Like a lot of you, I've noticed the dangerous changes that are occurring in our country - increasingly invasive law enforcement ... sanctioned media consolidation ... tax cuts for the rich. I'm afraid that these are all just the tip of the iceberg. Something fundamentally worse is at play, and how we collectively respond to it will determine the fate of our democracy, if not the fate of the world.
"Where did this idea come from that everybody deserves free education, free medical care, free whatever? It comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight out of the pit of hell. And it's cleverly disguised as having a tender heart. It's not a tender heart. It's ripping the heart out of this country."
-- Texas State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, after a March 5 hearing of the House Border Affairs Committee
In case you haven't been reading the news, we're now learning that Texas Republicans, with the help of Tom DeLay, used the Department of Homeland Security to try and arrest the courageous Democrats who were exercising the only political power they had left this past week. Check out "Republicans 'used anti-terror agency' to find political foes."
Does anyone think that Texas is an anomaly? They shouldn't, now that Texans are running the show in Washington. I grew up in Texas and still have family and friends there, and I can tell you that the state is a case study in how NOT to run a state government, let alone a national one. And you don't have to look any further than Texas to understand that Texas is happening to American politics. The December 19th 2002 Economist featured the cover story, "The future is Texas."
What many Americans do not realize is that Hitler and the Fascists rose to power in a democracy. You can watch "Hitler: The Rise to Evil" tomorrow night on CBS and get ready to be entertained, and educated. I mention this because it's been on my mind: how did the Germans let Hitler rule them? Interestingly enough, two Texas CBS affiliates have decided not to run the Hitler mini-series.
We need to run these people out of office before they run our democracy into the ground.
