest of the world. That in itself suggests it hasn't always been this way AND that it doesn't have to be.
The citation Machiavelli is a little irrelevant; we aren't scared of the US government, we're xenophobic in general and while they certainly exploit that - the fear isn't directed at them. Spend a few weeks in the UK and you'll realize how quickly that doctrine fails - ever since 9/11 Blair has tried to use fear to get what he wants politically and yet still faces an unenthused and indifferent population.
i see what you mean. maybe you're not afraid of our government because you dont live here anymore. what bush is doing (gathering all possible power in the executive branch) is terrifying and he's using it for just that purpose, to bully (scare) the other branches into doing his bidding. sure, even clinton wanted the line item veto (and got it for a while), but bush has truly surpassed clinton in his push for a stronger central government at the expense of civil liberties. if that's not scary
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I've been gone for a year Scott - Bush hasn't done anything radically different in that amount of time. The British press tends to cover Bush's antics better than the American press anyway, so I've kept daily tabs on the happenings over here
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Comments 8
Just kidding. That is completely ridiculous. YAY government scare tactics. Can we just get rid of everyone currently heading a major national government right now?
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it's a sad thing, but it's the way it's always been
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Sure, Bush has helped a lot, but it also has a lot to do with our society. You don't find this kind of paranoia in continental Europe, not two miles over the Canadian border, nor I would gather in the rest of the world. That in itself suggests it hasn't always been this way AND that it doesn't have to be.
The citation Machiavelli is a little irrelevant; we aren't scared of the US government, we're xenophobic in general and while they certainly exploit that - the fear isn't directed at them. Spend a few weeks in the UK and you'll realize how quickly that doctrine fails - ever since 9/11 Blair has tried to use fear to get what he wants politically and yet still faces an unenthused and indifferent population.
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